Macalester College Travel Policy, Procedure, and Funding Request

General

All College related student travel must be submitted to capture contact information in case of an emergency and to assure that the travel plans are safe, well planned, and meet the College’s risk management guidelines. Requests for travel funding are also evaluated to determine whether there is an educational component that aligns with Macalester's mission. Student travel is considered College travel if ANY of the following apply:

• Travel is 50 miles or more from campus
• Travel is overnight
• College or student government funds are used to support travel
• Travel is to participate in an event on behalf of or using the name of the college

If College funding is being requested, College vans are strongly recommended for ground travel due to liability and insurance concerns.

Funding

All funding for College travel must come from the Travel Grant Fund. Although many academic departments and campus offices would like to support student travel, their budgets are not designed for this purpose. This is why a central funding source for College student travel has been established. The Travel Grant Fund is comprised of both College funds as well as MCSG funds to fund different kinds of travel. The Travel Grant Fund Committee is Chaired by the Director of Campus Life and its membership includes the Director of Academic Programs, the MCSG Financial Affairs Chair, two additional staff members appointed by the Dean of Students, and two additional students appointed by the MCSG Financial Affairs Chair.

Student groups can submit requests for funds to support travel related to their chartered organizational purpose. Individual students may also request funds to support travel to present at academic conferences, research symposium, or other College related activities with the support of a faculty or staff member. If more than one student is attending an academic conference, please submit a single application as a group.

The Travel Grant Fund Committee considers each individual funding request based on its individual merits and connection to the mission of the College. However, in an effort to be fair and consistent funding for student organization related travel is typically limited to approximately $50 per person. Because of an inability to share costs, a typical allocation for individuals presenting at an academic conference has been approximately $350. Additional funds will be considered with reasonable rationale. Students may not receive funding for multiple trips, however, requests for additional trip funding will be considered near the end of the academic year, pending funding availability. Travel Grant Fund allocations are made for each academic year and it is possible that later in the academic year funds could be unavailable.

Submitting a Travel Request

Please submit as early as possible - and no later than 3 weeks before event. A single request should be made for each trip and include information about each student traveling, rather than separate applications for each student. The Travel Grant Fund Committee reviews applications via email on a weekly basis. Requests submitted before 9am on Monday morning will be considered that week and a decision is usually made by the end of that week.

Excused Absences

Please note that approval of travel and or funding for travel does not constitute an excused absence from class. It is each students responsibility to make specific arrangements for course attendance as needed. Please refer to the policy on excused absences in the Student Handbook.

For further information please contact Keith Edwards, Director of Campus Life at kedward2@macalester.edu.