Policies and Procedures for Students
When registering for a conference or purchasing membership to an organization, please send the GGEB coordinator an emailed request at least a week before the deadline with the following:
- A link to the registration page/membership page
- Your username and password
- The registration deadline
- Written confirmation from your mentor that they will be paying, how much they'll be paying (ie the cost of membership/registration), and the account they'll be paying from
- If they are paying with a grant (R01), I will need a completed A21. This can be found on the Forms page of the GGEB website.
- The answers to any questions you may be asked to answer during the registration process prior to payment.
Once I have this information, I will complete the required paperwork and send it to Marissa. Marissa will review, send it to the business office for approval, and then complete the registration on your behalf. Because so many people are involved, last minute requests may not be processed in time.
Only with prior approval, which is rare, can students purchase out-of-pocket.
Student travel is booked by the GGEB coordinator, and follow a similar process to conference registration requests.
Flights
When booking a flight, first:
Log into Concur and in your Concur profile, add me as a Travel Assistant/Arranger (Travel Settings -> Assistants/Arrangers).
Then, when you have selected flight, please:
- A screenshot of your itinerary, including departure and return dates, airline, and price.
- Written confirmation from your mentor that they will pay for the flight and the account to charge
- If using a grant (R01), a completed A21 from the GGEB Forms page is required
- The cheapest, most convenient flight (ie direct, shorter, etc) should always be given priority when considering your options
- First class travel is not allowed
- Traveling to a conference destination earlier than the start date is permitted, but you must provide a comparison flight departing the day before the conference begins.
- University-supported travel for personal reasons is not permitted.
Trains
When booking travel via train, please send the following:
- Name as it appears on your ID
- Birthday
- Phone number
- A screenshot of your itinerary
- Your advisor's approval and the account from which the ticket will be purchased
- If using a grant, you'll need an A21 form
Please note that Penn allows travel via coach only; this means no ACELA.
BGS provides students with the opportunity to apply for a yearly $1000 award to support travel to conferences at which the student is presenting. Students should apply for these funds as soon as possible.
If using travel funds, students can book their own travel by calling World Travel (Concur) and speaking to an Agent. Please make sure that the agent is aware that you are using BGS travel funds AND that the approver is Jill Baxter. This ensures that the flight is sent to BGS for approval instead of the DBEI business office. If it is sent to the DBEI business office, it will be rejected.
All reimbursements can be submitted through Concur.
All reimbursements require the following
- Proof of attendance (name badge/a picture of the program with your name on it/a photo of you presenting at the conference)
- Statement of Business Connection
- Note that only you have to sign; no other signatures are required.
- An A21 if your advisor is paying via a grant (R01) or:
- A Concur Expense Justification Form if they are using a Retention/SOM-D/other non-grant fund
- Your approved BGS Travel Funds application, if applicable
- Receipts for all public transportation/ride shares
- Hotel folio/receipt with itemized room cost/tax per night
- Receipts for any meals you are not claiming on your per diem
Before you do anything, you must make the coordinator an expense delegate. You can do this in your Concur profile under "Expense Settings". Be sure they you check the "can prepare reports" option; this enables the coordinator to review and make edits to the reimbursement.
1. Under Report Details, select "Report Header" and fill out as much information as you can
- All reports should be titled following this format "City, Conference Name, Month and Year" (ie "Baltimore, ENAR Conf, March 2024"
- You will likely not have the budget code. When the report is complete, please let the coordinator know and they will review and enter that information.
2. Upload all receipts and completed documentation to the Manage Receipts -> Manage Attachments section.
3. Select add expense for each non-meal expense (unless you are not claiming per diem for your food). Fill out the information and upload the receipt for that expense.
- For Taxis/Ride Shares, please enter your pickup and drop-off locations in the business justification (ie Airport to Conference Hotel)
4. For hotels, each night and each night's tax need to be added as a separate line item.
- After you enter the hotel information and total cost under the Details tab, you will then select the itemization tab and select the appropriate options.
5. If claiming per diem (recommended), when all non-food related expenses have been entered, select Travel Allowance below the report's title.
- Enter your itinerary
- On the next page, the report should automatically calculate your per diem and add it to the report. For any meals provided by the conference, you would de-select that meal from that day's per diem.
6. Once the above steps have been completed, reach out to the coordinator. They will review and let you know if any changes need to be made or if the report is ready to be submitted.