employees / Business Services / Employee Travel

Employee Travel

A pre-approval form must be processed and on file before any business-related travel (outside of the Great Lakes Bay Region) takes place. If no pre-approval form has been granted, the College reserves the right to withhold any reimbursement to the employee.

Complete the Pre-Approval Travel Request Form

Employee travel

Egencia is the college's online travel service, allowing employees to book travel arrangements directly for all approved college travel.  Employees who make their own reservations outside of the Egencia system may submit for reimbursement upon return from the trip.  Using the online portal service for travel arrangements will increase efficiency, reduce the number of steps in the process and ensure that the individual receives their desired flight schedules and preferred hotels.  The reservation system uses an electronic approval process, which will minimize the possibility of flight prices increasing or flights no longer being available.  When booking hotels, it is important to pay careful attention to which type of hotel is being selected.  If "pay by my company" is selected, the room will be charged to Delta College directly.  If "pay at hotel" is selected, the staff will be responsible for paying the hotel bill when they arrive at the hotel.

Some advantages are that both hotel and air can be reserved in one transaction, the online tool searches multiple travel websites for the lowest airfares and once the ticket is purchased, the flight is continually monitored for changes in schedules.  A few of the key features of the online portal service is the ability to add personal frequent flyer/reward information, a mobile app for check in, travel alerts available via text messaging and sync travel booked through Egencia to your outlook calendar.  

For additional information on employee travel, or if you have any questions relating to employee travel, please contact Phyllis Meeth at 989-686-9208 or Sue Nowicki at 989-686-9230.

Student travel 

Delta College promotes safe travel to events and activities occurring beyond the boundaries of Delta College by students and student organizations. The Student Travel Guidelines apply to individual student and recognized student organization travel both in cases where the travel is sponsored by Delta College, and in cases where an individual student or recognized student organization travels on behalf of, or with the financial support of Delta College. The Student and Group Travel form (PDF) should be completed prior to any travel occurring or any arrangements being made.

Examples of activities and events that fall under these guidelines include, but are not limited to:

    • Academic course or classroom travel
    • Recognized student organizations/travels
    • Community service travel
    • Situations where a student or recognized student organization officially represents Delta, such as leadership academies, conferences, and other programs
    • Intercollegiate athletics competition and fundraising travels

Delta College travel procedures have been developed in compliance with risk management and IRS guidelines. The college requires that trip leaders follow the same procedures in place for employee travel, especially when it relates to travel planning, expense substantiation and reimbursement, and requests for hotel reservations, conference registration fees and airfare and other transportation.

Travel expenses

    • Transportation within approved college guidelines
    • Mileage for approved college travel is reimbursed at the IRS-approved mileage rate in effect at the time of the travel
    • Meals within approved college guidelines
    • Registration fees within approved college guidelines. No registration fees paid directly by the individual will be reimbursed prior to conclusion of the trip.
    • Telephone or internet connections for business communications while on college business are reimbursable within reason and on an individual case basis, as approved by the supervisor/cost center manager. 
    • Note that no travel expenses (i.e., airline) will be reimbursed prior to conclusion of trip.

What needs detailed receipts?

    • Uber, taxi, shuttle, etc.
    • Airline
    • Registration fee not paid prior to the trip
    • Hotel
    • Car rental (requires prior approval)
    • Group meals of multiple Delta employees traveling together (reimbursed up to the allowable amount per person)
    • Meals with customers, clients or contacts
    • Parking
    • Tolls
    • Any deviation from the standard approved expenses
    • Lost receipts or expenses for which no receipt was obtained must be explained on the Travel Expense Report and will be addressed on an individual basis

This list is not an all-inclusive list. There may be other non-covered items that are not included below. When in doubt, check with Business Services.

    • Alcoholic beverages
    • Meals that were paid by Delta College as part of a registration or conference fee
    • Personal items such as clothing, luggage, briefcases, magazines, books, newspapers, subscriptions, gum, candy, cigarettes, personal toiletries
    • Early check-in or late check-out
    • Recreational events, although sometimes associated with professional meetings and conferences (such as city tours, golf or tennis outings, etc.)
    • Airline club, rental car club, country or health club fees
    • In-room safe, refrigerator, or mini-bar/honor bar
    • GPS or navigational device
    • Satellite radio
    • In-flight wifi
    • TSA pre-check
    • Charitable contributions
    • Flight, hotel or rental upgrades including airline seat selection
    • Credit card annual fees
    • Currency conversion fees when using personal credit card in another country
    • Laundry service or dry cleaning
    • Personal entertainment incurred while on business
    • Babysitting, salons, fitness facilities, sports, saunas, massages, pet care, video rentals, movies or shoeshine
    • Expenses as a result of or related to a personal segment of business travel, including expenses for travel companions, family members, souvenirs or gifts
    • Travel costs such as car washes, changes to scheduled air travel reservations due to personal preference, excess baggage, airline upgrades, in-flight telephone or Wi-Fi, medical bills incurred during travel, no-show charges, non-compulsory insurance coverage, optional travel or baggage insurance, parking or traffic tickets, personal accident or property insurance, personal telephone calls, repairs and maintenance
    • Cancellation fees for canceled Uber, Lyft, Shuttle
    • Losses such as theft of personal funds or property, lost baggage
    • Trip/flight insurance
    • Car rental or collision damage insurance