Travel Support: Funding and Planning

South Central ACS | CASB | Office of Graduate Studies

Travel Funding Sources:  Graduate students are eligible for support by the Office of Graduate Studies Travel Fund up to $500 once every 2 academic years.  Graduate and undergraduate students are eligible for travel support by CASB Travel Grants up to $500 once per academic year.  Graduate and undergraduate students are eligible for travel support by the Department of Chemistry (DOC) Research Incentive Fund up to $500 per academic year. 

DOC Research Incentive Fund Travel Support:  Graduate and undergraduate students are eligible for travel support by the Department of Chemistry (DOC) Research Incentive Fund (department SRI) up to $500 per academic year.  DOC will support funding in place or in addition to Graduate School and/or CASB support.  DOC will support travel to several conferences with a combined total per academic year of up to $250 (regional meetings) or $500 (must include national meeting). 

The application is simple: (1) Supply a budget or receipts (registration, travel, hotel).  (2) Supply evidence of authorship or co-authorship on a presentation (Poster, Oral Presentation) and/or participation in a DOC sanctioned recruiting event.  (3) Email information re/ items (1) – (2) to chem@mst.edu.  Applications will be accepted before the event and also within four weeks after the end of the event.  Decisions are made in the DOC Office solely based on completeness of submission of the requested information.  Reimbursements will be made after submission of receipts. 

 

Steps to responsible Travel Planning and for applying for Travel Funding:

1) Prepare a GA/GTA substitution request and get approvals

2) Apply for travel authorization through the department

3) Set up a delegate 

4) Collect receipts for reimbursement

 Detailed instructions for each step are included below. 

In general, any kind of travel should be scheduled and planned to avoid or minimize interference with graduate student employment as a GA/GTA/GRA. This applies both to business travel (conference, interview, collaboration, etc.) and personal travel (holidays, vacation, etc.) Personal travel should be limited to breaks between semesters. Note that GA/GTA/GRA employments begin weeks before the start of the teaching semester and end weeks after commencement.

If the graduate student travel occurs during a GRA employment period, the travel plans need to be discussed and approved by the graduate student’s adviser before travel plans are finalized.

If the graduate student travel occurs during a GA/GTA employment period, the travel plans need to be discussed and approved by the graduate student’s adviser as well as the faculty directing all affected GA/GTA activities. Graduate student X on GA/GTA employment must find a substitute Y to fill his/her function during the time of travel and demonstrate that the substitution is possible without any overlap conflicts. The requested substitute Y needs to be named. The requested substitute Y must be approved by the faculty directing the GA/GTA employment of traveler X, by the research adviser of substitute Y, and by the faculty directing the GA/GTA employment of Y (if any).

The GA/GTA substitution permissions need to be collected with the online Graduate Student Travel and GA/GTA Substitution Request form. All approvals are required before travel plans are finalized. Failure to do so will be recorded and will reduce eligibility for future GA/GTA employment. 

January 1, 2021

1. You must contact International Affairs and apprise them of your travel plans.  You can do this via e-mail to Amy Smith.

2. International students must work with International Affairs and submit all their required paperwork. This is important as it can affect your visa and re-entry into the United States. Visit the website International Travel on Behalf of S&T.

3. All students must fill out the travel authorization form electronically. For information about the MOCODE & financial source, ask your advisor.

4. Print, sign & submit to your supervisor and then turn it in to Tammy Heldenbrand.

 

Things to Note: If you travel without submitting your Authorization for Travel first, the university reserves the right to not reimburse as you are in effect traveling without permission. Late submissions will not be accepted. 

Here are the instructions for setting up a delegate:

1. Go to the webapps link. Here you will click Web Applications Login and select "Travel & Expense" and proceed to login to Oracle People Soft.

2. You will arrive at the UM System finance screen and should select "Travel and Expenses". Once on this page, select "Expenses WorkCenter" located on the left side.

3. On the left side of "Expenses WorkCenter" click "Delegate Entry Authority". A list of who you have delegated authority to for reconciling, expenses and reimbursements will be shown. 

4. Click the + button on the right side of this page and in the User ID column, type "heldenbrandt" and click search. Once the page comes up, select "Heldenbrand, Tammy" and click "Save" and "OK. 

 

1. Receipts for payment can be submitted immediately after being received. Any receipts received via e-mail (e.g., airline tickets, conference registrations, etc.) can be forwarded to Tammy Heldenbrand. 

2. All original receipts must be given to Tammy Heldenbrand, however it is recommended that you make an e-copy or hardcopy for yourself. Cash register receipts must be taped on copier paper (single sided) for filing purposes and will not be accepted otherwise. The receipts should not be stapled, as each individual receipt has to be pulled for scanning. 

3. Receipts for meals must be submitted as itemized. Hotel stays will not be reimbursed until after the stay, when you have the final receipt. If you are staying in an Air BNB, the payment is required prior to stay and the receipts can be submitted beforehand. 

4. The receipts will be attached to the expense report and filed by MOCODE. 

 

Things to Note:  If you are reimbursed and do not participate, you will have to pay the university back. If the trip is cancelled, you will also have to pay the university back for reimbursements and these will be attributed to the correct MOCODE. No itineraries or estimated expenses will be accepted as proof of payment, all must be in the form of a finalized receipt. Some room should be left on the papers with the receipts attached so that notes can be made.