Travel and Lodging
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Visit reimbursement
The best way to evaluate a grad program is to visit, but that can get expensive. Let us help! Details on reimbursement coverage and procedures are provided on this page.
Accordions
Following your visit
Please keep all receipts pertaining to your visit expenses (in particular, airline ticket receipts, boarding passes, taxi fares, gasoline receipts, toll road and parking fees, etc.).
Upon your return home, please download and complete the necessary Post-Trip form.
This completed form, along with scans of receipts, is required to begin processing travel reimbursement. This information should be submitted no later than 30 days after the travel dates. Please be sure to make a copy of your receipts for your records.
Please email the forms and receipts to me at the department address below by Monday, April 22, 2024.
Mark Cooper
614-292-7280
E-mail
Important:
- Reimbursement up to the limit stated will be provided.
- Receipts
Receipts are to show proof of payment by the traveler typically by displaying the last four digits of the credit card used for payment. The receipt should provide the amount and date of payment, as well.
Meal receipts should show date and time of meal as well as a listing of what was purchased.
If seeking a meal per diem, please indicate what meals were provided by the hotel and/or the MSE department. - Reimbursement will only be provided to guests who attend the entire event (i.e., both days). The purpose of the event is provide guests with an overview of the graduate programs in MSE & WE. Thus absence from a significant portion of the event hinders the guest's full understanding of our program.
- Your reimbursement request must be received by Monday, April 22, 2024. Reimbursement requests received after this date may be refused. While we will make every effort to speed the reimbursement process, this can be a somewhat lengthy procedure. Following submission of all documentation your reimbursement check should be mailed to you in 2-4 weeks.
We have reserved individual rooms for our guests at The Graduate, a hotel about 10 mins from the department. We will provide lodging only for guests who have registered for the Graduate Program Overview.
Check-in 3/21, check-out 3/23--Please note that our reservations are for Thursday night, 3/21, and Friday night, 3/22, only; we ask the guest to make any additional lodging reservations if required by travel plans.
The Graduate
750 N High St
Columbus, OH 43215
614 484 1900
Reserving a room
After registering for the event, guests requiring lodging will be provided a link to reserve a room at The Graduate.
Shuttle
A shuttle will be provided Friday morning, 3/22, to take guests from The Graduate to OSU then back to The Graduate at the end of the day, at approximately 7:30 p.m. A shuttle will pick up our guests Saturday morning, 3/23, and will not return guests to the hotel, so bags should be brought on the shuttle to campus.
Notes:
- Lodging will be provided only for guests outside of the Central Ohio area.
- The guest should check-in on Thursday, 3/21, at The Graduate.
- Guests should check out Saturday morning, 3/23, and bring their bags with them to OSU as there will not be a return shuttle to the hotel.
- Our guests will be provided with two nights of lodging, 3/21 & 22 (with check out on 3/23); if travel plans require additional lodging we ask the guest to make those arrangements. Such additional lodging costs may be petitioned for reimbursement within the reimbursement amount allowed by the MSE program.
- Any charges made to the room are the responsibility of the guest.
- Car rental while in Columbus for guests flying to the Overview. A guest who flew to Columbus may rent a car while staying in Columbus, if helpful, though the MSE department will not reimburse this cost.
Approval of airfare costs is required before purchase.
It is important to submit a Pre-Trip form detailing proposed costs as quickly as possible so we may, in turn, review and provide approval to go ahead with the purchase.
Reimbursement of "lowest reasonable" travel expenses is permitted by the university. If you are within a reasonable driving distance of OSU--considered to be within a 5-hour drive of OSU--we encourage you to drive rather than fly. Put another way, if it is less expensive to drive than to fly, the reimbursement will be the lower of the two amounts. Reimbursement for driving costs is available for qualifying guests. Further driving information is found in the Driving section below.
Reimbursement for Economy class seating only. The university's policy is to reimburse guests for "Economy" class seating. Seating that is Economy Plus, Business, or First Class will not be reimbursed.
A number of internet travel companies are available that can help you find the lowest fares for your travel. A search for on-line flight reservation sites will provide many options.
Travel cancellation insurance & baggage fees
Weather in the Spring can be messy, with flights delayed or canceled at the last minute. Guests may wish to purchase travel cancellation insurance. The MSE department will not reimburse guests for the cost of this insurance; this is an optional expense. Such insurance is something guests may wish to consider, though, as the MSE department will not reimburse guests who do not attend the Overview.
Given the short duration of the Overview, checked baggage fees will not be reimbursed.
John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH)
Link to the John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) web site.
Provides terminal layout, arrival information, weather, etc.
Ride-Services
If you are flying into Columbus, and will be hiring a driver (Uber, taxi, etc.) from the airport to the hotel, you'll need money for the driver fare (approximately $40-$60 one-way from the airport to the OSU area, plus tip). As mentioned above, please be sure to get a receipt for your fare.
Directions to the Overview
For those who are driving, please use the Tuttle Parking Garage as your destination address:
2050 Tuttle Park Pl.
Columbus, OH 43210
Walking directions from the Tuttle Garage to Fontana Labs
- Exit the parking garage on the Tuttle Park Pl. side (the Stadium side) of the garage and walk north (to the right) along Tuttle Park Place. At the Tuttle Park Place/Woodruff Ave. intersection, walk east (to the right) along Woodruff Ave.
- Fontana Labs is near the southwest corner of Woodruff Ave. and College Rd.
140 W. 19th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210
Link to Google map
Reimbursement
Our program will reimburse the lowest reasonable cost of mileage or car rental and fuel. Put another way, if the mileage reimbursement for driving a personal vehicle exceeds the cost of a comparable car rental plus fuel, the lower of the two amounts will be reimbursed.
Please be sure to keep all receipts for fuel and parking required for your trip to and from OSU. For guests driving from within the Central Ohio Region (i.e., not requiring overnight accommodations), we will not reimburse fuel costs, though we will be happy to reimburse parking fees.
Car rental
If renting a car is part of a visit to the MSE department
- Department policy requires that this be done by way of the OSU rental car agreement with either Enterprise or National. While less expensive rentals may be available, the OSU agreements include insurance coverage required by the university. Contact Mark Cooper for the code necessary to activate the OSU agreement.
- Rentals made with non-contracted rental car agencies must adhere to the OSU Travel Policy (PDF) (see "Rental Vehicle" pg 7). Those rentals made that do not meet the policy may not be reimbursed.
- Style or type of vehicle is limited by University policy to the least expensive model that meets the need. By default this is equates to Economy class.
Lodging
The MSE department will provide lodging to registered guests coming from outside the central Ohio region (details below).
Travel
Financial assistance to reimburse visit costs is available to invited guests who attend both days of the event. Invited guests qualify for reimbursement of up to $700 in travel costs. The general guideline we follow is to reimburse the lowest reasonable cost for travel.
- Costs that qualify for reimbursement include reasonable air fare, taxi/ride service fees, parking costs, tolls, fuel costs, and full or partial mileage. Car rental to drive to and from OSU--from a home address within a 5-hour drive of the Columbus area--may be reimbursed if rented using the OSU preferred vendors (more in Driving below).
- Costs that do not qualify include travel cancellation insurance, charges made to a room, checked bags, car rental through a non-OSU approved vendor, excessive fees paid for air fare or mileage, and additional charges (room service, pay-per-view, etc.) made to the hotel room.
Visit reimbursement
The best way to evaluate a grad program is to visit, but that can get expensive. Let us help! Details on reimbursement coverage and procedures are provided on this page.
Pre-Trip form (PDF)
Registered guests coming from outside of the central Ohio region, please complete a Pre-Trip form to provide us an estimate of your travel expenses. We will be happy to reimburse reasonable travel expenses associated with your visit, up to the limit provided.
- Submit the completed Pre-Trip form here
The form will be sent to Mark Cooper, MSE-WE Grad Coordinator, and Khadija Abdelhadi, MSE-WE Fiscal Officer. - The Pre-Trip form is to be submitted at least three weeks before travel.
- Airfare or car rental costs must be approved prior to purchase in order to qualify for reimbursement.
Guests are to submit the Pre-Trip form prior to purchase airfare or car rental. Approval to purchase airfare or car rental will be provided quickly following review of the Pre-Trip estimates.
Important:
- Pre-approval of travel expenses is required! Guests are to receive approval before purchase of airfare or car rental. It is important to understand what will be reimbursed, please see sections below.
- Reimbursement will only be provided to guests who attend the entire event (i.e., both days). The purpose of the event is provide guests with an overview of the graduate programs in MSE & WE. Thus absence from a significant portion of the event hinders the guest's full understanding of our program.
- Travel cancellation insurance. The MSE department will not reimburse a guest for travel expenses if s/he is unable to attend the Overview due to a canceled flight and/or poor weather. Travel cancellation insurance can be purchased for a relatively low cost. Please note, though, that this expense will not be reimbursed by our department as it is an optional expense.
- Illness--Reimbursement will not be provided if the guest misses the event due to illness.
- Lowest reasonable--Our department follows the OSU Travel Policy (view policy, PDF). On the whole, this policy seeks to reimburse the "lowest reasonable" travel expenses incurred by our guests. Thus the reimbursement amount will match the most cost effective method of travel (airfare, rental car, personal auto).
- Airfare--Reimbursement for Economy class seating only. The university's policy is to reimburse guests for "Economy" class airfare seating. Seating that is Economy Plus, Business, or First Class will not be reimbursed.
- Car rental--Style or type of vehicle is limited by University policy to the least expensive model that meets the need. By default this is equates to Economy class.
- The purpose of reimbursement is simply to aid in off-setting the financial burden of your travel. The university takes a very close look at the receipts submitted and evaluates what expenses were required to get a guest to and from the event; amounts beyond those deemed necessary to attend will not be approved.
- Your reimbursement request must be received by Monday, April 22, 2024. Following the Overview we will provide instructions on how to submit a Post-Trip form and receipts.
Questions?
Feel free to contact Mr. Mark Cooper, MSE / WE Graduate Studies Coordinator, with any questions you may have.