How the University of Illinois streamlines faculty travel with Uber
Over 35,000 faculty members. Three campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield.
For the University of Illinois System, managing faculty business travel is no easy task.
At U of I, organising faculty travel used to be a time-consuming challenge that involved processing expense reports, juggling reimbursements, and enforcing administrative travel policies, all while keeping accurate records across the whole university system.
Enter Uber.
Today, with the support of the Uber platform, the University of Illinois System’s faculty travel process is streamlined from start to finish, saving valuable time for everyone involved. Let’s take a closer look.
No spreadsheets, no worries
For academic staff travelling at any institution, attending conferences and seminars can be a logistical headache. Paying out of your own pocket, chasing up receipts, and long waits for reimbursements are all too common—and stressful.
Within the University of Illinois System, reporting travel expenses only takes a few steps.
By using Uber’s Travel tool, U of I administrators can easily invite eligible faculty to join their institution’s business profile with Uber. Then, when a faculty member is ready to head to a conference, seminar, or other professional event, they just switch to the university’s business profile in the Uber app and book their ride.
Trip costs are automatically billed to the university, and all transaction details flow straight into U of I’s integrated expense reporting system. At the end of the month, faculty assign the right expense code to their rides and submit their reports. No spreadsheets, no chasing receipts, and no stress.
“Honestly, it’s one of the easiest programs we’ve ever launched—and our staff aren’t shy with feedback.” says Melissa Plotner, Senior Director of University Payables.
A flexible dashboard, built to move
For U of I administrators like Plotner, the Uber for Business dashboard makes it easy to manage a program that keeps thousands of faculty members on the go.
In the dashboard, higher education administrators can, among other actions:
- Set policies for spending/trip allowance, locations, vehicle types, and days/hours of use;
- Toggle rider access on or off, based on need or department;
- Automatically generate insights and reports showing spend per rider, location, and time period
“Once the program is set up, it needs very little ongoing management,” says Plotner. “Faculty receive onboarding communications directly from Uber, and the program pretty much runs itself.”
And with centralised oversight and data reporting, the U of I System has full visibility into travel activity across all campuses, making it easier to assess program performance. “I have data readily available to provide updates to senior leadership on spend and rider activity,” Plotner states.
Oh, the places we’ll go
Since teaming up with Uber for Business: Higher Education, the University of Illinois System has broadened its use of the platform for its ground transport needs. Uber now supports Bowl Week travel for athletes and coaches, symposium travel for the Office of the President, and campus visits for prospective staff and postgrad students.
Shaping the future of movement
For leading institutions like the University of Illinois System, academic and research travel are vital parts of campus life. With an efficient business travel program, driving innovation becomes that much easier.
Uber for Business: Higher Education is proud to partner with the University of Illinois on its mission to keep its faculty—and their ideas—on the move.
More info
Keen to offer rides or meal delivery to your faculty, students, or staff with Uber? Uber for Business: Higher Education can help you set up a program tailored to your needs.