The mission of the Travel Department is to audit travel expense vouchers for compliance with State and University regulations, to provide timely and accurate reimbursement of travel expenses to employees and non employees traveling on official University business, and to provide education and training to LSUHSC employees on the travel regulations imposed by the University.

LSU Travel Regulations- PM-13 FY25

Travel Reimbursement Checklist

Summary of PM-13  FY25

The following is a summary of the key policy changes:

1. Student Group Travel:
   1. Employees required to travel with student groups are eligible for the full M&IE rate when the travel begins at/or before Barn on the first day and extends to/beyond 8pm on last day.
2. Uber or Lyft type services are reimbursable, a standard sized vehicle must be selected, and an itemized receipt is Wait time charges are not a reimbursable expense.
   1. Uber Black, Uber Black XL, and Uber Premier are not reimbursable.
   2. Lyft Lux, Lyft Lux Black, and Lyft Lux Black XL are not reimbursable.
   3. Uber XL and Lyft XL are reimbursable with two or more passengers.
3. Conference Meals:
   1. Continental breakfast is now considered a meal and when the conference agenda states continental breakfast is provided, no reimbursement for the breakfast meal per diem will be provided. The conference agenda should be included in the expense reports supporting documentation.

4. University-sponsored conferences:
   1. Cost of conference meals served in conjunction with a University-sponsored conference billed to the University shall not exceed the special meal rates. Any gratuity not required by the caterer must not exceed 20% of the total meal cost.
   2. Conference lodging rates should be within the published lodging rates for the conference location.

5. Special Meals:
   1. Special meals should not be served for brief, routine meetings, particularly meetings that could be scheduled at times other than mealtimes.
   2. Special meals are allowed for all-day events (i.e., workshops, faculty or staff retreats, trainings, etc.), and a detailed meeting agenda is required.
   3. Special meals for routine work meetings should be paid with private funds, and LaCarte cannot be used.
   4. Special meal options are breakfast, lunch, dinner, refreshments, and Dinner-buffet reception is no longer a special meal option. Refer to Appendix A for the special meal rates.
   5. Higher education institutions must send a Special Meal Report to the entity's management board on a quarterly basis with the report due 45 days following the end of the quarter.
6. Parking at the New Orleans Airport:
   1. Surface Lot - $20/day; Airline Economy Garage - $12/day; US Park - $14/day. Receipts are required.

Other key travel reminders:

• Christopherson Business Travel (CBT) remains the State of Louisiana contract travel agency and use is mandatory for University business travel. Travelers are encouraged to use CBT's Concur Online Booking System. The online booking fee is $7, in contrast to the agent-assisted service fee at $24. 
• Spend authorizations must be fully completed and approved prior to making any travel arrangements. If any travel expenses are paid prior to travel authorization approvals, the employee may be at risk of not being reimbursed.
• Travel to the 48 continental US and District of Colombia is subject to GSA rates for mileage, lodging, and meal per diem and incidentals. (M&IE).https://www.gsa.gov/travel?gsaredirect=travel
• Travel to foreign countries is subject to US Department of State rates for lodging, and M&IE. https://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem.asp
• Travel to Alaska, Hawaii and US territories are subject to the M&IE rates as published in the State Travel Policy, PPM-49. Refer to PM-13, Appendix A for the rates.
• Hotel lodging, including Airbnb, should have only the first night lodging paid to secure the reservation. Lodging should not be prepaid in total; payment should be made upon checkout. If the travel is canceled for any reason and the total lodging amount was prepaid, only the first night of lodging may be allowed as a University expense. The other prepaid lodging days will be the responsibility of the traveler.

• Enterprise, National and Hertz remain the out-of-state travel state contract vendors for rental vehicles and use is mandatory for employees. Use of the contracted vendors is encouraged for non-employee University students, guests, and contractors. It is at the traveler's discretion which rental company is utilized.
• Personal travel destinations should not be included in business travel airfare. Refer to PM-13 for reimbursement limitations.
• Travelers/departments should always monitor unused tickets every 30 days and take them into consideration when making travel arrangements.

Electronic Travel Reimbursement Option:

LSUHSC employees - By providing an employee's seven digit LSUHSC employee id on their travel reimbursement voucher, a direct deposit will be initiated to the bank account on file with our Payroll office.

Processing Times:

Normal Season - 5 work days

Peak Season - 12 work days (fiscal and calendar year end)

Travel training is offered semi annually at various locations on the downtown campus. To view a recording of the latest session covering FY24 regulations, please click here:

Meeting Presentation- updated 1/26/24