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Faculty Handbook

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Request System

All requests for travel authorizations, reimbursements, service contracts, purchases, and payments should be submitted in the request system: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/services/requests/

 

Request for Travel Authorization

Prior approval for all business travel is required for absences from the campus (or other designated headquarters) for periods of half a day or more during the normal working period, whether or not there is a cost to the University.

A Request for Travel Authorization (RTA) must be filed with the department at least two weeks prior to your travel. Faculty who will be missing a class during their travel period must specify a professor who will be covering their classes. TAs are not authorized to cover your class. If traveling during the final exam period, please list your final exam date(s), how the exam(s) will be administered, and a plan for grade submission in the RTA online form. For further information, consult the Travel Policies in the Handbook of Business Procedures and the COLA Policy for Travel.

  • Travel FAQs - please read these before emailing Ricardo 
  • Travel Information Guide - this is an immensely helpful document that takes you step by step through the Travel Authorization Request process and the Travel Reimbursement Request Process.
  • What’s involved in processing a single receipt - forthcoming
More information

Request for Travel Reimbursement

Please note that travel reimbursement requests must be submitted no later than 45 days after your last approved travel date. You must have an approved RTA prior to travel in order to receive any reimbursements.

University employees are EXEMPT from Texas State hotel occupancy taxes when traveling for University business. The University cannot reimburse any Texas State occupancy taxes unless the hotel refuses to honor the exemption certificate.

Meals are normally paid by meal allowance (per diem), currently $59 on state funds and $51 on local funds. No meal receipts are required to receive meal allowance.

The University of Texas cannot reimburse a split bill (such as hotel) that does not have the UT payee's name. We will not accept private invoices for split bills; it is up to individual travelers to reconcile any private agreement.

Please include a copy of your itinerary, or let us know your flight departure and arrival times so we can make adjustments according to this policy. Unless told otherwise, default times will be based on your airfare receipt.

Upon return to Austin, if you are requesting a reimbursement for your travel expenses, complete a Travel Reimbursement Request (TRR) as soon as your trip is over.

  • Travel Reimbursement Request form, under Expense Requests.
  • Upload receipts at the top of the page and use “Add expense type” box to detail each expense.
  • Receipts are required for all travel expenses except your meals (list your per diem amount, up to the limit of $51/day) and ground transportation within a city (such as a taxi ride from the airport to your hotel).
  • When the form is complete, select continue at the bottom of the page, then assign it to the History Group (00004).
  • Please make sure your receipts dates are within your travel dates as requested in the RTA.
  • A list of items for which receipts are required is available here.
  • Once staff input payment/reimbursement information in DEFINE, you may go to Where’s my Check? and the system will show when you will receive payment and where in the pipeline your voucher is at. 

More information

Faculty Travel Grant

The purpose of the travel grant is to support presentation of the applicant's original research or creative effort. $1,200 is available yearly to tenured and tenured track faculty! Now available through online application! Check out the graduate school's web site for travel grants for details.

Please note that attending a meeting or chairing a session does not qualify nor does accepting an invitation to present a seminar or giving a colloquium at another university. Before beginning the application, be sure to gather:

  • your abstract (not exceeding one page in length) of the paper or presentation to be given, and
  • either a copy of the meeting program showing your name, paper or presentation topic, and date or a letter from the meeting organizer accepting your paper or presentation and confirming your part in the program.

Applications must be completed and submitted with your RTA form no later than two weeks before your scheduled trip.

Entertainment Expenses

Preapproved entertainment costs may be reimbursed by the department or by endowment holders' own accounts. These are considered "Official Occasions"; an "official occasion" is defined as a reception, luncheon, dinner, or similar event that is sponsored and funded by UT (e.g., conferences, meetings, planning retreats, staff meetings). These functions are normally associated with special programs or conferences, University guests, faculty and staff recruitment, or business meetings. To prevent a personal tax liability, you will need to document each occasion with receipts for expenses.

The Office of Accounting requires reimbursements to be completely processed within 60 days of the event. Because of the time required for document processing, both within the department and in the Office of Accounting, requests for reimbursement should be submitted no later than 45 days after the event.

For reimbursement you must complete the Entertainment Payment Request and assign your request to Group: 00336.

In order to receive a reimbursement you must provide:

  • Original itemized receipts
  • If reimbursement is for an entertainment expense, such as a dinner or food, you will also need to submit the information for an Official Occasion Expense Form (submitted within the entertainment reimbursement request). If less than 11 people participated, you will need to provide a list of names and titles (faculty, student, staff). 
  • Reimbursements which include a meal for UT faculty spouses require additional justification and will be sent to the Provost's Office for approval or denial. When submitting OOEFs for entertainment expenses, please include a business justification for spousal attendance.
  • Please be sure to provide us with the details related to the funding sources for the reimbursement. If funding is from external sources, provide any contact information for contributors.

Please note the following policies for entertainment reimbursement:

  • Food/entertainment for events involving only UT-Employees (faculty, staff, student employees) cannot exceed $35 per person (including food, beverage, gratuity).  Expenses for entertainment/food involving donors or special/honored guests (including guest speakers) are limited to $100/person. The limit is for both domestic and foreign destinations.
  • Tips/gratuity should be limited to no more than 20% of the subtotal, not including taxes.
  • Alcohol cannot be more than 49% of the subtotal amount listed on the receipt.
  • Faculty and staff must submit itemized receipts for reimbursement. They must also submit a receipt showing proof of payment (if this does not already appear on the itemized receipt). If an itemized receipt or proof of payment is not available, the payee must sign a memo explaining why such is not available. The memo should provide an itemized list of the order and the total amount paid.
  • Reimbursements must be processed within 60 days of the official occasion, please adhere to the department's 45 day rule to allow sufficient time for processing.

Once staff input payment/reimbursement information in DEFINE, you may go to Where’s my Check? and the system will show when you will receive payment.

State Sales Tax

University of Texas employees are exempt from Texas sales tax if a purchase is made for University purposes. Faculty and staff are highly encouraged to utilize this. If you plan on making purchases that are taxable,  download and complete a copy of the Tax Exemption Certificate. Please present the certificate to the vendor for University related expenses (including entertainment) to claim the exemption. We cannot reimburse any Texas State sales tax for approved purchases on department funding.

Office Supplies and other Purchase Requests

Office supplies, furniture, and equipment (including computers, monitors, and printers) cannot be reimbursed so must be purchased directly by the department. The University has a contract for office supplies with Today's Business Solutions – an Office Depot partner – which requires that all office supplies be purchased exclusively from them. Books can be purchased directly by the department or reimbursed through a payment request.

  • Please submit a "Purchase Request" in the request system and assign it to Group 00342.
  • Please provide as much detail about your purchase as possible, including links to the products if available. You can use the online Office Depot catalog for product numbers.
  • Please note that most department supplies – pens, paper, markers, official stationary, etc. – can be found in the copy room of the main office, GAR 1.104.

Book, Membership, and Subscription Reimbursements

Books, professional memberships, and subscription payments can be reimbursed from faculty funds.

  • Please submit a "Payment Request" in the request system and assign it to Group 00337. 
  • Itemized receipts for the purchase/payment are required.
  • Sales Tax cannot be reimbursed.

Service and Payment Requests

  • Please review the Purchase and Payment Information Guide before requesting a service or honorarium since many rules apply.
  • Requests for services (translation, editing, non-student research assistants, etc) should be made at least 3 weeks before work begins. Services must be authorized by a contract or Purchase Order (PO) before work begins.
  • Services provided by someone who is not currently living in the United States, in the United States on a visa, or does not have a SSN/ITIN must be authorized by a contract. Please note these details in your request and make your request at least three weeks in advance of the start date.
  • Payments totaling $15,000 or more require an additional approval process justifying why the service should be exempt from a competitive bidding process.
  • Honoraria requests for speakers that are part of an event should be emailed to the Events Coordinator (Stephanie Aguilar).
  • The request should be made as a “Purchase Request” in the request system and assigned to Group 00342.
  • After the service has been authorized and subsequent work completed, you will request payment in the system as a “Payment Request” and assign it to Group 00337.

Group Codes in the Payment Request System

In the payment request system, please assign to the appropriate group below:
- Entertainment Payment Request (Group 00336)       
- Payment Request (Group 00337)
- Purchase Request (Group 00342)       
- Travel Authorization Request (Group 00004)
- Travel Reimbursement Request (Group 00004)

 

Events

Please notify the department well in advance of guest lecturer travel so staff will be able to process the appropriate paperwork in order to arrange airfare, hotel, pay travel expenses or honorarium. Please contact Stephanie Aguilar for History Department requests and Courtney Meador for Institute for Historical Studies requests.

Guides, FAQs, and more information

 

Leave, Fellowships, Grants, Awards

If you are applying for or have received an external fellowship, or are planning to be on leave for any reason, please see Michael Schmidt for a leave request. 

Other funding resources:

 

Textbooks

You can submit your required and suggested textbooks through the University Co-op website.

 

Campus Testing Center

In partnership with the UT Disability and Access office, Testing & Evaluation Services provides a centralized testing location in the Campus Testing Center (CTC) for in-person accommodated tests. More information at: https://testingservices.utexas.edu/campus-testing-center.

 

Online Teaching: Ideas & Resources

The History Department's dedicated page for information and guidance on moving courses online.

 

Liberal Arts Classroom Support

 

Faculty Computer Support

The Liberal Arts desktop support team provides computer support for all faculty and staff in the College of Liberal Arts for your UT owned equipment. Contact Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Support (LAITS) by phone, email, or chat Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, at https://laits.utexas.edu/services/computer-support/.

 

Faculty Profile Web Page

  • Maintaining the web directory profile page is the responsibility of each faculty member. To update your page, please log-in with your EID credentials here. Instructions on managing your page can be found here.
  • To add your book to your profile page, which allows the publication to be featured on the Recent Books page if published in the last five years), please follow these instructions.
  • Add or update your high-resolution (or very good quality) photo directly to your profile by following these brief instructions.
  • Important: Please maintain current office hours each semester on your page. Using the Profile update link, go to the “Home” tab, click the “History — faculty” section, and scroll to the “Office Hours” field at the end of the section. From there, please input your days & times, and click the blue SAVE button.
  • For questions or assistance please contact Courtney.

 

Social Media Post & News Article Request

 

Social Media Best Practices

 

Business Cards

Business cards are available via UT Document Solutions. Please contact Vickie Kight to place business card orders.

 

Liberal Arts Faculty Resources

The Liberal Arts Faculty Resource page highlights the resources available through the college. The Liberal Arts website has a wealth of useful, up to date information on a range of human resources and training topics, including promotion and tenure, faculty annual reports, and research.

 

Liberal Arts Faculty Guide to Student Affairs

The Liberal Arts Faculty Guide to Student Affairs is available on this page.

 

Grade Changes & Grade Reporting

Information about grade changes can be found on the Registrar's grade changes web page.

  • Spring and summer grade changes and "X" incomplete to grades, must be submitted by the end of the fall semester.
  • Fall semester grade changes must be submitted by the end of the spring semester.  

Grade reporting information can also be found on the Registrar's grade reporting web page.

  • Grades are sent to the registrar through the Grade Submission System and are due by 10:00 a.m. on their due date. 

 

Standard Meeting Times

Fall and Spring (long semesters)
    •    MWF 8-9am, 9-10am, 10-11am, 11-12noon, 12-1pm, 1-2pm, 2-3pm, 3-4pm, 4-5pm
 (50 minutes with a ten-minute interval at the end of class)
    •    TTh 8-9:30am, 9:30-11am, 11-12:30pm, 12:30-2pm, 2-3:30pm, 3:30-5pm (75 minutes with a fifteen-minute interval at the end of class)

Summer (first, second, nine-week, and whole session)
    •    MTWThF 8:30-10am, 10-11:30am, 11:30-1pm, 1-2:30pm, 2:30-4pm
 (75 minutes with a fifteen-minute interval at the end of class)

 

Working with Teaching Assistants

 

Retirement

General information about retirement (including information on Phased Retirement and Emeritus procedures), is available on the COLA website. Additional resources:

 

History Department Forms and Links