Travel project implementation

August 31, 2018

University Relations

In May 2017, a University of Alaska travel and expense program assessment was conducted by Huron Consultants. They completed interviews with key stakeholders, representing staff and faculty from across the three main campus units, to assess the current travel program and identify optimization and enhancement opportunities.

Key findings and observations:

• The current university travel system is no longer sustainable from a technological perspective, and must be replaced. Upgrades and enhancements are no longer supported by Banner (Ellician), and must be replaced to avoid the risks of trying to maintain it without the ability to upgrade.


• Travel policies, processes and procedures need to be streamlined to create the best overall experience for travelers, department/unit administrators and the institution.


• The system does not meet all of the needs of University of Alaska business travelers. It provides expense reimbursement but no support for travel planning or tools for the traveler’s convenience.

Over 150 key stakeholders engaged in the needs assessment, analysis and selection of Concur Travel & Expense System, and implementation processes.

The new Concur travel program serves a variety of needs. The convenience of streamlined booking, recording expenses and reimbursement, as well as mobile apps to support them, were incentives for choosing Concur over other options. It also integrates well with third-party travel vendors.

For specific background details on the travel streamlining recommendations and the integrated travel solution discovery process, see the project implementation group's guiding documents at http://www.alaska.edu/travel/ua-travel-project/.

To receive updates about the travel project please subscribe to the project listserv at https://lists.alaska.edu/mailman/listinfo/ua-travel-project/.

How is Concur Travel being rolled out?

The university is scheduled to roll out the system incrementally rather than all at once. After the university completes the steps to make the system production-ready, a very small set of pilot users representing all campuses and statewide will have initial access to the production system.

For more information email dachapman@alaska.edu.

Status	Travel Project Activity	Projected Completion
Complete	Contract with Concur was finalized	Done
Complete	Formed project implementation and focus groups	Done
Ongoing	Project implementation and focus groups meetings	On-going
In Process	Define improved business process and rewrite policy and regulations based on travel project group recommendations	September 2018
In Process	System configuration and integration, testing, and technical training	September 2018
Upcoming	Travel Card Integration Technical Testing	September 2018
Upcoming	Concur Testing – Implementation Group	October 2018
Upcoming	Concur Testing – Focus Group	October 2018
Upcoming	Identify Pilot Participation – Pilot departments will be identified by each main campus and statewide	October 2018
Upcoming	Rollout of updated travel policy and regulations	October 2018
Upcoming	Unit Travel Coordinators – Training and implementation of travel booking tool and expense tool	November 2018
Upcoming	Pilot  – Training and implement travel booking tool and expense tool with the pilot departments	November 2018 through January 2019
Upcoming	All Users – Concur training and phased implementation for use of travel booking tool and expense tool. Travel booked by users before moving over to Concur will be completed through its original process.	January 2019 through March 2019
Upcoming	User Training Sessions	On-going