What travel regulations control travel by Virginia Tech employees?

State law and University policy control reimbursement of travel costs. The Virginia Code authorizes reimbursement of reasonable and necessary travel expenditures of persons conducting official business of the Commonwealth. The University policy allows for reimbursement of meals on a per diem basis and reimbursement of lodging on a paid receipt basis (depending upon the location of your travel). (Controller's Office Travel page)

Do the federal travel regulations apply to Virginia Tech?

No.The federal government employees travel expenses are covered by Joint Travel Regulations (JTRs) or by Federal Travel Regulations (FTRs), depending upon the particular agency. The federal contracts normally limit contractor/subcontractor travel costs to those allowed by the JTRs or FTRs.Neither apply to Virginia Tech.

As an educational institute, Virginia Tech is subject to OMB Circular A-2l. Cost Principles for Educational Institutions. Under federal contracts, travel “costs may be charged on an actual basis, on a per diem or mileage basis in lieu of actual costs incurred, or on a combination of the two, provided the method used is applied to an entire trip and not to selected days of the trip, results in reasonable charges, and is in accordance with the institution’s travel policy and practices consistently applied to all institutional travel activities.”(OMB Circular A-21, J48.)

Are there other restrictions on travel costs?

Yes.Individual contracts may contain not-to-exceed limits on total travel under the contract and/or budget period.For grants, OMB Circular A-110 says that you cannot spend more than 125% of your travel without getting federal approval. (Dave—check this out) Be careful when incorporating budgets within your contract that you are not agreeing to a not-to-exceed amount for individual items of the budget.Make sure the budgeted travel is included as estimated amounts.

Exception from Federal Travel Regulations

As an educational institution, Virginia Tech is subject to the cost principles of OMB Circular A-21 and not the federal travel regulations. Travel costs are allowed if in accordance with the institution's travel policy and practices. Virginia Tech can agree to comply with travel costs as allowable by OMB Circular A-21.