Reimbursement Guidelines for Student Professional Meetings

Please read carefully to ensure your reimbursement is submitted accurately.

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Overview

  • Reimbursements are subject to the requirements outlined in the Guidelines for Student Professional Meetings. Please ensure that you fit into the three eligibility categories listed in the policy.
  • Students must submit an application and receive approval in order to be reimbursed for student professional meeting attendance.
  • Students may be reimbursed for varying amounts as stated in the Guidelines for Student Professional Meetings.
  • Receipts for reimbursement should be submitted within 14 days of the last day of the meeting via the Student Professional Meetings Reimbursement Submission Form and must include the documents and receipts as outlined below. Reimbursement requests will not be accepted prior to the meeting.
  • All reimbursements go through the campus controller’s office which requires strict documentation for reimbursement. Please make sure to carefully read the information below or your reimbursement request will be returned to you for correction/more information.
  • Note: We cannot reimburse for any expenses paid for with a gift card.

Student requirements for travel reimbursement to conferences or professional meetings

Step 1

Gather your receipts and locate the professional meeting agenda or itinerary.

Step 2

Create your PDF for upload:

  • All documentation and receipts must be included and uploaded to the form in separate PDFs.
  • All students must include the conference/professional meeting itinerary/or agenda. This must include the name of the event, date, and agenda/itinerary.
  • All receipts submitted for reimbursement must include name, date of payment and proof-of-payment (exception: your name does not need to be on the following: taxis, shuttles, BART, other public transportation).
  • At minimum, a student must submit their registration receipt for their meeting registration.
  • In addition to the registration receipt, include any other receipts for expenses that take them up to the amount of their approved OSACA funding. Once you have equaled or exceeded the approved amount, you do not need to submit any further receipts.

Example

A student has been approved for $500 of OSACA funding. Their conference registration fee is $200. Their airfare ticket cost was $350. They are also paying $650 for lodging at a hotel and sharing the cost with several students.

  • The registration and airfare expenses alone exhaust the $500 of OSACA funding, so the student only needs to submit those two receipts that total up to $550 because they equal or exceed the approved funding amount.
  • They do not need to bother submitting receipts from lodging, which are more complex as per the requirements below, or any additional expenses because these costs lie beyond the $500.
  • Students should select the “easiest” receipts to submit to OSACA for reimbursement, ensuring that a registration receipt is at least one of them.

Reimbursement table

This table provides guidance on the receipts you need to provide and what to include with your reimbursement PDF upload.

Only the categories listed below are eligible for reimbursement. Categories not shown below (parking, food, etc.) are not eligible. We cannot reimburse for any expenses paid for with a gift card.

Type of reimbursement

Notes and restrictions

Receipt requirements

Registration

Must provide agenda or conference itinerary.

Itemized receipt

Airfare

Only book coach and economy class airfare (no premium/preferred seats – e.g., Economy Plus).

Airline receipt showing name, itinerary, last four digits of credit card payment and class of fare.

Note: If using credit from a previous flight, you must also submit documentation from the previous fight showing your name, payment information and the credit issued.

Lodging

Reimbursements are issued to the student whose name is on the reservation or statement and who paid for lodgings.

If multiple hotel rooms are needed, rooms should be booked on an individual basis. (That is, one student should not book multiple rooms and put the deposit on a credit card for reimbursement).

If a room is shared by multiple students who have all been awarded funding, the funds will be deducted from each student’s approved amount and applied to the person who paid for the lodging.

An itemized hotel folio or itemized statement (e.g. Airbnb, Travelocity) of the room charges & tax that shows name, date(s) of stay, and proof of payment in full/zero balance.

Ground Transportation

Taxi, shuttle, public transportation is allowed. Luxury ride share services, such as Uber Black or Lyft Lux are NOT reimbursable.

Receipt with date, start and end destination.

Train

Only book coach and economy class train fare.

Receipt that shows name, itinerary, amount and method- proof-of-payment and fare class.

Private Vehicle (Mileage reimbursement)

You may drive to a professional meeting if it is the most economical option available to you. If the Controller’s office determines that it would have been less expensive to fly to the destination than to drive, they will reimburse for the lower cost only.

If sharing a car, only the driver/owner of the vehicle may be reimbursed for mileage. The mileage rate for business-related travel is 65.5 cents per mile effective January 1, 2023.

Gas is not reimbursable.

Document showing route taken on Google Maps.

Step 3

Fill out the Student Professional Meetings Reimbursement Request Form (you will upload your PDF on this form) and submit.

Additional notes regarding method/proof-of-payment

  • Payments made in cash must be noted on your receipt by the vendor receiving payment and must include your name.
  • If payment was made by check, a copy of the front and back of the canceled/cashed check is required.
  • If a third party pays for your registration/travel/lodging (parent, spouse, friend), a reimbursement cannot be issued to you. A reimbursement can be issued to another UCSF student who incurred the expense on your behalf, but we cannot issue reimbursements to anyone outside the UCSF community.
  • Payments made via PayPal or Venmo will not be accepted for reimbursement.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the reimbursement process or required documentation, please contact Leslie Chocano Solis in the OSACA at [email protected]


Revised June 2023