Rules, Regulations and Policies

Law School Student Travel and Reimbursement Policies

For a printable Adobe PDF copy of the Student Travel and Reimbursement Policies, please click here.

INTRODUCTION

Note: These policies apply to all competition teams, their coaches, and to students who are approved for Law School related programs.

These policies have been developed in order to permit the greatest number of Loyola students to participate in co-curricular activities without regard to their economic background. Loyola is committed to providing equal opportunity to all students. At the same time, we work within budgetary constraints - our resources are not unlimited. We ask that you read these policies carefully and cooperate with the spirit of their intent. They have been developed by the University and the Law School to provide as much support as possible while avoiding waste.

Adherence to these policies will help you get your reimbursement processed quickly. Please remember that you are being reimbursed from funds that you and your classmates contribute through the student activity charge. In recent years, costs have risen dramatically both because rising costs have affected hotel and airline charges, and because Loyola is entering (and winning!!) more competitions than ever. The Law School activity account (from which reimbursements are drawn) pays for a wide range of activities and has helped our students achieve prominence in many co-curricular activities, but we ask that you be responsible in your reimbursed spending so that we may be able to fund other worthwhile student programs.

Remember, you are responsible for the information within this document, and for following the procedures necessary to plan your travel and competition arrangements.

Please contact Megan Canty at MCanty@luc.edu if you have questions.

Travel Policy in Brief

Loyola will pay only for travel that has been given prior approval. Reasonable travel plans balance convenience to the traveler and the expense to the institution.

Air Travel

• If your competition or program requires air travel, you must bring the Airline Reservation Form to the Moot Court Business Director at least 45 days prior to your competition.
• If your ticket is non-refundable and you change your plans, you will be responsible for the cost of the ticket. Plan carefully!
• If, for some reason, you are unable to plan to take advantage of low cost tickets, you must pay the difference between the low cost ticket and the one you eventually receive.
• If your airline charges a fee for checking bags, remember that Loyola will only reimburse for checked luggage if you will be traveling for 4 or more days. If you are traveling for 4 or more days, Loyola will reimburse for the cost of one checked piece of luggage.
• Keep your boarding pass, because it is proof that you have used your ticket. The University will not reimburse you for other expenses if you don't include your plane ticket with your receipts. The University requires the stub as proof of travel.

Travel by Car: Rental cars and cabs

• If your competition or program is within a four hour drive, you should drive to the competition.
• If you choose to drive your own vehicle, the school will reimburse for mileage at the current rate (approximately $.55 per mile) but you will be responsible for fuel charges.
• If you rent a car to drive from Chicago to your competition, or if you rent a car for use once you reach your competition destination by plane, you must first submit the Rental Car Approval Form to Megan Canty.
• Fuel will be reimbursed for rental cars.
• Economy size is the recommended car size for four passengers.
• If you do not have a rental car and the competition venue is outside of walking distance from your hotel, reasonable transportation expenses will be reimbursed. If the competition or the hotel provides transportation to your destination, you will not be reimbursed for cabs.
• If neither your competition nor your hotel provides transportation to the competition and you do not have a rental car, you will be reimbursed for cabs to and from your competition. Cab rides to non-competition events will not be reimbursed.
• If you do not have a rental car, you are responsible for checking to see if your hotel provides a shuttle to and from the airport. If it does, you must utilize it. If your hotel does not provide a shuttle, you will be reimbursed for cabs to and from the airport.
• You will not be reimbursed for cabs to or from Chicago-area airports.
• Anything else requires Megan Canty's approval.

Travel within Chicago

Travel in Chicago in connection with student activities is not reimbursed.

Hotels

• The Moot Court Board Business Director makes all hotel reservations on behalf of teams and their coaches, however, you are responsible for submitting the Hotel Reservation Form to the Moot Court Business Director at least 45 days prior to your competition.
• When two students and/or coaches are of the same gender, they are expected to share a hotel room.
• Loyola pays for the room and tax only - no incidentals will be paid for or reimbursed.

Printing and Mailing

• You are required to contact both the Loyola Print Center (located at 837 N. State Street) and an outside printing company, such as a Kinko's, in order to determine which will be most cost effective. You must use the least expensive alternative for your printing needs.
• Once you determine where you plan to have your printing done, you must submit either the Loyola Print Center Printing Approval Form or the Outside Printing Vendor Form to Megan Canty BEFORE you have your printing done.
• In planning out your team schedule, allow for printing time. Ask the printing facility you plan to use how much time it will take to complete your print job. Some jobs are sent out and can take up to three days. Don't cut it close.
• You must follow your competition's rules for mailing briefs, exhibits, or other documents. Students are expected to use the most cost-effective mailing process available. Loyola WILL NOT pay for express, priority, or expedited shipping unless you have approval from Megan Canty PRIOR to mailing your document.
• You are expected to use your U-Pass when traveling to the post office - Loyola will not reimburse for cab rides to or from mailing locations.

Food

• Students and coaches will be reimbursed for food expenses. Each student or coach has a maximum allowance of $25 per day. That is the maximum amount each person will be reimbursed per day, and it expires at the end of each day. This means that if you spend only $15 one day, you may not spend $35 the next day.
• On days when students and coaches are traveling to or from the competition, the maximum allowance is only $15 per day.
• Loyola will not reimburse for alcohol under any circumstances. If you order alcohol during your trip, it must be on a separate receipt than the receipt that you submit for reimbursement. Please note that if alcohol charges are present on the receipt you submit for reimbursement, you will not be reimbursed for the alcohol or for ANY of the tax on the receipt.
• No reimbursement will be provided for transportation to restaurants.
• Students competing in Chicago will not be reimbursed for any food expenses.

Reimbursement Process

• You will need to submit the travel expense reimbursement form* within 2 weeks of your return to the Moot Court Board Business Director.
• Remember to attach original receipts for all reimbursements. No reimbursement will be made without an original receipt.
• If you do not submit the reimbursement form and all receipts within 2 weeks of your return, you will not be reimbursed for your expenses.

Final Notes

• Do not assume that a questionable expense will be reimbursed. ASK before you discover that something will not be reimbursed.
• There is no room for extravagance in any Loyola budgets.
• Occasionally, a source of unnecessary expense is bad planning on the part of the student. There is a limit to which planning mistakes should be reimbursed. Please plan carefully.

Thank you for your help in keeping the competition program expenses in line with our budget!

For a printable Adobe PDF copy of the Student Travel and Reimbursement Policies, please click here.

* = The form above is in the Formatta program format.