GVU

Travel Grant FAQ

Who is eligible for GVU travel funds?
Any full time student affiliated with the GVU Center or working with a professor who is actively doing research with the GVU Center is eligible to receive one stipend per academic year.

What are the limitations on GVU Travel Stipends?

Each eligible student can receive one stipend per academic year
$300 will be granted for domestic travel (including Canada and Mexico); $500 will be granted for international travel
Students who receive travel stipends will be required to file a short Trip Report explaining the professional/academic benefits of attending a conference to be eligible for a travel stipend in the future
Depending on the supply of money available and the demand for travel funds there may be other limitations imposed (such as one stipend per professor per conference). Please understand this is because there is a limited amount of money allocated for student travel.

Do I need a TA?
YES! All students, faculty, staff and visitors traveling on official GT business are required to have a TA on file before departure. The TA shows you have the proper permissions to travel on behalf of Georgia Tech and may provide certain insurance coverage. You should take a copy of the TA with you on your trip and leave the original behind. You will need to turn in the original TA with your Travel Expense Statement (TES) upon return to be reimbursed for your expenses.

What is the procedure for applying for a GVU travel stipend for students INSIDE the school of Interactive Computing?
Because the GVU Center is housed in the College of Computing’s School of Interactive Computing the application process differs slightly from students outside of the School of Interactive Computing.

The Employee Travel Guide is produced on the Institute level and applies to all employees traveling on official GT business. You will be expected to know this information and adhere to it.
Fill out this form and e-mail it to your advising professor, etc.
Ask your professor to forward it to schoner (at) cc.gatech.edu. This will serve as confirmation that you have permission from your advising professor to attend this conference.
Once the application has been approved you will receive an e-mail confirmation. This should be saved until after you have been reimbursed.
Complete a TA with the administrative person who assists your advising professor. This person will be named in the e-mail confirming you have been awarded a travel stipend.
Get Aaron Bobick’s signature, chair of IC, by giving it to his assistant, Jacque Berry in the IC office (second floor of TSRB) at least two weeks in advance of travel.
Once the TA has been returned to you, you are ready to go. Please remember to take a copy with you and leave the original behind. After you return you will be required to complete and submit a Travel Expense Statement with the original TA.[Be sure to see the section on How long after traveling do I have to file a Travel Expense Statement (TES)?]

How do students OUTSIDE of the school of Interactive Computing process paperwork?
Because the GVU Center is housed in the College of Computing’s School of Interactive Computing the application process differs slightly from students inside of the School of Interactive Computing.

The Employee Travel Guide is produced on the Institute level and applies to all employees traveling on official GT business. You will be expected to know this information and adhere to it.
Fill out this form and e-mail it to your advising professor, etc.
Ask your professor to forward it to schoner (at) cc.gatech.edu. This will serve as confirmation that you have permission from your advising professor to attend this conference.
Once the application has been approved you will receive an e-mail confirmation. This should be saved until after you have been reimbursed.
Complete a TA with the administrative person who assists your advising professor. You may have to ask in the administrative offices of the school in which you are enrolled who that person is.
Get your School Chair’s signature on the TA; this gives you permission to travel on behalf of GA Tech.
Once you return from your travel you will be required to complete and submit a Travel Expense Statement with the original TA. Again, you may have to enlist the assistance of the administrative person who supports your advising person.
You will need to get your School Chair’s signature on the TES. After you have that you will need to get the signature of Aaron Bobick, Chair of IC, by giving it to his assistant, Jacque Berry in the IC office (second floor of TSRB). This may be sent via intercampus mail to Mail stop 0760, but in the interest of time, it is recommended you walk it over to TSRB. [Be sure to see the section on How long after traveling do I have to file a Travel Expense Statement (TES)?] After it has been signed we will send it to Accounts Payable for you.

How long after traveling do I have to file a Travel Expense Statement (TES)?
The obvious answer is: the sooner you get the TES submitted, the sooner you will be reimbursed. That being said, a TES must be filed within 30 days after the completion of official GT travel/business, regardless of when you physically return to GA Tech. (For example, if you go the 97th Annual Conference on Widgets, Gismos and Really Neat Stuff in Bradenton, FL for 5 days and then hang out in Daytona for another week you are already 7 days into your time to process the TES. If you go to a conference and then directly to your summer internship without submitting a TES on the conference you will be ineligible to submit a TES when you return to GA Tech in the fall and ineligible to be reimbursed for your travel.)

Is there a way I can receive travel funds from the Institute or from GVU before I travel?
Travel funds must be reimbursed after travel is completed. You will need to turn in original receipts showing method of payment for reimbursement.

I have been told I do need to turn in original receipts for food. Is this correct?
Not necessarily: some departments will accept a TES without original food receipts (as long as the daily total is under the allowable per diem), but more and more AP is requiring original receipts. Sooner or later they will be required: best to get into the habit now. It’s best to collect them to ensure you are properly reimbursed for your expenses.

Where can I find per diem rates for travel?
GA Tech uses per diem rates as established by the US General Services Administration. Use the ‘M & IE Rate’ (meals and incidental expenses).

Domestic per diem rates can be found here.
International per diem rates can be found here.

How long will it take to be reimbursed? How will that happen?
Generally speaking, if you have not been reimbursed 10 to 14 business days after you turned in your TES you should speak with the person you gave your TES or to the staff accountant who processed the TES. It is a good idea to have your copy on hand.

Since all fulltime students are hired on as employees of Georgia Institute of Technology, you will receive an automatic deposit into your bank account just as you do your regular paycheck.

For guests, part-time students, and other non-employees traveling on official GT business you will receive a live (hard copy) check. Please coordinate with the admin to whom you turned in your TES or to the staff accountant who processed the TES to get your reimbursement check.

What is expected of me?

Make sure your forms are completed and signed by the proper people before you leave.
Turn your TES in to the accounting person or administrative assistant in a timely manner (30 days after the completion of official GT business). You will need to turn in original receipts.
If you have not been reimbursed 10 to 14 business days after you turned in your TES you should speak with the person you gave your TES or to the staff accountant who processed the TES to check the status.
Finally, you are required to send a short, informal Trip Report to schoner (@) cc.gatech.edu. This should state where you went, for what conference and how the trip benefited your academic or future professional career. This information will be included (anonymously) in correspondence with GVU’s Industrial Partners. Students who neglect to send a Trip Report will be ineligible for a travel stipend the following academic year.

Are other sources of travel funding available?
Student Services has some travel funds available; their program is independent of the GVU travel stipends. For any trip you may get one grant and not the other, both, or neither. For information on the Student Services grant please visit www.cc.gatech.edu/gsc/funding.htm.

To apply for CoC funds, have your Travel Authority filled out and approved by the proper person. Take this and a completed CoC Travel Request form to Suzzette Willingham in person in the CoC building (near the Graduate Programs Office). You can download the CoC Travel Request form at here. Suzzette’s email address is suzzette (@) cc.gatech.edu if you have any questions.