Graduate & Professional Student Association

Conference Travel Funding Application Instructions

Conference Travel Funding Overview
Frequently Asked Questions
Create your online user profile (only need to do this once)
Application Form (new online system)

Please note: The application process has changed somewhat since previous years. ALL applicants should read the directions below carefully, whether they have applied before or not. Failure to read the directions may result in an incorrectly submitted application or Travel Authorization form which will result in denial of funds.

Introduction

The GPSA Vice President of Internal Affairs Office (VP-IA) supports ASU graduate students and post-baccalaureate professional students to present papers and posters at national conferences, participate in panel discussions, and attend conferences, lectures and seminars contributing to the development of their program of study.

The goals of this fund are to promote the success of ASU graduate student research, increase ASU's reputation as a Research Extensive Institution, and to promote our graduate community at large.

Terms of Award

The GPSA Travel grant fund is comparable to any other funding agency. Deadlines and completed information are essential to processing requests. In order to ensure the integrity of the application process, no exceptions will be made to the terms below.

• The protocol for the Travel Authorization (TA) form has changed this year:
  • Domestic travelers (all travel within the 48 contiguous U.S. states) MUST complete their TA forms online now.
  • International travel and travel outside the 48 states will still complete a paper copy.
  • SEE DIRECTIONS BELOW (Step 2).
• Any application lacking the appropriate and complete TA form (either electronic or paper) will be DENIED.
• An applicant must be a current ASU graduate/professional student.
• Funding priority shall be given to first-time applicants and those with outstanding service to the ASU graduate community.
• The 2009-2010 program is for conferences held from August 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010. All reimbursable travel must occur during these dates.
• $750 is the maximum award for an applicant who plans to present his/her research at a professional conference.
• Students may apply for multiple conferences over the course of the year, but no more than $750 will be awarded per student per year.
• We fund airfare, lodging fees, train, bus, taxi, subway, airport shuttle and conference registration fees only. Rental cars, phone calls, meals and other expenditures will not be covered.
• GPSA does not give advances for any reason. This is not negotiable.
• GPSA does not fund retroactively. To receive funding, you must apply at least one month before you travel.
• Due to GPSA's current budget situation, funding priority will be given to applications for travel occurring in the next month. However, if you find it absolutely necessary to apply earlier because your attendance at a future conference depends on GPSA funding, you may do so, but please understand that your application may not be funded. (If you fall into this category, please indicate within the application your reasons for applying early.)

Methods of Funding

• Travel occurring in same month as application will be denied (for example, August 18th travel cannot submit for August 15th deadline).
• Funding is never guaranteed and partial awards are often given.
• We try to fund as many people as possible, but may not be able to meet the demands of all requests.
• Consideration is given to first time applicants, number of awards per department/school, and exceptional service to GPSA and the graduate community.
• The amount actually awarded will depend on:
  1. completeness and appropriateness of the application;
  2. number of funding requests during the award period;
  3. the amount you have received on previous awards;
  4. appropriateness and justification of budget.

Deadlines

Application deadlines are the 15th of each month. Applications must be submitted the month prior to travel - therefore, if your travel is (for example) in early September, you must apply no later than the August 15 deadline (travel in late September would also be due by the August 15 deadline). Please complete your applications prior to 5pm on the 15th using our online system.

Notification of Awards

Recipients will be notified by e-mail by the 30th of each month. If you do not recieve notification by this date, it is your obligation to inquire as to the status of your application.

Selection Criteria

• Funding decisions are based on the following criteria (not in any specific order)
• Graduate student community and GPSA involvement
• Professionalism of application
• % of personal involvement in research
• Justification for attendance, if not presenting
• An appropriate and fully justified budget
• Other funding resources you received from ASU
• Distance from ASU to the conference location
• The number of applicants for the conference
• The number of applicants from department/college
• The number of previous GPSA Conference Travel Awards the applicant has received
• Applications with missing information will not be reviewed
  

Important

• Because of ASU Travel Funding Policy and yearly budgetary cycles, the GPSA cannot fund conferences in June or July - there are no exceptions.
• The GPSA and VP-IA are not responsible for any lost, destroyed, or otherwise delayed applications.
• The GPSA and VP-IA are not responsible for technological failure. Technical support can be contacted by visiting the application website.
• The GPSA and VP-IA are also not responsible for any resulting loss or revertment of funds by the applicant's own negligence.
• No awards are guaranteed and the GPSA VP-IA may rescind any travel grant for any reason, at any time without prior notification.

Instructions

Step One: Create your online user profile

You should create a profile using the new online application system by Nimble-net. You only need to create a user account once, and you are eligible for ALL the award programs offered by GPSA. (You may use the same login to create multiple applications for all of our programs!)

To create a profile, please visit the following website: GPSA Nimble-Net User Profile Form

Please note: You must have a web browser capable of 128-bit SSL encyption (like Internet Explorer or Firefox). This is a secured site, and the privacy of your information is very important.

Step Two: Travel Authorization Form

You should do either an electronic TA form or a paper copy TA form. DO NOT do both types. All applicants who are traveling within the 48 states ("domestic travel") ARE REQUIRED to complete an electronic TA form to be eligible for GPSA Conference Travel funds if GPSA is your sole source of funding. If you have funding in addition to GPSA, you need to determine whether those sources accept the electronic form. If they do, complete the electronic form. If they do not, you should do a paper form and ensure that GPSA gets a copy of the paper form with your application. International travelers (and travel to Alaska and Hawaii) should complete a paper copy no matter your funding sources. Please follow the appropriate directions for your travel below.

Please remember: you can have ONLY ONE TA form for any given trip. If you fill out and submit more than one TA form per trip, you may experience delays, problems or complete cancellation of all funds by ASU Travel.

TA Form Instructions for Domestic Travel (within 48 states)

Each applicant must complete a separate TA form for each trip he/she takes. There can be only one TA form per student per trip. A complete and approved TA form is required for all ASU students traveling on ASU business in order to be covered by ASU insurance.

• To complete an electronic TA form, you must go to: http://www.asu.edu/fs/travel/traveln.html. From this page, click on "MyASU travel" and follow the directions on the screen, making sure to save your progress after each section.

• When you come to the section asking for department/account managers, you MUST put the account manager of your primary funding source. IF GPSA is your only funding source, you should enter our account manager's ASURITE (ajecker1). If you have other sources of funding, your primary funding source (not GPSA) will go in the account manager position, and you will put GPSA and any other sources you have in "additional contacts" (using the ASURITE of our account manager). You should put in these contact by searching for them in the proper department (GPSA is in the ASASU or Memorial Union department). Failure to put all necessary account managers on the trip form (either in the account manager position or the additional contacts position) will make it impossible for your award(s) to be credited to you.

• When you come to the section asking for an Authorized Travel Officer (ATO), you should find the ATO for your department and put that individual's ID in the field. It is your responsibility to ensure that an appropriate ATO signs off on your travel. If you are having trouble finding your department's ATO, you can look here: http://fs.asu.edu/travel/atodept-lookup.asp.
  • You should verify with your department ATO that s/he has received your electronic TA form.
  • It is not GPSA's responsibility to make sure your department ATO (or any other funding sources) signs off on the form. It is yours.

• Be certain to include your trip number on the appropriate section of the GPSA application in the appropriate box!

• Please note: GPSA cannot fix errors in your TA form. YOU are the only person who can access your electronic TA form. Therefore, YOU are responsible for its accuracy and completeness.
  

TA Form Instructions for International Travel (and travel to Alaska and Hawaii)

There can be only one Travel Authorization form per student per trip. Each student must generate a unique travel authorization form -- DO NOT photocopy one form to use for multiple students!

GPSA now requires that the original Travel Authorization (TA) form accompany each travel application for insurance and reimbursement purposes. Applications lacking an original TA form may be denied. If you have another source of funding from another department on campus, you should submit a photocopy of your TA form to that department until we can secure an ATO (Authorized Travel Officer) signature. If your TA form is not signed by an ATO prior to travel, you will not be covered by ASU insurance and you will not be reimbursed for your trip.

You MUST complete the Travel Authorization (TA) Form and submit with GPSA travel grant application. Complete only the following lines on the Travel Authorization Form:

• Name of traveler (your name)
• ASU I.D. number
• Department
• Traveler Title (e.g., Teaching Assistant)
• Trip Dates
• Destination (county, if applicable, city, state)
• Purpose/Justification (how ASU will benefit from your attendance)
• Cost estimate
• Calculate 100 percent of airfare and registration fees,.
  Do not write in "advance total" box - GPSA does not provide travel advance.
• Direct inquires to
• Campus Mail Code
• Phone (Important: do not leave blank)
• Traveler's signature
• ATO signature**

**If after being awarded a GPSA travel grant you receive another grant from an on-campus source, you must inform that source to NOT fill out a travel authorization form for you, because one will originate from the GPSA (there can only be one travel authorization form per person, per trip). In that case, after traveling, you will obtain the travel authorization form that you completed from the GPSA and take to all funding sources for appropriate signatures, returning it back to the GPSA.

**You must get the Authorized Travel Officer (ATO) for your department and obtain that individual's signature in the correct area on the bottom left of the form.It is your responsibility to ensure that an appropriate ATO signs off on your travel. If you are having trouble finding your department's ATO, you can look here: http://fs.asu.edu/travel/atodept-lookup.asp.
Please note: GPSA will no longer obtain ATO signature for ANY TA form (electronic or paper). You MUST get your department's ATO to sign off on the trip.
You should also be aware that professors are SELDOM ATOs. The ATO is usually in your department's business officer. If you are unclear who this person is, be sure to look it up in the link above.

IF YOU ARE USING A PAPER TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION: Submit your travel authorization form to: Vice President of Internal Affairs, GPSA, GPSA Business Office, Graduate Student Center of the Center for Family Studies Building, Mail Code 3402. We encourage you to drop your travel authorization form off in person at the GPSA Business Office. Please be aware that campus mail is slow. If you choose to put your application in campus mail, it may arrive late.

Step Three: Application Form Submission

After you have completed your Travel Authorization Form, you should note your travel authorization code (you will need it to submit your application). You should also have a login to the GPSA Nimble-Net system from Step 1, above. To complete the application please go to: https://www.nimble-net.com/gpsa

The Deadline to Submit applications for each funding cycle is the 15th of the month at 5:00pm. LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED, whether they were started before the deadline or not.

Please note: Once you are logged into the Nimble-Net System, please select the "Conference Travel" program drop down and follow all instructions to complete your travel grant application. Once you are done, please select the link to "Agree to the Rules." After you have agreed to the rules, please go back into your application and SUBMIT the application. You can log into the system at any time to check the status of your application. You can only have one application submitted at a time. You will be notified of your award via e-mail by the 30th of the month.

Lodging Per Diem Rates

ASU has limits on what it will fund for lodging for each state. This is referred to as a lodging per diem cost (meal per diem is not awarded by GPSA). To assist applicants with appropriate funding requests for lodging, go to Financial Services and click on “Per Diem Rates by State.” For International travel per diem rates please go to the State Department Website. Select the state or country to which you will be traveling. A list reimbursement limits will appear. Find the city closest to your conference site and use the lodging rate to complete your budget justification form. This is a maximum lodging per diem allowance. You are encouraged to reduce your lodging costs when possible by utilizing student conference rates and shared room expenses. Please note this on your budget justification comments.

If the conference hotel costs per night exceed the maximum lodging per diem for your location, your must supply evidence that the hotel in question is, indeed, the conference hotel. If you do not, you will be reimbursed only for the lodging per diem, not for your actual lodging expenses.

International Conference Travel: You must be sure to obtain the appropriate conversion rates for your destination before completing your budget justification form. Money exchange rates are different for each country and must be converted for correct funding amounts.

Step Four: When You Have Been Awarded

DURING YOUR TRIP

• Keep all original receipts for lodging and travel. Hotel receipts should be itemized to indicate non-reimbursable items such as telephone calls, movie rentals, etc. If you are sharing a room, you must have an original bill with your name from the hotel for the amount you paid.
• If you are flying, keep your boarding passes. If you fly Southwest Airlines, you will need to make a copy of your boarding pass, as they keep the entire page if you use the online check-in system.
• Keep a copy of your conference registration form.
• For ticketless travel, keep the printout of the online itinerary that indicates that you have paid.

AFTER YOU HAVE TRAVELED

• Make photocopies of all your receipts for your records.
• Bring the original receipts: bank/credit card statements, airline boarding passes, ticketless travel printout, transportation receipts, hotel receipt, conference registration receipts, etc. to the GPSA Business Office, Graduate Student Center,
  no later than 5 days after the date of your return from your trip.
• Upon receipt, your paperwork will be processed and forwarded to the appropriate office for funding.

Appeals

If you consider your denial of funding to be incorrect, you may appeal within 3 days of award status notification, explaining why you think there was a mistake.

The following procedure shall be followed:

1. Submit a written complaint specifying in a tangible and concrete way the error of thedecision to deny your award to the GPSA VP of Internal Affairs.
2. Denials of funding based on negligence or ineligibility (i.e. incomplete applications,falsified applications, requests for funding outside the scope of the travelgrant) will not be reconsidered.
3. All decisions by the GPSA VP of Internal Affairs are final and may not be re-appealed.
4. Decisions will be made within 5 business days following submission of appeal.

Questions?

Direct questions to the Vice President of Internal Affairs or to the Director of Graduate Research.