Travel Award FAQ | Summer Institutes

One or more of the legs of my airline itinerary is for my personal travel before or after the Summer Institutes. Can I still be reimbursed?

Yes, you can. To validate your claim, you must obtain an airfare search result for a “business days only” roundtrip Home-Seattle at the same time that you book your real airfare. The itinerary should show the fare for us to compare with your actual fare. Submit both itineraries at the time of reimbursement. We will reimburse whichever is lower. Refer to provided examples of actual fares and comparison fares. Note that the actual fare receipt must show that the amount was paid (i.e., reflect a $0 balance).

If you know that the first part of your attendance will use up the funds provided by your travel award, you may submit your reimbursement request before you attend the second part. Otherwise, within the limits of your travel award, you will be reimbursed as described elsewhere in this FAQ and in accordance with University policies.

You can and will be reimbursed for mileage but only up to the lowest round-trip airfare available two weeks or more prior to your arrival in Seattle. See page one for required documentation. Failure to provide the required documentation will prevent us from reimbursing this claim.

If you stay at a commercial lodging facility other than a hotel, it must be supported by a tax ID number or published advertisement. The facility must be available to the general public to qualify as commercial lodging. The folio/receipt should include your name, rate per night, number of nights, taxes, and fees. You should also provide evidence that you paid the bill yourself. Refer to an example of an Airbnb receipt.

Per diem is the amount of money allocated for meals per day (no receipts required). It is set by the US federal government and published at the GSA website. You may claim per diem for days you travel to and from the Institutes and the days that you are actually in class. Per diem may be prorated if travel or module attendance is less than a full day.

You may claim reimbursement for a travel day prior to and after your Summer Institutes module(s). You may not claim reimbursement for off-days between modules. This also means that weekends are not claimable except as noted above.

Rental car costs are limited to $150.00 and will be reimbursed in lieu of a round trip between Seatac Airport and the UW/hotel.

We will do our best to have it to you in 6-8 weeks. Having the correct receipts and other information will speed the processing of your reimbursement.

Whether or not the other person is a Summer Institute attendee, he or she should complete a travel reimbursement request, noting that the claim is for someone else. What you MUST NOT do is have that person pay for a reservation in your name or you pay for a reservation in the other person’s name. We cannot reimburse either of these receipts per University rules.

Yes. Your institution will need to already have or establish a vendor relationship with the University of Washington. The invoice should include your name, travel award amount and registration order number as well as the backup receipts. Please have them contact us for further instructions and assistance.

Yes. Please submit your reimbursement request as soon as you can. In 2017, we processed over 350 requests. Due to fiscal deadlines, we must receive your request no later than September 30, 2018. Unless you have made prior arrangements, requests received after that date cannot be processed.

Yes. Your travel award is allocated per module and is tied to a particular institute. If you cancel a module or change modules to a different institute after receiving the award(s), it may invalidate your scholarship and/or travel award.