If you will incur expenses for your project, you may wish to apply for Odyssey funding. Under ordinary circumstances the schedule of deadlines for funding applications is the following:
• October 1 for spring semester projects;
• February 1 for summer projects;
• April 1 for fall semester and winter break projects.
If the funding deadline falls on a weekend, paperwork will be due by 5 p.m. on Monday. Applicants who must have assurance of funding further in advance than these deadlines allow are encouraged to consult with the Odyssey Office. In cases where there are extenuating circumstances (such as timetables imposed by external constituencies), you may be given permission to apply during an earlier cycle than usual.
To apply for funding, use the application form which can be found in Appendix B-3, downloaded from the Odyssey Web site (www.hendrix.edu/odyssey), or obtained from the Odyssey Office.
A. steps in the funding process
1. You are strongly encouraged to come by the Odyssey Office early in the process for advice and suggestions as you prepare your proposal. Allow plenty of time to make revisions and to consult with your sponsor.
2. Complete an Odyssey Proposal Form and a Funding Request Form, following the guidelines in this Odyssey Program Guide, and submit them to the Odyssey Office. You may submit your Proposal Form and Funding Request Form either simultaneously or separately. However, your project must be approved for credit before it can be forwarded to the Committee on Engaged Learning (CEL) for funding consideration
3. The Odyssey Office will determine if your proposed experience is eligible for Odyssey Credit.
4. After the funding deadline, the CEL will consider and evaluate all Funding Requests forwarded by the Odyssey Office.
5. The CEL will determine which requests are funded and the dollar amount of each grant.
6. The CEL will submit its recommendation to the Committee on Faculty (CoF) for review.
7. After the CoF advises the Odyssey Office of any recommendations it has, we will notify you of the outcome.
8. If you receive funding, you will be asked to sign an acceptance form. You will also be expected to track expenses and to return receipts and any unused funds to the Odyssey Office.
B. general funding guidelines
The Committee on Engaged Learning has issued some general working guidelines for those interested in obtaining funding for their Odyssey proposals. Each request received by the funding deadline is considered on its own merits in a competitive process. There are no category quotas, and there are currently no limits on the number of times you may submit a funding request.
1. Odyssey proposals and funding requests are expected to be neatly typed (word processed).
2. While excessively lengthy Odyssey proposals are not encouraged or required, successful proposals provide sufficient detail to allow a thorough understanding and review of the proposal, without being so long as to be cumbersome or tedious. In most cases, two to four pages is a recommended length.
3. Budgets that include student or faculty remuneration should include the Hendrix share of FICA expenses (7.65% of gross salary). The recipient’s FICA expenses will be deducted from the gross salary.
4. Ordinarily, Odyssey funding will be available only for study abroad experiences that include a specific, well-defined, distinctive, appropriate, and worthwhile Odyssey-worthy project. Simply enrolling in a foreign study program, while eligible for Odyssey credit, will not merit funding.
5. Normally, Odyssey funding will not be awarded for:
• tuition at other colleges or universities;
• paid internships;
• equipment or hardware;
• projects by seniors which take place predominantly or exclusively after their graduation;
• faculty stipends for projects that are carried out during the academic year while classes are in session; or
• ordinary expenses to travel abroad (items such as passports, visas, immunizations, etc.).
C. Funding for travel to present research
Beginning in the 2009-2010 academic year, in each of the three funding cycles, the CEL will fund student travel (transportation costs, lodging expenses, registration costs, and a per diem for food) up to $1000 for presentation of undergraduate research at any state, regional, or national meeting that has been deemed worthy by the student’s faculty sponsor, as long as the request is the first such request to come from that student during his or her Hendrix career, and the project has been approved for UR credit by the Odyssey Office. Requests to use this travel money must be submitted on a Funding Request form by the deadline for the appropriate cycle.
Students may apply for additional funding for:
· any costs that exceed $1,000 for the first trip;
· presentations at professional meetings after the first one;
· travel to international meetings.
However, these additional requests (including proposals to attend NCUR) will not be automatically funded and, instead, will be considered in the pool of funding requests from students and faculty for that cycle. If these travel requests are not granted, students may attend the meetings at their own expense. Please note that presentations on campus also satisfy the Undergraduate Research requirements for Odyssey credit.
SPECIAL NOTE FOR STUDENTS WHO WILL BE SOPHOMORES, JUNIORS, OR SENIORS IN 2009-2010: Everyone will start with a clean slate at this point. Therefore, any previous Odyssey funding to support travel to present research will not count. You still have guaranteed funding for one trip available to you beginning in 2009-2010.
D. requirements for odyssey grant recipients
All recipients of Odyssey funding who accept their grants must sign a form agreeing to the following before any funding will be released:
By accepting this Odyssey grant, I hereby acknowledge my obligation to complete the project for which this funding is awarded within ONE YEAR of the time of this acceptance or by the time of my GRADUATION from Hendrix College, whichever comes first. If I fail to participate in the project or am unable to complete the project prior to the deadline established in the preceding sentence I shall refund to Hendrix College the full amount of the grant set forth above. I acknowledge that the project is not considered complete until a Project Completion Form is submitted to and approved by the Hendrix College Odyssey Office.
E. travel advisory countries
The State Department issues travel advisories about dangerous conditions in certain countries, and the government recommends that Americans avoid those areas. Before you propose a project that involves overseas travel, verify that your destination does not appear on the travel advisory list (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html). The Odyssey Office respects the opinion of the State Department regarding this issue, and neither credit nor funding will be available for projects that include travel to countries on this list.
F. student educational files
Please note that by submitting a proposal, funding request or application to participate in an Odyssey-funded experience, you will acknowledge that all information provided is accurate and give permission for the Odyssey Office to review all educational files as are pertinent.