Tuition and Funding

Travel Funding

Date of Policy: January 2, 2024  

Availability of Travel Funds for Students, FY2023-2024 

We are pleased to announce the availability of travel funds to support ITLS student travel to conferences at the following levels:  

• Any graduate students may receive up to $900.  
• Undergraduate students (must be a declared ITLS major, minor, or working on an ITLS grant, can receive up to $450. 
• Any student working on a funded research assistantship of 5+ hours/week from any source (e.g. doctoral scholar, PDRF, undergraduate research fellow, graduate research fellow, external grant, startup funds etc . . . ) will increase these travel funds by $500 for the fiscal year. The funded research must be in place on or before the conference and funding priority (see maximum amounts below) will be given to students with multiple semesters of research assistantships.

Note the fiscal year runs from July 1^st – June 30^st. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling monthly basis, with a maximum total allotment of $10,000 for fall semester, and the remainder allocated in spring and summer semesters (up to $20,000 total).

Note:  Please make sure you check https://travel.usu.edu/ for the latest information.   

Students are encouraged to pay close attention to match opportunities and rules to maximize their sources of travel support. Students are further encouraged to prioritize travel that involves presenting original research with an ITLS faculty member, please do not assume that faculty have dollars to help you get to a conference. For the most up-to-date information refer to the graduate school website: https://gradschool.usu.edu/costs/travel-grant or the research website for undergraduate students: https://research.usu.edu/undergradresearch/travel-award/ please read carefully as undergraduate students have multiple opportunities.

To be eligible, the student must be presenting at a professional conference. At the department head’s discretion and reviewed on a case-by-case basis, these funds can be used to collaborate on grant writing, for pilot data collection, or for a writing retreat. Any case-by-case review request must clearly document the research related deliverable or activities that will come out of the travel. Funds will be prioritized for requests that have specific collaborators, a clear relationship between the travel destination and activity, are paired with other funding sources, and/or will result in further opportunities for the student. Given the nature of our field research is broadly defined to include design, empirical (qualitative and quantitative), and could include any phase of the research process (proposal writing, data collection, analysis, collecting design inspiration, etc . . . ). Students who engage in this kind of pre-approved non-conference travel will write a short paragraph about what they accomplished and future funding of this kind will depend on a correspondence between their plan and what was completed.

For in-person conference attendance 

Email application and Travel Authorization (see below) must be submitted at least one month before the travel date.  Students who do not meet this deadline will not be approved for travel funds. 

Apply

To apply, please email the following information to Brigham (brigham.haroldsen@usu.edu)  

• Your name, your A#
• Conference information: conference title, location, dates, and webpage
• Presentation information (author, title)
• Source of extra funds, if any (graduate school travel award or grant funds)
• Proof of conference acceptance (email acceptance, conference program, etc . . . )

Departmental funds cannot be used for late registration, but can cover up to the regular registration amount.  Travel cannot be used to cover avoidable added expenses (such as flight mistakes) but can be used to pay for costs outside the traveler’s control (flight for a canceled meeting). 

Pre-Trip Reimbursement for Approved Travelers 

The ITLS department recognizes that travel is a financial burden, once students have an approved Travel Authorization they can coordinate pre-trip reimbursements by sending receipts to Jennifer Lyons a minimum of 2 weeks in advance of travel. 

Pre-Trip Purchasing by the Department 

We encourage finding any mechanism possible to pay and be reimbursed which again, includes reimbursement in advance of a trip. If none exist (e.g. the student doesn’t have a credit card) the department can pay in advance for high-cost items like plane tickets or conference registration. See Brigham for assistance and have your choices made when you connect with him. Keep in mind that has to happen in person to fit with p-card policy.  

Assumption of trip actually happening 

Students are encouraged to complete travel when at all possible. Make sure you have valid travel documents if relevant and there are no other barriers to travel especially before any travel purchases. If there are unforeseen circumstances that prevent travel, students should immediately petition the department to resolve expenses. Students are responsible to cancel any pending arrangements and seek refunds for existing charges. 

1. Any allowable travel charges paid by the department will count against the student’s travel allowance for the fiscal year. 
2. Similarly, any allowable travel charges reimbursed to the student by the department will count against the student’s travel allowance for the fiscal year. 
3. Both #1 and #2 are mitigated by any refunds that come back directly to the department.  

Students with a trip that does not occur may not have access to department travel funds in the future. Note that getting refunds back to the department provides space for yourself, and for other students to travel.

Department funds grace 

While the TA/TR process is identical regardless of travel funding source, keep in mind that there is much more grace in department funds then there may be in a grant. Be strategic about your use of department travel funds. 

Process

If awarded, the student will submit the completed Student ITLS Travel Form to Jennifer Lyons (Jennifer.Lyons@usu.edu) at least one month before traveling. Students must submit a copy of all, itemized receipts, along with the Student ITLS Travel Form, to Jennifer within two weeks after they return in order to receive the award and reimbursement.

Note: Meals will be reimbursed on a per diem basis and do not require receipts. All other receipts must include the vendor, dates of services, name of purchaser, amount paid and balance owing, and a clear reference to how the charge was paid (typically the last four digits of the credit card used to pay). If another person’s credit card is used to make the payments, an email from the card holder must be sent to Jennifer Lyons authorizing reimbursement of the expense to be made to the student. Venmo and PayPal transactions require additional documentation to adequately show a purchase was made, and are not recommended forms of payment for reimbursable expenses.

Virtual Conference Attendance 

Some conferences are still offering virtual attendance options. If your only expenses are membership and conference registration for a virtual conference then it makes life easier for you to email the same required information to Brigham and work with him on using a University p-card to pay, counting the costs against your overall travel funding expenses for the year.   

Student ITLS Travel Form