As part of the non-academic program review process, we have reviewed the Canisius Travel Policy, which was originally launched in fall 2012. It became increasingly apparent that the original policy and the website used to book travel needed to be recalibrated to better respond to the needs of our travelers and those making travel arrangements.
Throughout this review, I have stressed that the college needs a mechanism in place that will allow us to (1) account for all persons traveling on college-related business to discharge our legal duty of care, and (2) establish fair and consistent travel practices across the campus.
A team comprised of Jim Beardi, Dean Pavlakis, Dennis Misko, and Deborah Winslow-Schaber, spent several months meeting with many members of the campus community, especially our most frequent travelers, and The Travel Team to understand the issues and concerns and develop reasonable solutions. They have held meetings with academic units, administrative departments, athletics, international travelers and others that yielded significant feedback that has been incorporated into the revised policy. I am satisfied that there has been broad consultation with the campus community on this policy and that most concerns have been adequately addressed.
In addition, the team compared the cost benefits and services provided by The Travel Team with others, including the most popular online discount travel sites. The team compared trips booked through The Travel Team and through other travel sites and demonstrated again and again that The Travel Team delivered fares and services that were at least as cheap or cheaper than competitive sites. I am satisfied that The Travel Team offers us an opportunity to save money and provide a range of services that will make travel more convenient and safe.
Attached is the college’s revised Travel Policy and Procedures that detail the guidelines and practices for requesting travel, making arrangements, duty of care, reimbursement, and reporting/monitoring expenses related to travel.
No policy can address every conceivable situation and I am aware that there are certain types of academic trips that our members of our faculty take with students that might not neatly fit within the policy guidelines. In promulgating this policy, I am according the academic deans and the academic vice president the necessary discretion to approve exceptions to the policy for nonconforming trips. Requests for exceptions should be made through the approval process and must address how the college’s duty of care will be discharged. I should stress that I do not expect that exceptions will become the rule; nonetheless, as the policy is implemented and we are able to better categorize the types of exceptions that are warranted, we will consider revisions to the policy.
Faculty and administrators are encouraged to read the attached documents carefully and attend a training session. Click here to view Travel Policy Procedures. Click here to view Travel Policy Questions. Members of The Travel Team will be on hand the following dates to talk about the changes to the program and walk you through the procedures:
Tuesday, November 12 10:00-12:00 Regis (both), 2:30-4:30 Regis North
Wednesday, November 13 3:00-5:00 Regis South
I am grateful to all of those who led and contributed to this review process and the relaunch of the program.
Submitted by: President John J. Hurley
