International Travel

Travel to certain countries deemed to have an elevated risk may require additional information from the traveler(s) and may be denied at the discretion of the College. It is the responsibility of the traveler to stay up to date on current situations/advisories for the countries where travel will be occurring. See more information below.

All international travelers must complete and submit a waiver with their Spend Authorization. Travel to countries with a Level 3 or Level 4 Department of State Travel Advisory requires special approval. Countries deemed to have an elevated risk are identified based on a variety of information including the International SOS Global Risk Ratings, Department of State Travel Advisories, as well as international sanctions or embargos. Please review these advisories and, based on the country's risk level, download and complete one of the following waivers and attach to your Spend Authorization:

Step-By-Step International Travel Checklist:

  1. Review the  IC_Travel_Policy.pdf. Travelers are responsible for understanding this policy before planning any travel on behalf of the College.
  2. Identify your funding source and obtain approval from your supervisor.
  3. Complete and submit your Spend Authorization and Travel Waiver as outlined above, and provide backup documentation via the IC Finance Cloud: Creating a Spend Authorization.
  4. Upon Spend Authorization approval, register your travel with the Office of International Programs (Ithaca College International Travel Registry).
  5. Contact the Office of Risk Management to obtain information about foreign car rentals, travel advisories, and other insurance liability issues prior to departure.
  6. Book Your Trip via Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP) (the mandatory online booking tool for college related travel for all domestic and international flights and lodging).
  7. Contact JPMorgan Chase by phone at (800)316-6056 (or internationally at (847)488-3748) to notify them that you are traveling internationally, where you are traveling, and on what dates.

Expense Reconciliation Guidelines for International Travel:

  • Every expense report submitted for an international trip must contain one zero-dollar expense item with the International Travel expense type. Use this item to list all trip attendee names, number of days travelled, and any other pertinent information. See Managing Expense Items for further instructions.
  • Reimbursement requests for International Travel follow the same guidelines as the general Travel Policy.
  • Expense Reports must be submitted in U.S. dollars with an explanation and translation of the foreign receipts and their conversions.
  • Travelers must use the currency rates that were in effect on the date the expense was incurred. Travelers may use the following websites to obtain such rates: www.xe.com, www.oanda.com (for reimbursements). For charges on the Ithaca College Travel Card, use the actual amount converted to U.S. dollars.
  • Foreign transactions charged to credit cards are automatically converted to U.S. dollars. Ithaca College Travel Card transactions will incur a 1% foreign transaction fee. These fees must be included on the expense report.

Note: If a traveler does not accurately complete and receive approval of a Spend Authorization prior to travel or if the traveler did not register their travel; the college reserves the right to seek reimbursement of funds back from the traveler and/or deny out of pocket reimbursements to the traveler.

Helpful travel links