Group Travel Grant

The GPSA Group Travel Grant was established in Spring 2013 by Megan Fisk, a past GPSA president. It is designed to support groups of ASU graduate and professional students in their regional, national, and international travel.

Program Overview & Eligibility Requirements

• Travel must be to an event where the members of the group participate together (e.g symposium, panel discussion, round-tables, competitions, performances, etc.).
• Groups should be comprised of at least two, but no more than seven, graduate students.
• Groups cannot include coaches or advisors. All participants must be graduate students
• Each group is eligible for up to $950 per group member every fiscal year (July 1 to June 30)
• A student can receive both an Individual Grant up to $950 and be part of a Group Grant where they are eligible for an additional $950 for different events. Please note that students cannot use both awards for the same event.
• Each member of the team must justify why their presence at the event is critical to the integrity of the event.
• Travel must be directly related to the applicants’ graduate program of study.
• This grant does not support a graduate student organization or sports teams.
• This grant will support groups such as: (this is not an exhaustive list)
  • Debate teams
  • A quartet of musicians
  • Academic Bowl
  • Engineering teams
  • Moot Court
• Previous recipients of the Group Travel grant will be considered, but preference will be given to first time applicants.
• While international travel is eligible, travel to study abroad opportunities, including Global Consulting Lab (GCL) and the Thunderbird Emerging Markets (TEM) Lab, are NOT eligible for this grant. Travel Grant applications for these opportunities would be considered ONLY as Career Development Grants.
• All group members must be current ASU graduate students (degree or non-degree seeking) enrolled in at least one graduate level credit at the time of application and time of travel (summer enrollment not required) to apply. Online students are now eligible for GPSA Travel Grant funding.

Blind Review Process

You MUST remove the names of ALL group members from any verbiage and/or documentation in your application (e.g. resumes/CVs). Failure to do so negates the blind review process and will result in disqualification of the application.

Deadlines

• Applications are peer-reviewed after the 1st of every month. Each month constitutes a travel funding cycle.
• If your event requires travel, applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM AZ time on the 1st day of the month, TWO months prior to the month of departure.
• If your event does not require travel, applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM AZ time on the 1st day of the month, ONE month prior to the conference.
• The table below provides the application submission deadlines for each month of travel. For example, if you are traveling on November 22, your application is due no later than September 1st at 11:59 PM AZ time.

• You may apply no earlier than three funding cycles prior to your month of travel. Example, if traveling on November 22, you may choose to apply during the August funding cycle (due August 1). In this instance, you can request feedback, edit, and re-submit your application if not initially selected, but you MUST create a new application in ZoomGrants.
• We encourage applicants to not wait until the evening of the 1st to submit their application.  ZoomGrants could overload at this time, which could delay the time of submission past the deadline (11:59 PM). GPSA is not responsible for such delays, and applications submitted after the deadline are not eligible for funding.
• GPSA does not fund retroactively. To receive funding, you must apply before you travel.
• In order to ensure the integrity of the application process, no exceptions will be made to program guidelines or deadlines.

Reimbursable Expenses

• The Group Travel Grant will cover costs of airfare, fuel/mileage if driving your own vehicle, ground transportation (taxi, shuttle services, trains, public transportation), hotels/lodging, meals, and event registration.
• In February 2019 the ASU Study Abroad office instituted a $3 a day charge for insurance on all student travel to locations outside the United States. Students will pay out of pocket and will be reimbursed from the GPSA grant when they submit an expense report. This fee counts towards the $550 total. When registering your trip please select ‘Self Pay’ option when prompted.
• The cost of your meals can be calculated using the daily rate determined by ASU (per diem) for your destination. To determine this rate, visit https://cfo.asu.edu/traveler-resources
• The Travel Grant will NOT cover the cost of rental cars, phone calls, internet access charges, poster printing, or any expense prohibited by university policy. Expenses paid in cash are not reimbursable. Only pay with credit card or check.
• The Group Travel Grant does not cover travel to study abroad opportunities, Global Consulting Lab (GCL), or Thunderbird Emerging Markets (TEM) Lab. Travel for these opportunities will be considered ONLY as Career Development Grants.
• One-Way Fares: If you decide to purchase two one-way airfares instead of a round-trip fare, you will need to print a quote of a round-trip fare at the time your one-way fares were booked, in order to demonstrate to the ASU Travel Department that the round-trip fare is in fact more expensive.
• GPSA will not give travel advances for any reason.

How to Apply

• Groups should select a representative who will submit ONE application for the entire group. DO NOT submit an application for each individual group member.
• Applicants are also required to submit a Group Travel Supplementary Form, as noted in ZoomGrants. Applications without the required supplemental documentation will not be reviewed.
• If the application is selected for funding, each member will be required to submit their own travel request in the My ASU Trip System before embarking on their trip. Within ten days of returning from their trip, each group member is then required to submit their own expense report in the My ASU Trip System. Instructions on how to navigate the Concur My ASU Trip System can be found here as well as in your Travel Grant acceptance letter. Training sessions about the MY ASU Trip System can also accessed here.

Important Points to Note

• Applicants do not have to have proof of acceptance to apply. If you are not accepted to the program, you may decline funding. This will not impact your eligibility for future funding.
• If you are traveling internationally, please make sure that you secure the necessary visas. GPSA will not reimburse travel expenses if you are denied entry to the country.
• Submitting an application for a travel grant does not guarantee acceptance. In recent years, our travel programs have become highly competitive. Depending on the funding cycle and the funding program, only approximately 40% of our applicants receive funding. A good application may be denied funding due to budget limitations.
• Adherence to deadlines and providing complete and accurate information is essential to processing applications in a fair and orderly manner.
• To ensure the integrity and fairness of the applications process, no exceptions to program guidelines or deadlines will be made. This includes deadlines to submit Travel Requests and Expense Reports.
• Due to ASU policy, GPSA cannot fund airfare retroactively.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to communicate with respect towards officers, staff members, or GPSA representatives in all correspondence. If you are unable to comply with this request, you will be expelled from participating in all future travel grants for the current academic year. You will then be submitted to the Graduate College for disciplinary action in accordance with ACD 125.

How to Improve Your Application

• Within the application, provide a well-composed and compelling argument for the significance of your travel and how it relates to success in your graduate program of study. All descriptions should be understandable to an interdisciplinary audience of graduate students.
• Demonstrate outstanding current or past service to GPSA, the university, and your field.
• Submit a complete and realistic budget and including cost-saving measures.
• Ensure that no information is missing from your application.
• In addition, funding priority may be giving to applicants who have not been awarded funds in the past.
• Make sure to describe each group member’s ROLE in the event (e.g. your research, poster, panel), not just the EVENT.
• Please note that this is a highly selective grant competition. Correctly completing an application does not guarantee funding. Each month, many excellent applications are not selected for the grant because of the large number of applications submitted and the limited availability of funds. We encourage you to submit your application about three months prior to your travel date. Some months are less competitive than others.
• If you are not selected for a Travel Grant, you may request feedback on your application and reapply if the final deadline has not passed for your trip. Remember, applications are due by the 1st of the month TWO months prior to the month of departure.

Award Notifications

Applicants will be notified of the status of their application no later than the 30th of the month of the deadline. If an applicant does not receive an email notification, it is the applicant’s responsibility to inquire of his or her application status. Partial awards may be given.

• Notification emails are sent to applicants approximately three to four weeks after each cycle deadline.
• Please add to your address book the email notices@zoomgrants.com as notifications are sent directly from the ZoomGrants system.

Disclaimers

• GPSA and its administrators are not responsible for technical failures. Technical support can be contacted by visiting the application website.
• GPSA and its administrators are not responsible for any lost, destroyed or otherwise delayed applications or for any resulting loss of funds by their own negligence.
• No awards are guaranteed, and the GPSA Vice President of Internal Affairs and Vice President of Professional Development may rescind any Travel Grant for any reason at any time without prior notification.
• Program guidelines are subject to change at any time, with or without notice.

Integrity Disclaimer

Please note that all applicants for any GPSA program must submit their own unique, individual applications to all GPSA funded programs. Students are not permitted to take any portion of content from prior student awardees for online sources (i.e. conference websites) for any reason whatsoever. Any student caught using the work (in any portion) from another student or copying their own material from a prior application will be considered in violation of GPSA’s policy. Such action will prohibit the student in question from being eligible for the current application in consideration, and may inhibit eligibility for future GPSA funding applications. In summary, each application must be your own original work.
Given that we are a student entity within Arizona State University, GPSA mandates that all students act within the university’s academic integrity policy found HERE.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact GPSA Director of Travel, Nicholet Deschine at gpsa.travel@gmail.com.Office hours are by appointment and can be secured via email at the address above.

If you are having issues with ZoomGrants email questions@zoomgrants.com.

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