Visiting Artists This section provides instructions on payments, reimbursements, and travel planning for presenters, artists, guest lecturers, consultants, some professional services, and other general services to be provided to the Butler School of Music. Submit a Guest Artist Payment Request Policies & Procedures All visiting artist communication must be handled by the sponsoring faculty member. Staff should not be asked to directly communicate in an ongoing capacity with a visiting artist. Scheduling Space requests for non-class visits must be received by scheduling@mail.music.utexas.edu at least 45 days prior to the potential visit. The Scheduling Office will have final approval over whether a guest event outside of an existing class time may occur based on the following factors: Facility availability Saturation of existing public events impacting student schedules Staffing availability to support additional public events, also impacted by calendar saturation Any visits that require hotel stay or flights must avoid blackout dates As a reminder, there are NO guest artist visits permitted in the month of April outside of an existing class visit or ensemble performance Business Office Submit a Guest Artist Payment Request A request for funding to pay for a guest artist, regardless of funding source, MUST be submitted 30 days in advance for guests within the U.S. and 60 days in advance for international guests. The minimum payment amount for a non-student guest artist is $200; if you want to pay someone less than $200, it cannot come from institutional funds The recommended amount to pay students who are acting as guest artists is $125 per hour Any visits that require hotel stay or flights must avoid blackout dates The Business Office has the authority to deny a guest artist payment request. Reasons why a request might be denied: The request comes less than 30 days prior to the start of the service (or less than 60 for international visitors) The University Independent Contractor Department does not authorize the university to pay a particular guest The vendor is “on hold” by the Texas Comptroller’s Office There is not adequate funding in the account provided to cover guest payment, including parking permit needs while on campus We are limited to: Paying UT-approved rates for hotel stays Purchasing standard flights (no upgrades) Any flight upgrades must be covered personally by the guest or the faculty member sponsoring the visit; they cannot be covered with University funds Standard Payment Procedures Most guest artists will be paid using a Purchase Order. Upon receiving a guest artist payment request, staff will confirm that the guest is already in our vendor system and has direct deposit. If they are not, staff will send them a Payee Information Form and a Direct Deposit Form. Guests do have the option to opt out of direct deposit, if they wish. Once the vendor forms are completed, the guest will be added to our vendor system, an Employee/ Independent Contractor Classification Checklist (EICCC) will be completed, and a Purchase Order will be approved and sent to the guest and faculty host prior to the service start date. Upon completion of services, staff will send the guest an invoice via DocuSign, which, once signed, is submitted to the business office for final processing and payout. Reimbursements and Travel Expenses The University can book and/or reimburse flights, hotels, and rental cars for guests, as well as reimburse meals, taxis, rideshares, mileage, and other related travel expenses. Flights and rental cars are booked using Anthony Travel, and hotels are booked directly with individual hotels. Our preferred hotel is the Hampton Inn and Suites Austin at the University/Capitol, with a UT rate of $199/night. This option is not always available, particularly during city-wide events like ACL or South by Southwest. All reimbursements require itemized receipts, excluding meals of up to $51 per diem. Mileage reimbursements require exact starting and ending addressing. Helpful links: Booking Travel Hotels Contacts Non-Employees, paid with a Purchase Order – George Mercado george.mercado@austin.utexas.edu U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents International guests, paid with a Contract – George Mercado george.mercado@austin.utexas.edu Current UT Students, paid using Workday – George Mercado george.mercado@austin.utexas.edu Exception: Students providing a musical performance will be paid using a PO Current UT Staff or Faculty, paid using Workday – Averil Houston averil@austin.utexas.edu Guest Artist Travel – George Mercado george.mercado@austin.utexas.edu Paying International Artists Payments and travel arrangements for international artists require additional levels of approval. Please keep in mind that artists cannot be guaranteed payment or travel authorization until all University approvals are in place. This can sometimes take 6-8 weeks depending on the types of approval needed. Confirming U.S. employment authorization is vital for requesting travel or paying international artists. There are various types of employment authorizations: tourist visa with a business authorization, special student visa authorization, etc. Please ask your guest about this. Even if they will be providing services remotely, we are still required to receive permission and documentation. More information is available below on a method of travel authorization that some visitors may be eligible for, if they do not already have U.S. travel/employment authorization. Information on B-1 Visas and Waivers Traveling under a B-1 nonimmigrant visa or WB visa waiver allows the University to pay your guest an honorarium and reimburse expenses for travel, meals, lodging, and other basic services incidental to lecturing, guest teaching, presenting a speech, or other academic event participation. However, the honorarium or expense reimbursement cannot be paid if they have accepted similar honoraria or expense reimbursement more than five times in the last six months or will remain at The University of Texas at Austin for more than nine days. Please note that not all guests may qualify for a B-1 visa or waiver. Learn more about authorization for B Visitors If your guest would like to use a B-1 visa or waiver to travel and provide guest services and they do not have any other U.S. employment authorization, please contact George Mercado (george.mercado@austin.utexas.edu) for further instructions as soon as possible.
