The SUNY Cobleskill Business Office is dedicated to assist travelers and process travel-related payments in a prompt, accurate, and courteous manner. This office processes travel payments consistent with policies, procedures, and guidelines established by SUNY Cobleskill, the NYS Office of the State Comptroller, SUNY, and the NYS Office of General Services. We recognize the complexity of travel policies, procedures and guidelines and strive to make travel experiences as positive as possible for members of our campus community.
It is important to note that these policies, procedures, and guidelines are recognized by the IRS as an Accountable Travel Plan. In the absence of this recognition, travel payments could be considered additional compensation which could cause extra, unnecessary tax burdens. Strict adherence to the policies, procedures, and guidelines is therefore required.
Business Affairs fully implemented an ETravel System in 2019 to replace the paper process. Etravel must be utilized by all faculty and staff for domestic travel. Business Affairs will not accept paper copies of Travel Requests. The link to ETravel is available on this page located under Forms. The instructions for use of ETravel is available on this page located under Resources.
Travel Requests for International Travel shall remain a paper process.
Approval of documentation is required at different levels and stages depending on
the type of travel and needs of the traveler:
1. Before Travel Takes Place: THE TRAVEL REQUEST
An employee must complete a Travel Request for every trip whether they are in overnight
status, or simply taking a day trip. Travel Requests identify who is traveling, where
they are going, what they are doing, when they leave and return, what expenses they
expect to incur, the funding account and a complete list of all parties traveling.
The traveler's supervisor, Director, Dean, Vice President, Provost or President should
approve an employee's travel plan and funding source before travel takes place. It
is important that all employees plan their travel, submit a completed and approved
Travel Request to the Business Office at least TWO WEEKS in advance of the date of
departure. The dollar limit is the maximum amount that will be reimbursed to the traveler.
Failure to submit a Travel Order may delay a traveler's request for reimbursement.
Please note: All out of state travel requires approval from a Dean or a Vice President.
Professional development funding requires additional approval from the department
chair of Professional Development.
2. After Travel Takes Place: THE TRAVEL VOUCHER
After travel takes place and if the traveler is due reimbursement, the traveler must
complete a Travel Voucher, attach all of their itemized receipts, obtain the signature
of their supervisor, Director, Dean Vice President, Provost or President, and send
everything to the Business Office. If a fleet vehicle is not available, and a personal
vehicle is used during a trip, personal mileage will be reimbursed. The traveler must
complete and attach a Statement of Automobile Travel Form to their Travel Voucher.
The traveler is responsible for knowing and complying with all travel guidelines.
Please note: travel reimbursement will be directly deposited into the travelers account
at their financial institution.
An employee is considered to be in travel status and eligible for reimbursement of
travel expenses (including lodging, meals, transportation, and miscellaneous travel
expenses) when an employee is assigned at a work location more than 35 miles from the travelers work station AND home. The assignments must meet a necessary business
purpose as directed and approved by appropriate personnel.
The official work station for the majority of our employees is SUNY Cobleskill, 106
Suffolk Circle, Cobleskill NY 12043. Traveling from SUNY Cobleskill to home or vice
versa is considered commuting and is not reimbursable.
Employees may choose one of two methods for reimbursement for overnight travel. Breakfast
and dinner are reimbursable meals, lunch is not.
The Unreceipted Method (Method 1) and provides a flat rate allowance for meals, lodging and incidental expenses regardless
of where lodging is obtained, including lodging with relatives or friends. Rates are
established based on the city or county where lodging is obtained or the location
to which the employee is traveling (whichever is less), and such location must be
indicated on the Travel Order. No receipts are required when using this method. Current
rates are as follows:
Location | Per Diem |
New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Westchester Counties |
$50 |
Cities of Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and their respective surrounding metropolitan Areas |
$40 |
All other locations in New York State | $35 |
Out of State (this includes any out of state tax) | $50 |
Travelers using this method may also be eligible for an additional $5.00 for breakfast
on the day of departure, if they leave at least one hour before their normal work
start time. They may also be eligible for an additional $12.00 for dinner on the day
of return if they return at least two hours later than their normal working time.
The Receipted Method (Method 2) provides reimbursement of actual lodging costs and an allowance for meals based on
federal reimbursement rates for the county of lodging. Since rates are based on location
of lodging, the city and state must be indicated on the Travel Order. Itemized receipts
are required for lodging, but not for meals.
For each day the traveler is in overnight status, the traveler is eligible for reimbursement
for lodging up to a maximum lodging per diem and a per diem allowance for meals. The
meal per diem is for dinner the first night and breakfast the following day.
Travelers using this method are also eligible for an additional per diem breakfast
if they have to leave at least one hour before their normal work start time the first
day, and/or dinner if they return at least two hours later than their normal work
ending time on the last day of travel. In these cases, breakfast and/or dinner will
be reimbursed up to the maximum amount of the meal per diem allowance specified for
the particular area of lodging.
Maximum lodging rates exclude taxes. For travel within New York State, travelers must
provide a New York State Tax Exemption Certificate (ST-129) to the hotel. For travel
outside of New York State, state and local taxes are NOT included in the maximum lodging
rate and will be reimbursed in addition to the per diem amount.
On occasion, travelers may be unable to find a hotel at a rate that does not exceed
the maximum federal lodging per diem rate for the location of travel. If that occurs,
travelers must obtain prior approval from his/her finance office to exceed the federal
rate using the SUNY Cobleskill Request to Exceed Max Lodging Rates.
The ban on travel to North Carolina has been rescinded; however, non-essential travel to Mississippi is still prohibited per Executive Order. https://www.governor.ny.gov/executive-order/no-6-continuation-and-expiration-prior-executive-orders (A. Cuomo Executive Order 156)
This travel ban applies to all travel funded by the University, State or the Research Foundation.
Travel through an airport located Mississippi to a final destination outside of Mississippi is allowed as long as there is no overnight layover in Mississippi. Travelers should avoid making airline connections through Mississippi whenever possible and cost effective.