Travel Grant Application Instructions | Graduate Student Council | Graduate School

Graduate Student Council Travel Awards

OBJECTIVE:

The Kansas State University Graduate Student Council (GSC) supports graduate students travel to professional conferences and for selected educational opportunities linked with their program of study. Participation in these conferences provides graduate students opportunities for advancing their own research, networking with professionals and other graduate students, and learning about the most current research being conducted in their field. Participation in professional meetings and other educational experiences funded by GSC enhances the overall quality of research at K-State and graduate students’ educational experiences.

Awards are distributed on a competitive basis through a formal application process. Eligible graduate students can be awarded up to one travel award per travel period and up to $500 in one fiscal year (July 1^st - June 30^th).

Eligibility

Types of Awards

Reimbursable Expenses

When to Apply

Amounts Awarded

Application Instructions

Online Application Form

Previous Award Winners

ELIGILIBITY

In order to be eligible for a GSC travel award, the applicant must:

Be enrolled in a graduate degree program at K-State during the semester in which the applicant is attending a conference and claiming the award.
Be in good academic standing as a graduate student.
Be in good standing with the GSC (e.g., must not be in the ‘Not Eligible for Award List’ that results from failure to cancel a GSC travel award when plans change regarding travel and the funds are no longer needed).

TYPES OF AWARDS

Presentation/Performance: If the applicant is:

Presenting one of the following: paper, poster, workshop, recital, case competition display, work of art, or design (documentation of acceptance/registration is required).
Participating as a commentator, discussant, or panel chair (documentation of participation/registration is required).

Active attendance without presentation: If the applicant is:

Co-author/co-creator of a paper, poster, display, recital, work of art, or design, but is not presenting (documentation of acceptance and registration is required).
Attending a professional committee meeting as an officer for the conference organization (proof of membership on committee and attendance are required).

Miscellaneous: If the applicant is:

Traveling to another institution for education or training (e.g., study abroad, summer class). The experience should be part of the applicant’s research or degree (proof of activity as part of the applicant’s program of studies is required).

Professional Development: If the applicant is:

Attending a conference but not presenting research (Proof of attendance/registration is required).
Attending a career fair (Proof of attendance/registration is required).

REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES

The GSC travel award will cover costs of airfare, fuel/mileage if driving your personal vehicle or rental car, ground transportation (taxi, shuttle services, trains, and public transportation), hotels/lodging, meals, and event registration.

Note:

You must submit original signed receipts to receive the full amount you have been awarded.
Each student needs to pay their own travel expenses and should not pay for other students’ travel expenses. Separate hotel receipts for a student’s portion of the lodging must be submitted.
Travel advances are not allowed.
Poster print or other material for the conference are NOT reimbursable expenses.

Travel arrangement and reimbursement MUST be in accordance with the Kansas State University Travel Guidelines and Student Governing Association Guidelines which are available in OSAS in the Student Union. These arrangements include any type of travel - plane, personal car, taxi, shuttle, rental car.

WHEN TO APPLY

The GSC must receive all applications by the following deadlines by 5pm central time:

GSC Travel Award Periods
Period	Start Date	End Date	Deadline
1	July 1^st	September 30^th	June 1^st
2	October 1^st	December 31^st	September 1^st
3	January 1^st	March 31^st	December 1^st
4	April 1^st	June 30^th	March 1^st

Note: The GSC will not accept applications after the deadline

AMOUNTS AWARDED

Activity	Up to
*Presentation/Performance* If students are presenting: paper, poster, workshop, recital, case competition display, work of art, or design or participating as a commentator, discussant, or panel chair	$ 500.00
*Active attendance without presentation* If students are co-author/co-creator of a paper, poster, display, recital, work of art, or design, but are not presenting or attending a professional committee meeting as an officer for the conference organization	$ 400.00
*Miscellaneous* Traveling to another institution for education or training; for instance: study abroad, special summer class, and institute	$ 300.00
*Professional Development* Attend talks, network, career fair, attend lectures at pre-conference	$ 200.00

TRAVEL AWARD APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1. Check eligibility to apply for a GSC travel award. You are eligible if you are:

Enrolled in a graduate degree program at K-State during the semester in which you are attending a conference and claiming the award.
In good academic standing as a graduate student.
In good standing with the GSC (e.g., you must not be in the ‘Not Eligible for Award List’ that results from failure to cancel a GSC travel award when plans change regarding travel and the funds are no longer needed).

Step 2. Check if you are still on time to meet the deadline for the travel award period you will be traveling

If yes go to step (3)
If not, we are sorry but the GSC will not accept applications after the deadline. No exceptions are made.

Step 3. Plan your travel request as accurately as possible.

Please visit the ‘Reimbursable expenses’ section to verify which expenses can be part of your travel request.

Step 4. Fill out the GSC Travel Award Online Application

Available at: https://www.ksu.edu/grad/forms/sec/tgform.html

Step 5. Obtain additional documentation required for your type of involvement in the conference/event:

If Presentation/Performance: Documentation of acceptance/registration.
If Active Attendance without Presentation: Proof of membership on committee and attendance or documentation of acceptance/registration if co-authored.
If Miscellaneous: Proof of activity as part of the applicant’s program of studies
If Professional Development: Proof of event/registration.

Step 6. E-mail additional documentation as soon as possible prior to travel to: Kavitha Penugonda, kavithap@ksu.edu

Note:

Students cannot receive GSC Travel Award funds and SGA funds for the same trip.
Students traveling over an interval of time that falls within two travel periods must apply for the travel period of the Travel Begin Date -- that is, the earlier of the two. Therefore, a student who will travel from June 30^th to July 10^th must submit an application by 5:00 pm central time on March 1st according to the periods defined in the ‘When to Apply” section. Travel funds will be encumbered for the time period in which travel began.
Please fill out the application form in its entirety except where unnecessary (for instance, after selecting your department from the dropdown list, it is unnecessary to fill in the line immediately below it).
In order to be compensated for travel during any one travel period, an application must be submitted before 5:00 pm on the date listed for that period (see ‘When to Apply’ section).
Any indication of plagiarism or fraudulence may automatically disqualify you from receipt of this or any future money awards distributed by the GSC.
Please send any questions or comments to egsc@k-state.edu

TRAVEL AWARD EVALUATION CRITERIA

Travel Grant Application Evaluation Criteria

Applications are evaluated on a 4 point scale

Criteria	Points
Main activity
*Presentation/Performance* (If students are presenting: paper, poster, workshop, recital, case competition display, work of art, or design or participating as a commentator, discussant, or panel chair)	1.00
*Active attendance without presentation* (If students are co-author/co-creator of a paper, poster, display, recital, work of art, or design, but are not presenting or attending a professional committee meeting as an officer for the conference organization)	0.75
*Miscellaneous* (If students are traveling to another institution for education or training; for instance: study abroad, special summer class, and institute)	0.50
*Professional Development* (attend talks, network, career fair, attend lectures at pre-conference)	0.25
Secondary activity
Poster/ Case competition	1.00
Professional committee meeting as an officer for the conference organization	0.75
Co-author/co-creator	0.50
Professional Development (attend talks, network, career fair, attend lectures at pre-conference)	0.25
No secondary activity	0.00
Leadership Activities during graduate studies
Elected officer or other elected position	1.00
Committee chair (not elected position)	0.75
Committee member (not elected position)	0.50
Active member of a student group (regularly attends group meetings and participates in group activities)	0.25
Not involved in leadership activities	0.00
Type of conference
International or National	1.00
Regional	0.50

RECEIVING YOUR FUNDS

To receive your travel award, you will need to submit the following:

1) Travel Reimbursement Form (PDF) to be completed within two weeks of the last day of the conference period.

2) W-9 form (PDF).

3) Conference agenda.

4) Original signed receipts of your airline ticket, rental car, hotel, restaurants, and conference registration.

5) Proof of acceptance/registration/membership required according to your type of involvement in the conference/event (see ‘Types of Awards’ section).

6) Certification of Additional Support (PDF).

Where to submit your reimbursement documentation

Once all your reimbursement documentation is ready, please submit it in a closed envelope to:

GSC Travel Awards
ATTN: Tara Pfaff
Graduate School
103 Fairchild Hall

Note:

It is policy of K-State that reimbursement requests be submitted within two weeks of the last day of the conference.
It is your responsibility to submit required documentation to claim your travel award; the GSC will not send any e-mail reminders.
If your travel plans change and you will not be attending the conference/activity, you MUST inform the GSC immediately.
Failure to claim a travel award without notifying the GSC will result in your name being placed on the ‘Not Eligible for Award List’ and you will be INELIGIBLE to receive a GSC travel award for ONE YEAR (four consecutive travel periods starting immediately after the period you fail to claim the award).
If the total amount of your receipts is less than the amount of your award, you will be reimbursed only for the total amount your receipts show. If the total amount of your receipts exceeds the amount of your travel award, you will be reimbursed only for the amount of the travel award.