NIU is spending over $2 million this year for travel expenses but the university has no way of knowing if the money is being misspent or even stolen.

“The accounting department is supposed to safeguard assets and make it harder for employees to steal. The possibility of theft does exist and should be made more difficult. If the university ran its own travel agency, we’d know if theft was occurring,” John O’Neil, university accountant said.

O’Neill said one way employees could steal from the university is to buy a more expensive airline ticket, turn in the travel voucher for that ticket, then return that ticket for a cheaper fare, pocketing the price difference.

Without an in-house travel agency or at least one specified agency making sure employees purchase the least expensive airline tickets, NIU has no way of knowing how many people are abusing the system, he said.

Another potential for overspending is the possibility of employees flying a more expensive airline to earn frequent flier miles and subsequent free airline tickets, he said. Employees can fly on a certain airline just to acquire perks, when another airline might have less expensive flights available. These free trips, earned by spending university money for business trips, can then be used for vacations.

Ida Shields, account technician for NIU, said several years ago employees were not allowed to use frequent flier tickets earned on university business for personal trips. However,she said, arguments from people who travel often—namely the athletic department—led to a change in that policy.

“I’m not claiming anyone actually is stealing from NIU in this way, it’s just good accounting policy to set up barriers to prevent … theft,” O’Neill said. “We assume people are honest, but we need to protect ourselves from those that aren’t,” he said.

Each department is given a certain amount of money to be used for travel. “All transportation does is audit,” Shields said. “It’s the department that eats the cost if someone doesn’t fly at the cheapest rates.”

Four different funds; general revenue, bond revenue, local revenue, and grants are all used to pay NIU employees’ travel expenses. These expenses include airfare, auto mileage, meals, hotels, taxis, phone calls, and registration fees for conferences. “Anything related to travel,” O’Neill said.

About six years ago, O’Neill said NIU decided against implementing its own travel agency. He said if it had been implemented, the agency would have ensured that employees would travel at the lowest rates available, regardless of the special incentives airlines offer.

Southern Illinois University did establish an in-house travel agency for a short period of time, a source from SIU’s Continuing Education Department who asked not to be named said. The source said the agency provided significant savings in travel funds for SIU, but because of opposition from local travel agencies, it was discontinued.

Private corporations have been quicker than public universities in setting up their own travel agencies. American Express Travel Service offers a special plan for corporations, which can save them from five to 20 percent in travel costs. A representative for American Express, said a university could set up such an account and receive these same savings.

Cindy Snyder, supervisor of corporate travel for DeKalb Pfizer Genetics, said although they have no designated travel agency now, they are “trying to get the idea going of having their own agency to save money and consolidate travel arrangements.”