Good Day.

MSU does not look to change policy in regard to the travel program for the next few months. With the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 global situation, we are monitoring the situation but holding off on changes to travel program policy.

That being said, we are finalizing a calendar of events to include content focused on duty-of-care best practices, OBT refreshers, mobile app new releases and functionality, policy compliance, a fall travel planner/traveler virtual trade show, etc. Also, we are reviewing all vendor contracts and working with our vendor partners to ensure the contracts accurately reflect the current state, include updated duty-of-care language and reviewing reporting capabilities as well as working on updated reporting processes and formats.

So, while policies remain unchanged and, most likely will stay as such over the next few months, we are proactively planning and preparing our processes, travelers and travel arranges for an eventual return to travel by proactively engaging them with education and information so that they are ready and prepared when policies do eventually adjust in alignment with a return to travel knowing a safe environment is in place.

Most insightful. Thank you so much for sharing.

Very insightful, Edward! Gonzaga will remain restricted to essential business travel only - which so far has been limited to an incoming guest speaker for a podcast recording (funny the podcast needed to be recorded in person...but I digress) and athletic travel (teams, coaches, donor relations).

My concerns about how/when we resume travel are less about the status of the virus and more about budget. We are so conservative with our travel budget, I don't have a good understanding of how much money there will be to fund travel and when that will be available.

University of Utah has said no travel through spring semester (May 7) except for necessary travel. Necessary travel is healthcare or athletics related. Of course there are exceptions to all rules so if someone has to travel, we require Vice President approval. We now require ALL travel registered in our system prior to leaving.

We are monitoring COVID19 and following guidelines from federal, state and school healthcare officials. I'm hoping with vaccinations we can get back to "normal" What is normal?

I haven't traveled since March 2020 (yes i put the year to remind me which year it is 🙂 🙂 ) so i'm definitely looking forward to SCTEM 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia!