University of Saskatchewan

Financial Services Division (FSD)

Guidelines & Procedures

Completing an Authority To Travel Form

(We recommend completing this form on-line to take advantage of drop-down selections, defaults and field formats.)

This document describes situations when an Authority To Travel form must be completed. This document also provides assistance in completing the Authority To Travel form.

Requirements for completing an Authority To Travel form:

  1. An Authority To Travel form must be completed for all Out-of-Province travel and all In-Province Tri-Council funded travel and must be attached to the Travel Expense Claim form when it is submitted.
  2. An Authority To Travel form does NOT have to be completed for In-Province travel, except for Tri-Council funded travel.
    Note: Even though there is not a requirement to complete an Authority To Travel form for In-Province travel, departments may, if they so desire, request that travelers complete this form to satisfy their internal financial management processes. In these situations, the Authority To Travel does not have to be attached to the Travel Expense Claim form.

Generally, an Authority To Travel form should be completed (even if an expense claim might not be submitted) for the purposes of:

  1. informing the University of an individual's whereabouts and ensuring that the absence can be accommodated by the department or college;
    • Note: This form is also to be completed for regular trips for teaching and field research, and for local conferences.  For regularly scheduled teaching and field research trips, a separate form is required for each term/month of travel. For this type of travel, the form, or a copy of the form, must be attached to a monthly expense claim.  If a claim is submitted with respect to attendance at a local conference, this form must be attached to the expense claim.
    • Note: Only one form needs to be completed if there are multiple trips relating to sabbatical / administrative leave travel.
  2. ensuring appropriate information has been captured to support risk management and to facilitate emergency contact with students, faculty and staff while travelling outside Canada.
    • See the "Note" included with the explanation for the use of the "Country" field below.
  3. making travel arrangements using one of the University's approved Travel Agents; 
    • Note: Simply take or send a copy of this form to one of the approved travel agents listed in Appendix A of the Travel Expense Guidelines. The travel agent will make travel arrangements for you and charge the costs to the University CFOAPAL(s) recorded on the form.
  4. ensuring that insurance claims can be processed as quickly as possible;
    • Note: It is important that all individuals who travel on University business complete an Authority To Travel form to ensure that any travel related insurance claims can be processed by Risk Management & Insurance Services as quickly as possible.
  5. providing the Financial Services Division with the required documentation to administer travel expense claims in a timely manner;
  6. having the appropriate authorizations on file to satisfy Tri-Council audit requirements.
 
An example of a completed Authority To Travel form can be found at the end of this document.

Note: We recommend printing out a copy of the Travel Expense Claim form to help you keep track of individual expenses as they are paid.  Since there is limited space [only enough lines to record about a week's worth of expenses] on the Travel Expense Claim, we recommend printing out the Travel Expense Detail form, if you feel you will need more space/lines to record expenses.  The Travel Expense Detail Total can be transferred to the Travel Expense Claim form.

Field Description
Name Enter the legal name of the person traveling. This is the name that has been set up in the U-Who and the Human Resource/Payroll About-US systems.
NSID The NSID is the traveler's Network Services ID.  This is the User Name people use when they sign in to PAWS.  The format is "abc123".
UniFi Vendor Number
(not a required field) 		The UniFi Vendor number is the same number as the Banner ID (BID) number (8 digits) assigned to all employees and students. The Vendor Number is used to process reimbursements to employees and students.

If you do not know the vendor number (BID), it can be obtained from the detailed remittance portion of a UniFi cheque received in the past, or by accessing the  form "FTIIDEN" in UniFi and doing a search using the "All" option.  Call UniFi Support @ 8783 if you require assistance.
Department / College Home department or college of the traveler.
Phone Travelers phone number (966XXXX), if the individual is a University employee.

For non-employees, such as a student or a conference guest speaker, please provide a department contact phone number.
Sponsoring Entity Please enter the name of any organization, other than the University of Saskatchewan, who will be reimbursing this trip or a portion of this trip. 
CFOAPAL Enter the accounting information, UniFi Fund, Org, Account Code, etc., to indicate where the expenditures for the trip will be charged. This is of particular importance when a Travel Agent is charging airfare/travel arrangements directly to a CFOAPAL using the University's corporate travel card. 

The valid account code options for travel are as follows:

71001 - Travel within Saskatchewan - including travel for visitors coming to Saskatchewan from other locations 
71002 - Travel within Canada 
71003 - Travel to the USA (United States of America) 
71004 - Travel to locations other than those noted above
$ or % Split If applicable, indicate a maximum dollar amount to be charged to a particular fund, or indicate the % of expenses to be allocated to each fund.
CFOAPAL Approval Signature of Financial Manager approving charges to the fund(s) indicated, if different than the travel "Authorization" signature(s) at the bottom of the form.
Destination - City, Prov/State City and Province/State you are traveling to.
Country Select the name of the country you are traveling to.  If the country name is not listed, select Other, complete the remainder of the form on-line, and then record the country name on the form after you print it. 

Note: For destinations other than Canada, consult University policy 7.01 "International Travel Risk Management - Academic Mobility Programs" and the related the Procedures and Guidelines available at http://www.usask.ca/rmis/risk/ international/procedures.pdf and complete Appendixes A and C, if applicable.

Appendixes A and C are required for all university-approved international academic mobility programs designed, delivered, or organized by faculty, staff or students, including:

  • All University-approved courses, credit or non-credit, student exchange programs, taught abroad courses, term abroad programs, clinical placements, field studies, research projects, study tours, etc. involving travel outside Canada.
  • Internship/cooperative programs located in another country that have been organized by, and/or contracted with, the University.
Destination Contact Phone /Cell Phone Please provide a phone number that will enable us to contact the traveler in case of emergency, travel advisory updates, etc.

You may provide a cell phone number if it is enabled at the destination.
Departure Date The date the employee departs for the business trip.
Return Date The date the employee returns from the business trip.
Purpose Please select from the drop down list provided on the form.

Valid values are:

Athletic - Competitive
Committee Meeting
Conferences / Workshops - including symposiums
Recruiting
Research - including field trips, consultation, collaboration
Professional Development - including training, examinations
Sabbatical / Administrative Leave
Seminar
Site Visit / External Review
Student Exchange
Study Abroad
Teaching
Training
Other - specify in "Purpose Description"
Purpose Description Provide a description to complement the purpose selected, e.g. conference name, workshop description, research project name, collaborator & institution being visited, etc.
Method of Travel Please select from the list provided. If more than one method will be used, please select the main method of travel that will be used to reach the final destination.  If the method is not in the list, select Other and record the method on the form after you print it.

Valid values are:

Air Travel**
Personal Vehicle
Rental Vehicle
Bus
Train
Other - specify after printing

For Air Travel**, the recommended method of paying for the airfare is to have it billed directly to a central University account. This can be done by making travel arrangements through one of the approved travel agents listed in Appendix A of the Travel Expense Guidelines. 
Absence from Duties Please indicate any specific work arrangements that have been made due to the traveler's absence. This may include backfill for scheduled duties such as lectures, examinations, etc.  If no arrangements are necessary, indicate "Not Applicable".
Name of Acting Replacement Name of the person filling in during the absence, if applicable.
Signature of Applicant Signature of the person traveling.
Date Date the form was signed by the traveler.
Authorization This would normally be a supervisor, e.g. Grantee (for research funded travel), Department Head, Dean, Vice-President, etc.

a) For travel of less than one month, the appropriate Grantee or Department Head (where colleges have a departmental structure) or Dean.

OR 

b) For travel of one month or more, the appropriate Dean and Vice-President.

Signature Signature of the Grantee or Department Head or Dean authorizing the travel.
Name Name of the individual authorizing the travel.
Title Title of the individual authorizing the travel, e.g. Grantee, Department Head, Dean.
Date Date the form was signed by the person authorizing the travel.
Vice-President's Signature Signature of the Vice-President authorizing the travel if it is for one month or longer.

Note: This requirement does not apply to individuals on approved leave, e.g. sabbatical, or individuals where the travel is part of their academic program, e.g. medical residents.
Vice-President's Name Name of the Vice-President authorizing the travel.
Vice-President's Title Title of the Vice-President authorizing the travel.
Date Date the form was signed by the Vice-President.
Distribution

Original: To be attached to the Travel Expense Claim form for Out-of-Province travel and In-Province Tri-Council funded travel, upon completion of the trip.  Note: If no claim is being submitted, the original should be filed in the department or college office for a minimum period of 3 months after the completion of a trip.

Copy: Department or College Office - to be kept on file for a minimum period of 3 months after the completion of a trip.

Copy: Approved Travel Agent (if applicable)

Example of a Completed Authority to Travel Form

Authority to Travel Example