Travel costs charged to federal awards must comply with federal regulations, including the requirement to book the lowest economy airfare and comply with the Fly America Act. The Fly America Act requires that foreign air travel funded by the federal government be booked with U.S. flag air carriers, regardless of cost and convenience. Any exceptions to the federal requirement must receive prior written approval from the Office of Sponsored Projects and be documented in the expense report.

Train and bus transportation are encouraged whenever possible. First class train fare is only permissible with written approval from a Senior Officer.

Use of a private car service is permitted only if a valid Business Purpose precludes the use of a more economical mode of transportation. Use of a private car service is permitted at international locations if there are risk and safety concerns.

Rideshare and taxi services are reimbursable.

Travelers may rent a car if driving is the most efficient mode of transportation, the safest option, less expensive than airline or rail travel, or necessary to transport equipment or materials. Brown University’s preferred rental car agencies are National and Enterprise and must be used at all times unless they are not available to the traveler. Brown’s car rental travel portal is located here.

Travelers who routinely rent a vehicle for University business must adhere to the safeDRIVE policy.

Personal automobiles are permitted only if it is more cost-effective than other available modes of transportation, is the safest option, or if a valid Business Purpose precludes the use of a more economical mode of transportation and is reasonable under the travel circumstances. Travelers using their personal vehicles for Brown-Related Travel must be aware of and abide by Brown’s insurance and liability requirements. Reimbursement of gasoline is not allowed for travel with a personal automobile. Mileage may be reimbursed if it exceeds the traveler’s normal commute to their workplace location. Travelers will be reimbursed at the Federal Government’s prevailing rate per mile as documented in the Annual Spending Guidelines.

The foreign lodging per diem rate is permitted only when visiting countries where receipts are difficult to obtain and if the use of per diem has been pre-authorized in writing by the traveler’s supervisor.

Brown self-insures for collision damage to rental vehicles and maintains auto liability insurance through a commercial insurance carrier for damage to a third party. Additional insurance purchased is not a reimbursable expense unless approved by a Senior Officer. 

If approved, supplemental Liability and Collision Damage insurance MUST be purchased through the rental agency in the following circumstances:

• If traveling outside of the United States
• If the driver is under the age of 25 (already included in strategic supplier’s rates)
• For rental vans that carry 12 or 15 passengers (already included in strategic supplier’s rates)

Only Brown employees and students who are renting vehicles for Brown-related business are covered under the University’s insurance plan. Spouses, friends, and other non-employee listed drivers are covered only under insurance provided by the rental company or under the driver’s personal insurance. All drivers must be listed on the rental agreement in order to drive the rental. The cost of covering non-Brown University drivers is a non-reimbursable expense.

If a strategic supplier is not used, your department may face high deductibles associated with any damage or accidents. Brown’s strategic suppliers can be found here. 

Report any accidents resulting in damage to the rental, or to a third party, to the rental agency and to the InsuranceOffice@brown.edu via an auto accident report form found on the Insurance Office website within 48 hours of the accident.

Spouses and dependents of Brown faculty, staff, and students are covered under this policy in matters concerning health safety, and security and risk management only when accompanying Brown travelers on international, Brown-related business. It is the responsibility of the Brown staff, faculty, or student to note the name of their spouse and/or dependent(s) who may be accompanying them in TravelSafe. This coverage does not apply to domestic travel. (Spousal and dependent travel costs are not reimbursable expenses.)

Brown classifies travel to world destinations with elevated risk factors as High Risk Travel. Specifically, High Risk Travel is defined as: International destinations that are posted to the U.S. DOS as a Travel Advisory Level 3 or Level 4, and/or a CDC Travel Health Notice Level 2 or Level 3, and/or that are deemed as posing a significant health, safety or security risk to the traveler through advisories from International SOS.

• No undergraduate, graduate, or medical student will be required to travel to a High Risk Travel destination as part of a for-credit or noncredit program.
• Any undergraduate, graduate, or medical student travel to a destination with a High Risk Travel classification must be reviewed and approved in advance by the Global Travel Risk Assessment Committee (GTRAC).
• If an individual undergraduate, graduate, or medical student or student group is being funded by a department or unit, that department or unit must ensure that GTRAC requirements and Safety Plans in TravelSafe are in effect before authorizing travel.
• Faculty and staff traveling to a High Risk Travel destination are encouraged to complete a Safety Plan.
• If GTRAC determines that a specific location is no longer safe or is potentially a danger to the travelers’ overall health and security, the University reserves the right to order an evacuation of all Brown travelers.
• Faculty who wish to lead a group of undergraduate, graduate, or medical students to a High Risk Travel destination must first get approval from GTRAC before advertising the course/travel component and before enrolling students.

• Graduate students, in the absence of a faculty member or administrator, are prohibited from independently supervising or leading undergraduate group travel abroad.
• Faculty or staff traveling internationally with students and/or organizing experiential learning opportunities abroad must meet with International Travel Risk Management prior to making travel arrangements and advertising the travel opportunity to students.
• Group travel, regardless of the number of students, must include at least two University representatives, who may be faculty, staff, graduate student teaching assistants appointed by the faculty leader, and/or locally-based support acting on behalf of Brown. All representatives must be able to provide in-person assistance or support in the event of an emergency.
• Group leaders must remain with the group for the duration of the program abroad.
• Ground travel is not permitted to take place overnight or during nighttime hours.

All faculty, staff, and students traveling internationally are required to comply with the U.S. federal export regulations and trade sanctions, Brown's Export Control and U.S. Economic Sanctions Policy and related procedures, including but not limited to

• contacting Brown's Export Control team prior to international travel with export-controlled items/materials/technology; and
• getting authorization from Brown's Export Control team prior to traveling to comprehensively embargoed countries.

Involvement in political and/or civil protests, activities, demonstrations, or events is prohibited while on international travel.

• Under no circumstances will more than two Senior Officers be permitted to travel together, regardless of the mode of transportation.
• Vice Presidents and Deans with overlapping responsibilities should avoid group travel.
• The President, Provost, and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration are discouraged from traveling together at all, regardless of the mode of transportation.