MISSION STATEMENT

Our primary mission is to provide accurate and timely service to the University community, insure compliance with policies and procedures.

100. OBJECTIVES:

1. It is our intent to provide accurate, dependable and timely service to Mississippi State University personnel involved in business related travel. This would include assistance with monetary and policy questions before or after the travel occurs, travel advances and reimbursement of incurred travel expenses.
2. It is our further intent to provide an accurate accounting for any business related travel costs on the records of Mississippi State University and to insure, within reasonable audit functions, that the recording and reimbursement of these expenses comply with applicable state and federal regulations.

200. STANDARDS:

1. ADVANCE DIRECT DEPOSITS - Upon receipt, in Travel Services, of a completed authorization requesting a travel advance we will respond in the following time frames.
   • Direct Deposit - Traveler must be setup for direct deposit in order to receive the benefits of advance direct deposits. Please see Advances and Direct Deposits on our website to get setup for Travel Direct Deposits.
2. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES - Upon receipt, in Travel Services, of a travel reimbursement request we will respond in the following time frames.
   • If the request meets all requirements for documentation, policy compliance and funds availability, a reimbursement direct deposit will be issued within 10 business days of receipt.
   • If additional information or clarification is required prior to processing the reimbursement, we will contact the traveler within 5 business days to request the necessary documentation. If the problems are not cleared within the next 3 business days after that contact the reimbursement request will be returned to the appropriate Department contact person .
3. TRAVEL RELATED QUESTIONS - Travel Services personnel will respond to any travel related question within 24 hours. If a satisfactory answer cannot be obtained in that time period we will notify the traveler of our attempts up to that point and offer an estimate of any additional time that may be required to respond.
4. TRAVEL POLICY MANUAL - Travel Services will maintain a Travel Policy Manual that details policy considerations and procedures needed by Mississippi State University travelers. This Manual will be updated, at a minimum, on a bi-annual basis and will comply with appropriate state and federal regulations.
5. TRAVEL EXPERTISE - Travel Services will take required steps to insure that its personnel are knowledgeable in travel related processes, accounting procedures, Mississippi State University policies and state and federal regulations. This knowledge base may be maintained from previous experience, in-house training, continuing education or conference attendance.

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