Oklahoma State University Enacts Strict Travel Policy

A new travel policy for Oklahoma State University employees was approved by the Board of Regents for Oklahoma State University and the A&M Colleges Friday morning, according to the Stillwater News-Press.

The policy adds new, strict air and ground travel requirements that apply to all OSU employees and student employees conducting university business, the newspaper reported.

The new policy was produced by a task force comprised of coaches, professors, aviation professionals and university officials.

The previous policy allowed coaches to travel at their own discretion, as long as the aircraft is powered by two or more turbine engines. The task force was put together as a result of the Nov. 17, 2011, plane crash that killed OSU women's head basketball coach Kurt Budke, assistant coach Miranda Serna and two others.

In 2001, the school also lost 10 people associated with the men's basketball program, when one of the team planes crashed on the way back from a game in Colorado.

The adapted policy now even outlines travel by car and states that if the trip takes place after 2 a.m. or is more than a 350-mile area, the car must have two drivers who switch every 24 hours, the News-Press reported.

Read the new OSU travel guidelines in the complete story on the Stillwater News-Press website