Travel & Special Entertainment

Last Updated: March 7, 2025

Prior Approval for Travel and Entertainment Policy Exceptions

Per July 22, 2026, email from IEVC Continetti to Deans and Assitant Deans:

Faculty, staff, and administrators are expected to plan travel and entertainment activities within applicable University of California policy limits. The relevant policies are here for your reference: BUS-79 Bus mtgs Entertainment and G-28 Travel Regulations.

When available information indicates that an expense is reasonably expected to exceed a UC policy limit, approval of an exception must be requested before the reservation, contract, purchase, or other financial commitment is made. This requirement applies regardless of the anticipated amount or percentage by which the policy limit will be exceeded.

Submitting Prior Approval Requests

Requests should briefly identify the below points and be sent to Mary McNally, AVC-FA at m1mcnally@ucsd.edu:

• the business purpose;
• the applicable policy limit;
• the projected cost;
• the reason the excess is necessary or unavoidable;
• any reasonable alternatives considered;
• the proposed funding source; and
• supporting documentation, such as a conference agenda, conference hotel rate, venue proposal, or vendor estimate.

Requests involving an official conference hotel, unavoidable conference-site costs, donor or corporate-relations activities, accessibility or safety needs, or a lack of reasonably available alternatives will be reviewed quickly with an abbreviated approval process.

Requests involving substantial excesses, premium accommodations, unusual entertainment, restricted funding sources, or recurring exceptions may require additional review and documentation.

After-the-fact exception requests will be considered when the excess could not reasonably have been anticipated or when emergency or materially changed circumstances made prior approval impracticable. Such requests must explain both why the expense was reasonable and necessary and why prior approval could not be obtained.

Please review and share this with your teams.