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CSE Travel and Expense Reimbursements

Effective July 1, 2025, U-M employees who are purchasing airfare related to university business are REQUIRED to book airfare through Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP) by using the online Lightning tool, by emailing, or by speaking directly with a CTP agent.

Request an Employee Reimbursement

If you are an employee of the university (faculty/staff/GSRA/GSI/Post-doc), please submit reimbursement requests directly to the University of Michigan Shared Services Center (SSC) using the required e-Form.

On the eForm, note that there are two options for submitting expense report requests: completing the dynamic eForm only OR instead attaching the optional Travel & Expense Template to the eForm. The template is in spreadsheet form and allows the requester to provide more detailed expense  information to the SSC processors. This option is especially helpful if you have complications in your report, such as using multiple shortcodes or trips involving more than one itinerary stop.

For a step-by-step tutorial on how to fill out the required eForm, read this article.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Effective July 1, 2025, U-M employees (e.g. faculty, staff, GSIs, GSRAs, and post-docs) are REQUIRED to book university business-related air travel via Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP). Please see the details under Travel Guidelines below.

Please also note that student employees traveling for academic pursuits (such as attending an event for educational purposes only) must not use CTP. Instead, book your own airfare and apply for reimbursement with the Shared Services Center. Email [email protected] if you have any questions.

TRAVEL GUIDELINES

  1. Effective July 1, 2025, U-M employees (e.g. faculty, staff, GSIs, GSRAs, and post-docs) are REQUIRED to book university business-related air travel via Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP). Beginning on this date, please book your airfare using the online Lightning tool (via Wolverine Access) or by emailing or speaking directly with a CTP agent.

    For special circumstances, such as adding personal travel to a business trip or purchasing additional tickets for family or friends, we recommend that you email or call CTP to speak with an agent so your request can be properly handled. This topic and more are covered on this CTP Requirements FAQ page.

    CTP must not be used for personal-only travel.

    Please note that this employee directive is mandatory; not booking business airfare via CTP will result in your airfare expenses being considered a personal expense and will, in most cases, be non-reimbursable. Exceptions to this rule may be made for extenuating circumstances but will be rare. Contact [email protected] if you believe your booking may qualify for an exception.
  2. For conference-related travel expenses, always include documentation of paid conference registration in your requests, even if you have already been reimbursed for the conference registration. If you are not seeking reimbursement for it, please mark it as “for reference only.”
  3. If you are adding any personal travel to a business trip, please work with CTP to obtain a for-business-only flight comparison, showing the price of a similar ticket arriving at your destination the day before your scheduled meeting / event, and departing the day after. Please make sure you include this comparison airfare in the trip documentation packet when you file your expense report. Email [email protected] if you have any questions.
  4. AirBNB charges may be reimbursed for lodging; please include a credit card transaction for each expense.
  5. First/business class flights are unallowable. Exceptions may be approved on flights exceeding 8 hours and utilizing non-federal funds, but generally require pre-approval by the Unit Administrator.
  6. U.S. air carriers must be used for travel charged to federal projects.
  7. Please note that the university does not consider the following to be valid forms of payment and are generally not reimbursable (this is not an inclusive list): points / miles earned through reward programs (including airline miles, credit card points, Amazon rewards, etc.); and prepayment or credits received on personal accounts (including Uber Cash, Ride with Via, as well as airline e-Credits issued for personal, not business, travel). Please save these types of credits for your personal usage and use a credit card whenever possible for purchases related to university business. More info about UM travel and expense reporting policies may be found on the Procurement Services website.
  8. As of January 1, 2024, late employee reimbursement requests (>45 days) are taxable and must now be handled via an alternative process. If you are an employee and submit a late report (more than 45 days after your trip return date OR purchase date), you will still submit per the instructions as noted above but your request will be routed for special processing via payroll; you will be notified if your request is deemed to be over 45 days.

    If you would like to request that the UM Tax Compliance Department review any case for a possible exception to the 45-day taxation rule due to extenuating circumstances, especially those involving medical emergencies, you may access the exception request form and then email the completed form to [email protected]. You will be contacted by the Tax Compliance Department about whether or not your case qualifies for an exception. Note that few exceptions are granted.

    More information about this U-M-wide tax compliance policy may be found on the  UM Procurement Services website.

EXPENSE LIMITATIONS: When booking hotel/lodging/accommodations, the hotel room rate should not exceed $400 per night unless it is the published conference rate, a government rate, or a Big 10 consortium rate. An exception can be made for reasonable single occupancy rates for certain destination cities (domestic and international).

For employees sharing a room with another person on University of Michigan business travel status, the approved rate is $400 per night total. Note the $400 per night is for the room only and does not include taxes. Requests for exceptions must be submitted to the Unit Administrator prior to travel.

Charges exceeding the $400 per night rate are subject to denial and will be considered a personal expense to the employee. 

For additional guidance on expense limitations, please see the College of Engineering’s hosting and travel policies webpage and the U-M travel and expense policies page.

HOSTING / MEAL GUIDELINES

  1. Non-travel-related hosting limits:
    1. Breakfast $30 per person
    2. Lunch $30 per person
    3. Dinner $70 per person
  2. Itemized receipts and proof of payment are required. Also include an agenda.
  3. Alcohol (dinner only) $20 per person. Use only a gift or designated shortcode for alcohol expenses OR exclude.
  4. Attach completed hosting documentation form (pdf) or a list of attendees, including uniqnames.
  5. Hosting is typically unallowable on sponsored projects.
  6. Employees are eligible for per diem for university business trips. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions about available options.