Travel and Professional Development Funding Guidelines

Staff/faculty training and development is a joint responsibility between the staff/faculty member and the Libraries. Individual staff/faculty are expected to take some responsibility for their own growth in knowledge and skill and also to take the initiative in identifying courses, workshops, conferences, and other educational, professional, or skills-oriented opportunities. Staff/faculty professional development is supported by the University Libraries through funding and/or release time from employment responsibilities.

There are three types of funding areas: faculty professional development, administrative, and training. Generally, travel should follow these basic steps:

Discuss potential training or travel with your supervisor first to obtain their approval.
- For faculty members – once your supervisor has approved the travel and if you are using your allotted professional development funds, proceed to step 2.
- For staff members - this is a critical step as you likely do not have allotted professional development funds. Your Department Head must contact the University Librarian and make a case as to why your travel is beneficial to the Libraries, aligning with the administrative or training funding categories. Your Department Head will inform you as to whether or not the request is approved.
Complete the Request Form, save it as a PDF, and send via email to LIB-BUSFIN@uga.edu. (If you're not sure how much to include for food costs, check out #7 on the Travel FAQ for per diem information.) If you want to rent a vehicle, you will also need to fill out the Vehicle Form and submit it along with the request form. If/when approved, the request form will be returned to you via email, noting the accounting tag and/or chart string that will fund your travel.
If your travel is within the state of Georgia, proceed to step 4. If your travel takes you out of the state, you must:
- Submit a travel authority using UGA Financials at https://financials.onesource.uga.edu.
  Note: Users must be on-campus or logged onto the VPN client to access OneSource.
- Your supervisor must then log in to UGA Financials and electronically approve the travel authority.
Complete your travel. NOTE: If you are staying overnight in Georgia, you’ll need to bring the State of Georgia Exemption of Local Hotel/Motel Excise Tax Form and the State of Georgia Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption Form with you and present it to the motel/hotel operators. If you are driving your personal vehicle you will also need to carry the Georgia Liability Insurance Identification Card.
Within three weeks of your return, log in to UGA Financials to complete an expense report and submit. (Submitting this form is the equivalent of putting your signature on a paper form in previous travel procedures.) **To ensure reimbursement, your supervisor must then log in to the system and approve the expense report as soon as possible.**

Please check out the Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about how to complete each step. If you have additional questions, please contact Chandra Echols at chandrae@uga.edu.

Helpful Links:

Libraries' Travel FAQ

Group Webinar Registration Request Form

UGA Financials

How to navigate UGA Financials to complete authorities and expense reports: https://training.onesource.uga.edu/

Libraries Training, Conference and Travel Funding Request Form

Request for UGA Vehicle form and UGA motor pool procedures and guidelines

State of Georgia Exemption of Local Hotel/Motel Excise Tax Form

State of Georgia Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption Form

Georgia Liability Insurance Identification Card (Should always be carried when driving a personal vehicle on UGA business.)

Travel Agencies Authorized by UGA

University of Georgia Travel Regulations