Funded by: Graduate Student Association
Travel Award Guidelines
*Funding is disbursed as travel reimbursement following the trip.
The WCU Graduate Student Association will provide up to $16,000 in funding during
the 2018-2019 academic year to graduate students who will represent Western Carolina
University at regional and national/international conferences, professional organization
meetings, etc. See complete list below. Travel awards are for a maximum of $500.00
for an individual. The Executive Board officers of the Graduate Student Association
reserve the right to approve the request in part or in full. A committee including
at least two Executive Board officers of the Graduate Student Association will approve
applications. All approvals or denials will have a brief description provided by the
Executive Board officers.
General Focus: GSA travel funds support WCU graduate students' scholarly/artistic development by
assisting with costs related to travel to regional and national/international events.
Eligibility:
Although GSA supports experiential activities, some experiential activities include
travel which is not eligible for the GSA Travel Award. For example, travel expenses
related to Study Abroad courses, Practicums, Clinicals, Internships, etc., are not
eligible for GSA reimbursement.
To be eligible for consideration, the student must be enrolled at WCU as a graduate
student in good academic standing at the time of the application and travel. Good
academic standing is defined as a cumulative 3.0 GPA. Students are only eligible for one travel award per academic year (Apply in Fall for
travel between June 1 and December; Apply in Spring for travel between November and
May 31).
Application Process:
New application process. Old paper and electronic forms will not be accepted. Students
must use new application link here.
Students must complete the Graduate Student Travel Award Application (Qualtrics).
Each student requesting funding must complete the application. (No group applications)
Documentation must be included with the travel award application and all scans or screenshots must be
legible.
Students must include:
- Proof of acceptance or invitation from the sponsoring organization
- Conference/event information (The first page of the website announcing the conference
will provide the conference information below.)
- Name
- Location
- Date
- Registration fee
- Hotel cost information
- Reservation confirmations or receipts
Documentation must be included with the travel award request.
Applications missing any of the above documentation will be considered incomplete.
Students will be notified that the submitted application is incomplete and will not
be considered for funding.
Use this checklist to help you prepare your application.
Award Deadlines:
Application and all application documentation described above must be submitted by
the application deadline each semester. Review and approval of applications will happen
at the first Executive Committee meeting following the deadline.
Fall 2018 – Friday, October 12, 2018
Spring 2019 – Friday, February 15, 2019
If a student would like to fill out a travel grant request for an event after the
Fall semester deadline, they can submit a request by the Spring semester deadline
under the condition that the Fall conference or event did not occur before the Fall
October 12, 2018 deadline. (e.g. A conference which happens in late November can have
a travel grant request filled out by February 15, 2019.)
Award Conditions:
Funding is determined based on the priority system and date of which the complete
grant application is received. Travel grants may cover travel, lodging, and/or conference
costs. The priority system is as follows for graduate students who are:
- Presenting scholarly or creative work at a conference, juried exhibition, etc.
- Accepting an award from a professional organization or academic institution.
- Competing in an academic competition at a regional or national/international level.
- Participating in a seminar, workshop, training program or another form of professional development
not previously listed above which provides hands-on experience not available at Western
Carolina University (WCU) that is directly related to one's major. Applicant must
explain the benefit of expertise gained.
- Attending a regional or national/international conference, exhibition, studio visit etc. associated
with one’s program.
GSA is implementing a point system to provide transparency to the award process. Click here for detailed point information.
Proposals for the following will not be considered: Professional development to address
skills required by your current position or equipment/books required by your current
position/major.
Funding may only be used to cover the following costs. Reimbursements are paid after
the trip. Please be sure the receipt lists you as the person who paid the vendor.
The following receipts are required:
• Transportation to and from the conference (airfare – receipt required; mileage
calculated if you are driving)
• Lodging (receipt required)
• Conference registration fees (receipt required)
Documentations for conference registration, travel, and lodging must be submitted
with the initial travel award request. Requests for funding for mileage must include
the location of the event with corresponding mileage to be traveled—mileage will be
verified by reviewing committee officers.
Notification of Award Request:
Applicants will be notified of the GSA Executive Board’s decision via email approximately
one (1) month following the deadline. If the request is approved, funding will be
disbursed as travel reimbursement following the trip. If the request is denied, the
reason for the denial will be included in the notification email. Requests denied
due to lack of information may not be resubmitted.
The GSA Executive Board will also create a ranked waitlist of requests in the event
that additional funds become available.
Cancellation:
If a student is funded to attend a conference and chooses later not to attend, the
student must notify Roxane Stiles (gsatravel@wcu.edu) to cancel their travel request award for that conference no later than two (2) weeks
after the conference. Students who do not notify Roxane Stiles (gsatravel@wcu.edu) within two (2) weeks after the conference that they did not attend will not qualify
for re-application to another conference within the same academic year. Funds awarded for travel to one conference cannot be transferred to a different
conference later in the year.
If you are approved for funding and your plans change and you cannot attend, please
inform Roxane Stiles as soon as possible so that we can fund a student on the waitlist.
For more information, please contact:
Roxane Stiles (828-227-7398)
Graduate School and Research
110 Cordelia Camp Building
Cullowhee, NC 28723
Email: gsatravel@wcu.edu
