Policy presented to streamline official UI international travel
A new international travel policy will create a process for assessing any potential issues on trips taken by members of the University of Idaho community, said Jack McIver, vice president for research and economic development.
McIver said the University International Travel Policy was created to address both the safety of travelers and UI’s compliance with export control and trade sanction regulations.
For faculty or staff to travel internationally for university business, it is required they register with the International Programs Office (IPO) and have the request reviewed by IPO, the University International Travel Emergency Team and the Office of Research and Economic Development at least 30 days prior to departure.
Any international travel not reviewed and given approval is considered non-university travel, McIver said, which is not paid for or reimbursed by UI.
McIver said in some instances export control concerns could cause a delay in approving travel plans, although he said the vast majority of plans are approved quickly.
UI affiliates traveling to foreign countries can be considered “exporters” through the items they bring with them or funds transferred, he said. In some scenarios, a license is required to take equipment — such as laptops and sensors test instruments — into a country, which could take several months to acquire, he said.
McIver presented the policy to Faculty Senate Tuesday.
Luigi Boschetti, Faculty Senate member from the College of Natural Resources, expressed concern about the 30-day requirement. He said he often travels internationally for meetings, often on short notice or with tentative dates.
“For people who travel 10-15 times a year, this might be incredibly burdensome,” Boschetti said.
He said advanced or pre-approved clearance would lessen the burden on some and decrease the chance of trips not being approved, which would require employees to cover travel expenses themselves.
McIver said there is no way to know how long licensing would take, so the only thing to do is inform employees as soon as short notice travel becomes an issue.
Katherine Aiken, interim provost and executive vice president, said there is a blanket approval process for in-state travel and perhaps something similar could be applied to select instances of international travel.
Aiken said the purpose of the policy was not to restrict travel, but for the university to be aware of it.
“We want to know where our folks are, so if something really bad happens we can help them,” Aiken said.
James Foster, Faculty Senate member from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, said he would recommend selecting pre-cleared equipment, such as his laptop.
McIver said his office could do a better job at emphasizing the need, especially for employees taking equipment overseas, to start the approval process early. He said his office could post examples of different types of equipment and when it would likely cause delays.
“We have had real problems on occasion,” McIver said.
For faculty-led student trips, the length of time for approval was increased to Dec. 1 of the prior year for fall and fall break travels, and Aug. 1 for spring through summer travels.
Jill Kellogg-Serna from IPO said the extensions in those deadlines were critical.
“There’s all kinds of issues that take some time,” she said.
Although registration is required during the year prior, Kellogg said IPO could entail preliminary plans with tentative dates.
For students traveling alone and in relation to UI, they must register in advance through the same process as employees. While study abroad deadlines vary, registration for non-study abroad travel is required at least 30 days before the trip.
However, McIver said all of the categories of travel face of the risk of not being approved in time for takeoff.
“I can’t guarantee 30-day turnaround if we have an export control problem,” McIver said.
Faculty Senate also heard an update on the international travel insurance policy.
Kellogg said the update’s purpose is to make the policy consistent with the travel policy and up-to-date with current insurance options.
She said the employee insurance policy UI has from the state is not adequate for international travel in the case of emergencies requiring travel assistance services. For this reason, Kellogg said it is recommended additional insurance be purchased.
Purchasing supplemental insurance was not previously allowed, she said, but is now an option available to traveling employees per the updated policy.
Additionally, students traveling internationally are required to purchase international medical insurance through UI if their insurance does not meet the policy’s minimum requirements.
Kellogg said the current policy costs $10 a week and includes evacuations for medical reasons, natural disasters or instances of terrorism.
“We found that it was pretty reasonable,” Kellogg said.
Katelyn Hilsenbeck can be reached at [email protected]