Employee’s Duty Station: The headquarters or job location at which the employee spends the majority of his or her working hours. For an employee in travel status, the duty station should be the point where traveling begins the majority of the time (home or office). The designation of an employee’s home as the duty station requires approval by the Chancellor and the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) on an annual basis.
External Conference: Conferences that involve the attendance of persons other than the employees of the University. Payment for meals is allowable if included in the registration fee, but the fee must not consist exclusively of meal cost or it will not be allowable unless meeting overnight travel criteria.
Informal Meeting: A meeting consisting of a department head and his or her designee and non-state employees during which official state business is discussed for the majority of the meeting. Informal meetings are one-time occurrences and are not held on a recurring or routine basis.
Internal Conference: A conference that involved the attendance of employees within the University only. No payment of meals is allowable unless overnight travel criteria are met. A routine staff meeting is not an internal conference.
Management Retreat: A meeting or series of meetings consisting of a department or division head and his or her top assistants and coworkers. Retreats are sometimes held at a site other than the usual workplace and are held no greater than once a year.
Out-of-Country Travel: Out-of-country travel status begins when the employee leaves the continental United States and remains in effect until the employee returns to the continental United States. If the employee and other qualified official travelers use hotel and meal facilities located outside North Carolina, but within the continental United States, immediately prior to and upon returning from out-of-state travel during the same travel period, out-of-state subsistence rates shall apply.
Out-of-State Travel: Out-of-state travel status begins when the employee leaves North Carolina and remains in effect until the employee returns to North Carolina. However, in-state allowances and reimbursement rates apply when employees and other qualified official travelers use hotel and meal facilities located in North Carolina immediately prior to and upon returning from out-of-state travel during the same travel period.
Registration Fees: Fees that are generally charged for defraying the costs of speakers, building (room) use, handout materials, breaks and lunches at conferences and conventions. Registration fees are charged to Account Code 293054.
State Employee: Any employee, whether temporary or permanent, who is paid on a State payroll.
Subsistence: An allowance related to lodging and meal costs, and gratuities thereon. General Statute 138-6 provides for allowances to be paid in amounts or rates specified. For purposes of determining eligibility for allowances, travel status means being away from the employee’s normal duty station. The duty station is defined as the location or near vicinity of the employee’s work place. To be eligible for allowances in connection with travel, the employee must be acting in official capacity as required by his/her work activities.
Training Session: Employee training involves courses that develop an employee’s knowledge, skill, and ability to perform the duties of his/her present job; such as, courses on computer usage or management skills development. These courses generally have a set fee, are of relatively short duration, and are not part of a curriculum the employee is participating in leading to some educational degrees.
Transportation: Includes personal automobile, taxi, bus, train, airplane, motor pool charges, auto rental, tolls, and parking fees. All travel expenses must be incurred by and for state employees or other eligible travelers in conducting official state business in order to be eligible for reimbursement.
Travel Period: The calendar month during which the travel ended.
Tuition Fees: Fees charged as payment for instruction given at an institute or workshop. The fee is actually those costs associated with employees enrolled in a course(s) or session(s) described as educational in nature. The courses are usually accredited by a generally recognized accrediting agency. Upon satisfactory completion of course work, the employee student receives a certificate, degree or other similar acknowledgment of completion of work. These fees are educational expenses and are charged to Account Code 294210– Employee Education Expense.