Faculty Research Travel Supplemental Support Program

Faculty Research Travel Supplemental Support Program

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) recognizes that many faculty members have the interest to travel to enhance research and experience, however the ability to fund such travel may be insufficient. The purpose of the Faculty Travel Program is to encourage faculty to attend conferences, archives, and research sites that will enhance their contribution to the institution and their students.

Eligibility:

The Faculty Travel Program applies to all full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members at UCCS.  Newly hired faculty members who have not yet begun employment are not eligible.

• Higher priority will be given to faculty who have less access to travel funds through grants, F&A funds (in departmental or PI accounts), start-up, or other resources. 
• Faculty must have received at least “meeting expectations” on their most recent annual performance review.

Award Selections:

Approximately 5 awards are made for each travel period. Award applications are reviewed by a subgroup of members from the Research Faculty Advisory Board (R-FAB). The R-FAB forwards their recommendations to the AVC-R. The AVC-R makes the final decision.

Award Stipulations:

• Faculty may receive only one travel award per academic year
• Requests are limited to a maximum of $500. Expenses can include conference registration, airfare, mileage, and lodging. International travel can also be supported. Expenses may also include virtual conference registration, webinar participation, or archive access.
• Awards should be spent within the application period for which it was awarded. 
  • In the event you already attended a conference and are applying for reimbursement, your application will be considered but is given lower priority.
  • In the event that you missed the application window for your scheduled conference but the travel has not yet occurred, your application will be considered but is given lower priority.
  • In the event that the conference for which you applied is canceled or you otherwise cannot attend, you will forfeit the funding award and are eligible to apply again in the same year.
• Travel requests must provide supporting documents showing that you will present at a conference (e.g. conference acceptance letter/email, program, abstract etc.), evidence showing you are learning a new skill at a professional development course/webinar/conference, or letter of support showing you are traveling to a data collection site. 
  • In the event you have submitted to a conference, but the presentation is still under review, you should provide proof of the submission knowing that the award conditions will require you document actual acceptance before the award is made.
• Requests must include a justification as to why the travel cannot be fully paid for with other resources on campus or elsewhere.

Award Periods and Application Deadlines

Deadlines for each application period are approximately 8 weeks prior to the possible travel start date of each application period. Funding decisions will be made as quickly as possible to allow enough time to book travel.

Please note, applying out of award period (applying early during Fall application period for a Spring opportunity) will disqualify your application and it will not be reviewed.

Award Conditions:

The decision to participate in the research travel support program is voluntary and at the faculty member’s discretion.  Faculty who receive funding and wish to participate, must adhere to the award stipulations if their travel expenses are to be covered.

Conditions are determined by the OOR and may be subject to change. Travel award recipients who fail to comply with award conditions are not eligible for a travel award until such time that a) all conditions are met and b) at least three years have passed since the conditions were met.

Awardees are required to:

• Complete a short survey addressing how the travel facilitated the faculty’s research program. This survey report is due to the Office of Research within one month of returning from the expense incurring event. Survey can be found here.
• Submit for travel reimbursement not later than 21 days after the travel period in which travel occurred.

Processing Travel Payment/Reimbursement:

In order to request reimbursement for travel expenses, faculty send an email requesting travel reimbursement to oor@uccs.edu, the email must include the original approved application, include itemized receipts, and include justification for all expenses claimed for reimbursement up to initial approved amount.

Once the reimbursement request is processed, the Office of Research will transfer the total amount of approved expenses to the identified departmental speedtype that will be processing the traveler’s expense report.

If the faculty member pays out of pocket for the travel, and has an approved travel award, the Office of Research will work with the Faculty member to process a reimbursement request through the Concur system.

Note: Additional expenses input into Concur not covered under the travel award amount will need to be paid by a departmental, grant, or other appropriate resource.

Program Review:

The Faculty Research Travel Support Program is dependent on funding availability and is not a guaranteed source of funding.  The Associate Vice Chancellor for Research (AVCR) will do everything possible to ensure funding remains available and this valuable resource remains available for our faculty. Every three years, the Faculty Research Travel Support Program will be evaluated by the AVCR to determine use, impact, and budget sustainability. A recommendation will be made by the AVCR to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance to sustain, revise, or dissolve the program.

Download the application here (ensure document is saved to your computer before filling out or text might not save).    PDF Version   Word Version 

Download the Reimbursement Request Process Form here.

Complete a short survey addressing how the travel facilitated the faculty’s research program. This survey report is due to the Office of Research within one month of returning from the expense incurring event. Survey can be found here.