[phas-faculty_staff_others] Concur and Foreign Travel
Bao-An Li
Bao-An.Li at tamuc.edu
Fri Mar 8 11:24:33 CST 2019
My two cents: depending on how strictly/flexibly the rules are being implemented. If they simply decline our requests if we are late, or require us to do things like writing a letter to the president (the last letter I was forced to write to our late president was to apologize and explain why I was about 1 week later than 45 days to apply for the foreign travel authorization), then keep the current 15 days is great. Normally, we file our requests long before the 15-days deadline. It is only for special situations when we may have to travel abroad on short notice. Also, as we are using more technologies, such as the available functions of Concur that other universities have been using for a long time already, I thought we can do things at least as efficiently as we do now. So I do not understand why we have to go back to the 45-days deadline. I also have an opposite example: I received an invitation about 1.5 months ago to give a talk in a big meeting in Armenia this September, and I want to make a stop to visit a collaborator in Georgia. But I am not sure if the two countries are on any warning list for nuclear physicists/US citizens. I sent an email to some people/office in the administration to request a quick check for me before I decide to accept the invitation or not. Nobody bothered to give me an answer.
Thanks
Bao-An
________________________________
From: phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu [phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu] on behalf of Matt Wood [Matt.Wood at tamuc.edu]
Sent: Friday, March 08, 2019 10:50 AM
To: Kurtis Williams; Carlos Bertulani
Cc: phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu
Subject: Re: [phas-faculty_staff_others] Concur and Foreign Travel
Taking John out of this as he’s got bigger problems.
Carlos, Bao-An, et al.: What do you think is reasonable for a timeline of international travel? If it was up to you to make the rule that the entire university would follow, what would you choose?
Matt
Matt A. Wood, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Research and
Dean of the Graduate School
Texas A&M University-Commerce
Commerce, TX 75429
O: 903.886.5160 M: 903.269.6682
On Mar 8, 2019, at 10:20 AM, Kurtis Williams <Kurtis.Williams at tamuc.edu<mailto:Kurtis.Williams at tamuc.edu>> wrote:
Hi Carlos et al,
Already this morning I’ve brought Matt Wood in his role as Vice Provost for Research in on this issue; he, Jeremy, and Sarah Baker are going to discuss this issue together and then get back to us. I will keep everyone informed as I hear anything.
The change to procedure is not yet implemented, so as of right now paper-based foreign travel documentation and existing deadlines are still in force.
Cheers,
Kurtis
Dr. Kurtis A. Williams
Associate Professor
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Texas A&M University-Commerce
kurtis.williams at tamuc.edu<mailto:kurtis.williams at tamuc.edu>
(903) 886-5516
On Mar 8, 2019, at 9:51 AM, Carlos Bertulani <Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu<mailto:Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu>> wrote:
Hi Jeremy,
Thank you for your concern. I appreciate that you propose to talk.
Unfortunately, I am extremely busy and I do not have time to talk about this topic because we all know that when you leave the administration, whatever you decide now will be changed again by another incoming administrator. Time is the most precious thing in everyone's life.
Carlos
-----Original Message-----
From: Jeremy Gamez <Jeremy.Gamez at tamuc.edu<mailto:Jeremy.Gamez at tamuc.edu>>
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2019 at 11:42 PM
To: Carlos Bertulani <Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu<mailto:Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu>>
Cc: Stephen Starnes <Stephen.Starnes at tamuc.edu<mailto:Stephen.Starnes at tamuc.edu>>
Subject: Re: FW: [phas-faculty_staff_others] Concur and Foreign Travel
Hello, Dr. Bertulani.
Thank you for your feedback. One additional follow up: how often does your or your colleagues' international travel occur?
If you would like to discuss further, I would be more than happy to find a time that works for both of us. -Jer
Jeremy G. Gamez | Business Technical Analyst
Office of the Provost & V.P. of Academic Affairs
sent by Google Pixel
On Mar 7, 2019 11:10 PM, Carlos Bertulani <Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu<mailto:Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu>> wrote:
FYI.
Carlos
-----Original Message-----
From: <phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu<mailto:phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu>> on behalf of Carlos Bertulani <Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu<mailto:Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu>>
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2019 at 11:05 PM
To: Bao-An Li <Bao-An.Li at tamuc.edu<mailto:Bao-An.Li at tamuc.edu>>, Kurtis Williams <Kurtis.Williams at tamuc.edu<mailto:Kurtis.Williams at tamuc.edu>>, "phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu<mailto:phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu>" <phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu<mailto:phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu>>
Cc: John Humphreys <John.Humphreys at tamuc.edu<mailto:John.Humphreys at tamuc.edu>>, Brent Donham <Brent.Donham at tamuc.edu<mailto:Brent.Donham at tamuc.edu>>
Subject: Re: [phas-faculty_staff_others] Concur and Foreign Travel
The president at the time (Keck) sent me an email with copy to the Dean and the Provost about the new 15 days policy after months of deliberations (please read the two emails attached below and pay attention to the dates).
I am not sure if I understand what is going on now.
Carlos
-----Original Message-----
From: <employees-bounces at tamuc.edu<mailto:employees-bounces at tamuc.edu>> on behalf of Faculty/Staff
Reply-To: "reply_to_employees_list at tamu-commerce.edu<mailto:reply_to_employees_list at tamu-commerce.edu>"
Date: Monday, October 16, 2017 at 11:43 AM
To: "'employees at tamuc.edu<mailto:employees at tamuc.edu>'"
Subject: [Faculty & Staff] Foreign Travel Changes
If you will be traveling internationally, you are required to submit a
foreign travel request. This request must be received by the Office of the President prior to your travel. The required documents can be found here:
http://www.tamuc.edu/facultyStaffServices/travelOffice/foreignTravel.as<http://www.tamuc.edu/facultyStaffServices/travelOffice/foreignTravel.as>
px
<http://www.tamuc.edu/facultyStaffServices/travelOffice/foreignTravel.a
spx>
After receiving email confirmation (and an electronic copy of your
fully executed Request for Foreign Travel form and all other documentation), you have been approved and may begin to book international travel. Please note that any airfare booked before a foreign travel request has been approved will not be ticketed,
possibly resulting in rate changes and the loss of a held seat.
President Keck has approved some changes to this process, which have been listed below:
·
Foreign travel requests (with all documentation completed) must be
received by the Office of the President at least
15 days prior to travel. If traveling to a high risk country, requests
(with all documentation completed) must be received by the Office of
the President at least
30 days prior to travel. The Department of Campus Operations & Safety (Derek Preas) has the most up-to-date information on high risk countries. Check with your department for any internal deadlines. Requests not submitted by this deadline may be rejected.
·
The Foreign Travel Checklist must be included in all foreign travel requests.
·
Required trainings must have been completed less than one year prior to
the trip return date.
·
The same rules/documents apply to Canada and Mexico.
·
Foreign travel must be booked through the Concur eTravel system or
directly with a Corporate Travel Planner (CTP) agent, who can also assist with large group travel. Any travel booked through other means will not be reimbursed.
o
If booking through Concur is not possible (for example, your conference
hotel is not found in Concur), please document this in your Concur authorization request and include a brief explanation.
o
All airfare should be booked through Concur.
If you will be traveling internationally or on a regular basis, it is recommended that you attend a Concur training session. You can register for a session through Training & Development:
http://appsprod.tamuc.edu/td/coursecalendar.aspx
To contact a CTP agent to assist you in booking travel, please call
877-727-5188. Please note that there is a nominal fee to your department for using this service.
Any requests submitted by the traveler to their department head on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 or after will operate under the rules above.
Amanda C. Brown
│
Assistant to the Chief of Staff
Office of the President
Amanda.Brown at tamuc.edu<mailto:Amanda.Brown at tamuc.edu>
P.O. Box 3011 │ Commerce, TX 75429
McDowell Administration Building (BA) 295 Phone 903.886.5009 │ Fax
903.886.5010 www.tamuc.edu<http://www.tamuc.edu/> <http://www.tamuc.edu<http://www.tamuc.edu/>> <http://www.tamuc.edu/>
Texas A&M University-Commerce
-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Keck <Ray.Keck at tamuc.edu<mailto:Ray.Keck at tamuc.edu>>
Date: Friday, June 2, 2017 at 11:01 AM
To: Carlos Bertulani <Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu<mailto:Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu>>
Cc: John Humphreys <John.Humphreys at tamuc.edu<mailto:John.Humphreys at tamuc.edu>>
Subject: RE: Request
Dear Carlos,
Yesterday's discussion suffered from a lot of misinformation. After the meeting, we looked into where the System and their rules are at present. As it happens, we no longer need to send the Chancellor these documents, so the 45-day window is not necessary.
Our forms were devised and printed some time ago, when expectations and requirements were quite different.
We do need some advance planning, however, to ensure that trainings are finished and all documentation is in place. Your dean will soon get a new set of guidelines that will greatly simplify these matters.
I apologize for this situation which, had we understood it, could have been altered some time ago. Ray
Ray M. Keck III, PhD
President
Texas A&M University-Commerce
P.O. Box 3011
Commerce, TX 75429
903-886-5011
Ray.keck at tamuc.edu<mailto:Ray.keck at tamuc.edu>
-----Original Message-----
From: <phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu<mailto:phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu>> on behalf of Bao-An Li <Bao-An.Li at tamuc.edu<mailto:Bao-An.Li at tamuc.edu>>
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2019 at 3:24 PM
To: Kurtis Williams <Kurtis.Williams at tamuc.edu<mailto:Kurtis.Williams at tamuc.edu>>, "phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu<mailto:phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu>" <phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu<mailto:phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu>>
Cc: Brent Donham <Brent.Donham at tamuc.edu<mailto:Brent.Donham at tamuc.edu>>
Subject: Re: [phas-faculty_staff_others] Concur and Foreign Travel
It took us tons of emails even involving the former president to get the administration to simplify/shorten the approval process over the last few years. It seems that we were just
wasting time....
________________________________________
From: phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu<mailto:phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu> [phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu<mailto:phas-faculty_staff_others-bounces at tamuc.edu>] on behalf of Kurtis Williams [Kurtis.Williams at tamuc.edu<mailto:Kurtis.Williams at tamuc.edu>]
Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2019 3:15 PM
To: phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu<mailto:phas-faculty_staff_others at tamuc.edu>
Subject: [phas-faculty_staff_others] Concur and Foreign Travel
Y’all aren’t going to like the response I received to the question about 30-day vs 15-day foreign travel approval through Concur, so I‘m just forwarding the message to you. We can discuss this and how to proceed at the faculty meeting on Monday.
BTW, when Stephen says “they do not fully understand” he is referring to the Technology folks, not the faculty. I misread that the first few times.
Cheers,
Kurtis
Dr. Kurtis A. Williams
Associate Professor
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Texas A&M University-Commerce
kurtis.williams at tamuc.edu<mailto:kurtis.williams at tamuc.edu>
(903) 886-5516
Begin forwarded message:
From: Stephen Starnes
Hi Kurtis,
I spoke with Jeremy Gamez yesterday regarding the travel issue. I have copied Jeremy on this e-mail. He indicated that he is more than happy to come to the Physics department to talk with the faculty about the issue - particularly if it is an issue
that mainly
impacts just a few faculty.
It is my understanding that they do not fully understand how the 15 day policy came about and may question why 15 day approval is needed. It is also my understanding that for travel to safe areas, the 30 day approval before travel will be the standard
policy
(note: this is not 30 day submission of a request before travel but instead 30-day approval before the travel so in reality the travel request would have to be made about 6 weeks in advance of travel).
Jeremy did note that with the travel request routing using Concur, a faculty member will always know at which stage in the approval process the travel request is, so the faculty member would be able to contact the individual whose desk the request is
at in
order to try and expedite the process.
I will let Jeremy correct any mistakes that I made. Please do have the Physics department meet with Jeremy if there are concerns.
Stephen
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