Faculty-Led Program Finances

Covered travel expenses for resident directors

Resident directors are not compensated by the Office of International Affairs for leading global education programs but receive round-trip transportation to the program site on the program dates, plus lodging, meals, and activities during the program. A per diem (meal allowance) is provided for meals not already included in the program (for example, most programs, at minimum, include daily breakfast at the hotel). 

Please direct questions about terms of regular appointment, course load reduction, and/or how the time commitment to the global education program is assessed to the chair or director of your academic unit.

Resident director financial responsibilities

Budgeting and fee-setting process

The Office of International Affairs and Ohio State’s 15 colleges operate faculty-led programs under a shared responsibility model, meaning International Affairs, college liaisons, and resident directors share equal responsibility for building the budget and reviewing it for accuracy. The budgeting process provides many opportunities for discussion of program expenses before the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) Business Services approves the final budget and publishes the program fee.

Resident directors have the responsibility to:

1. Review the steps of the budgeting/fee-setting process.
2. Ask clarifying questions about the process, if needed.
3. Respond in a timely manner to questions from your global education specialist about program expenses and budget to avoid delays in the process.
4. Review each expense line of the budget in detail. Budgets and expenses change from year to year, even if the program is a long-standing program.
   • Examples of items to check/confirm (not an exhaustive list):
     • Missing expenses
     • Expenses no longer needed (carry-overs from previous versions of the program/budget)
     • Estimates that seem too high or too low
     • Correct departure and arrival dates for students and resident directors
5. Communicate:
   • Notes, questions, or concerns you have about the budget.
   • Any available funding (grants, research funds, etc.) to contribute toward programs costs.
6. Approve the budget (after questions and concerns are addressed) and indicate the academic unit/department subsidy for the program (if any).
   • The subsidy process varies widely by college/department.
   • Please follow the process outlined by your unit to request subsidy from the appropriate individuals.

Note: In fairness to students, after OAA Business Services approves/publishes the budget and announces the program fee (Steps 10 & 11 of the process), the program fee will not change, and further program expenses (for students, resident directors, or both) cannot be added to the budget.

Questions about the budgeting and fee-setting process? Contact the International Affairs Program Manager Team at OIA-EAPM@osu.edu.

In-Country Expenses/Payments

For in-country program payments that cannot be pre-paid, each resident director will receive a cash advance via one of two methods:

1. Group/Extended Travel (GET) Card (the preferred cash advance method)
   • University procurement (Pcard) Specifically for group travel
     • A credit card with the ability to also withdraw funds at an ATM or a bank (passport identification needed to withdraw funds at an international bank)
     • GET card procurement process takes on average 4-5 weeks
     • Transaction limit: based on program's needs
     • Cycle limit: based on program's needs
2. Direct Deposit
   • Funds deposited into the resident director’s personal bank account (the one on-file with payroll)
   • Direct deposit process takes on average 4-5 weeks

Each resident director is personally accountable for either type of cash advance and must complete the following to lead a global education program:

1. Read and understand these University policies (use the search feature on Policies and Forms to find the most updated version of each policy):
   • PCard Policy
   • Purchasing Policy
   • Expenditures Policy
   • Travel Policy
2. Complete the OAA required online BuckeyeLearn training “Global Education Finance 101.”

The PCard Office also highly recommends the following trainings in BuckeyeLearn:

• Fiscal Stewardship for All
• Preventing Fraud
• PCard Use and Responsibilities

In support of Global Education, the Office of Academic Affairs Business Services team:

• manages the GET card and direct deposit processes
• pre-program: requests approval for travel, provides resident directors with documents and tools to track purchases
• post-program: offers group expense report trainings and individual consultation, as needed

Questions about Global Education Finance 101 or University financial policy? Contact GlobalEducationBusOps@osu.edu.

Post Program

1. Unused Cash: Every attempt should be made to exchange foreign currency before returning to the U.S. Return unused cash advance funds to:
   The Ohio State University 
   ATTN: Tim Hornsby  
   301G Mershon Center  
   1501 Neil Avenue  
   Columbus, OH 43201
2. Physical plastic GET card: Shred the plastic card after program is over.
3. Complete expense reports per Ohio State Travel Policy:

• The GET Card Expense Report or expense report for Direct Deposit funds must be submitted in Workday within 7 days after the program officially concludes, including original itemized receipt for all credit card and cash expenses, ATM or bank receipts for all cash withdrawals, and any other support documentation for the transactions.
• The expense report for reimbursement for pre-approved individual expenses (e.g., per diem, airport parking, etc.) must be submitted in Workday within 60 days of the expense. If an expense report is not submitted and approved by the 60-day deadline, the expense(s) may be treated as taxable income to the traveler.
• Retain the original physical receipts until your expense reports are approved in Workday.

Important Notes and FAQs

Review of Expenses & Compliance with Policy

• Any expenses that do not comply with Ohio State policies will not be reimbursed. Compliance determination is made by the Procurement Shared Service Center.

Cash Advance (by Direct Deposit or GET Card)

Meals

Post-Program Responsibilities

Have Additional Questions?

• For technical issues with BuckeyeLearn trainings, contact financialtraining@osu.edu
• For PCard/GET card use and policy questions, contact PCard@osu.edu
• For content questions regarding Global Education Finance 101 or University financial policy, contact GlobalEducationBusOps@osu.edu