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Travel & Expense Guidelines

Grand Valley State University

Travel and Expense Quick Guide

Updated October 2026

T&E Dept: [email protected]

Personal Vehicle Mileage: 76¢ per mile from campus or home, whichever is less. (Effective 7-1-2026)
Rental Cars: Lowest cost vehicle to meet University needs. Fuel and insurance cannot be added to rental bill.
Airfare: Lowest cost flight plus one bag allowed. No seat fees, extra baggage fees, bundles.
Taxi/Ride Share/Tolls/Parking/Tips: No receipt required if under $75.

Gifts/Prizes/Gift Cards: Review the University Policy: Gift Cards, Gifts and Prizes Policy
Alcohol: Appropriate VP approval, itemized receipt and Alcohol Designation worktag is required.
Lodging: Itemized invoice attached within workday. Itemize all charges. May add taxes together for one line entry. May need to manually modify dollar amounts to adjust for deposits made. Itemize personal charges and mark those as personal.
Exceptions that require Vice President or Appointing Officer approval:
• Missing receipts
• Meals (including tip) that exceed per diem.
• Staff meals – AO approval and attendees as well as Business Reason required.
• Alcohol
• Other violations of policy may be denied and required to repay or may need AO or VP approval at the discretion of the Bus&Fin department.

Per Diem Effective October 8, 2026 - September 30, 2027

Note: Reimbursement for individual meals without an overnight stay will be taxable income and reported to payroll to add to your W-2.
Group Meals: If meal is for faculty/staff only; itemized receipt, all attendees and AO approval is required.
Group Meals: If 1+ guest or student: itemized receipt and attendee list required.

Travel Advances: Done in Workday using Create Spend Authorization (SA). Ensure you use the SA to create your Expense report upon return. Ensure you request at least 5days in advance, that you are set up for Direct deposit and the request needs to be a minimum of $100. These must be reconciled, and excess funds returned within 15 days of return.
Returning Funds: Pay via credit card on the Business and Finance website. Call Business and Finance at 1-2233 for questions. Send checks or money orders to 2015JHZ Attn: Travel. In both scenarios, you will need the Workday document number andworktags this needs to be applied to.
Relocation Expenses: Must be completed on a Paper T&E form with original itemizedreceipts, a copy of the approved offer letter with relocation noted. These will be reviewedas quickly as possible by Bus & Fin and then forwarded to Payroll who will apply thereimbursement and tax it appropriately on the next payroll.

Refer to the Travel and Expense Policy and Procedures for further information.

Updated 9/2/2025

Airfare Allowed by GVSU Policy

GVSU policy allows standard Main Cabin; standard Main Cabin refundable; standard Economy; standard Economy refundable; and Basic Economy airfares.

Seat upgrades and cabin upgrades are not allowed (for example: additional legroom, Comfort Plus, Economy Plus, Main Cabin Extra). If upgrades are desired, the
traveler must pay for those on their own with a personal credit card. To do that, reserve a fare in Lightning that allows upgrades (Main Cabin and some Basic
Economy with fee -- varies by airline) and then go to the airline website to purchase upgrades and pay with personal credit card.

Contact Tonya Valencia at 616-331-2257 or [email protected] for Airfare questions.

Refer to the Travel and Expense Policy and Procedures for further information.

Questions? Email [email protected] or call 616-331-2203

Page last modified October 14, 2026