Resources - Travel-related IRA Activities

Booking Travel for IRA Supported Activities

  • Please review all Risk Management guidelines and have the participants fill out liability waiver forms (Release of Liability )
  • Please be aware that effective May 7, 2025, a new federally-compliant identification method will be required, known as “Real ID,” in order to board a domestic flight within the U.S. As this applies to all passengers 18 years of age or older, please notify your students (and/or traveling faculty) as far in advance of 5/7/25 as possible to allow for processing time before any air travel after this date.
  • It is imperative that trip sponsors plan ahead, as there will be no exceptions to these requirements nor signature approvals after the fact. Last minute signature requirements will not be fulfilled by either the Provost or President (if needed).

Step-By-Step List of “To-Do” Items:

1) Create a List of Participants

Ensure that your students have enrolled in the class, and that they have paid any course/lab fee (if applicable). Ask your students for their full name, as it appears on their form of identification (e.g. driver’s license, passport), their birth date, and their gender (per TSA requirements). Include yourself (faculty) on this list. You may want this list on a simple Excel spreadsheet for easy reference.

 2) For Air Travel

  • Use Certify or the Cal Travel Store to book your flights. These options allow for direct campus payment of airfare.  As a general guide, the Cal Travel Store is used for groups of 10 or more.  Cal Travel has live travel agents that you can speak with to help you plan different flight options.  Laura Wilson at 877-454-8785 x48 or Steve McCain at 877-454-8785 x10 will be happy to assist you, and can even help you arrange for car rentals (note that Cal Travel does not provide direct billing for hotels).
  • To use Cal Travel, please fill out a CIT Request Form, attach your List of Participants and send to Procurement and Contract Services.  This will set up a CIT Number, which is what our campus uses to direct pay the Cal Travel Store.  You will then provide Cal Travel with the CIT# to complete your booking.

 3) For Hotels/Lodging

  • Since most university credit cards have restrictions on travel-related expenses, you will need to plan accordingly.  Please allow enough lead time for our campus to send the hotel a direct payment via check or wire transfer (i.e. 3-4 weeks); new vendors will need to fill out a Form 204 to get them set up in our vendor payee system, which you can send to your hotel contact in advance.  Hotels may request a credit card number as a hold for incidental charges, in which case please consider Item #5 on this list.
  • Please note that the per-night maximum lodging rate is determined by destination per new travel policy.  For base rates higher than this, a lodging exception will have to be applied for (please route these to our Procurement and Contract Services, if applicable).  Consideration will be given to the location in which the lodging occurs, and justifications may include the necessity to stay within certain facilities (e.g. near or adjacent to meetings or other activities for which travel was approved).

 4) Ground Transportation

  • Our campus uses Smart Shuttle and Pegasus Transit for ground transportation, and you may contact them for a price quote.  Please note that there is a high demand for shuttles, please allow ample lead time to secure your request (3-4 weeks recommended).  These authorized transportation providers will generally request this info to fulfill your request.
  • For car rentals, our campus has a direct billing arrangement with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.  Please use our campus billing code, “XZCA556,” and refer to our public shared network folder for further instructions at Z:\Enterprise Rental Codes.  The Cal Travel Store can also help you book car rentals via Enterprise.
  • If using a personal vehicle, fill out a CA STD 261- Private Vehicle Use(PDF, 112KB) form in advance.

 5) Covering Incidental Costs

6) Personal Credit Cards

Using a personal credit card is not a preferred method due to the amount of the total expense and/or potential wait time for reimbursement. As no reimbursement will be issued in advance of the trip, please submit any reimbursement claim via the Travel Expense Claim Form (PDF, 211KB) within 30 days after the travel date.

 7) For trips to the Santa Rosa Island Research Station (SRIRS)

Effective immediately, Island-related travel requests are no longer processed through the annual IRA application process. For detailed instructions on applying for trips, please visit the Santa Rosa Island Research Station webpage. Please contact SRIRS directly if you have specific questions about proposed activities at the station. 

8) International Travel (UNIV 392)

  • Please contact the Center for International Affairs for more information about taking students on an international trip as part of a UNIV 392 course.  Typically, applications are submitted to the Center for International Affairs in the beginning of the Fall semester for activities in the following Fall or later.

For more detailed information on all aspects of university travel, please see our CSUCI Travel Procedures and Regulations. 

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