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 and winter break projects;
- February 1 for summer projects (see below for
more information on summer proposals);
- April 1 for summer, fall semester and winter
projects (see below for more information
on summer proposals).
If the funding deadline falls on a weekend, submissions will be
due by 5 p.m. the following 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.
Funding proposals for summer experiences can be submitted
either in February or April. If
your plans are finalized before February 1 (e.g., you have been offered a
summer internship placement or undergraduate research opportunity), we suggest
you apply for funding during the February round. Please keep in mind that funding decisions on April
proposals are not announced until early May.
A summer experience proposal that has been rejected for
funding in February can only be resubmitted in April after substantial changes
to the plans or quality of the proposal.
To apply for funding, use the on-line Proposal Form.
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 supervisor. It is recommended that you meet
with your supervisor at least two weeks before the funding deadline. Note that
resubmissions are not permitted if your proposal does not satisfy the requirements
for Odyssey credit. The deadline is strict because many offices are involved in
the process, and there is a timeline in place for the consideration of
proposals by the CEL that cannot be delayed.
2. You
are encouraged to use the proposal development worksheet and budget worksheet to develop your proposal. The Proposal Form should be used for your final submission.
3. Submit
your Proposal Form for funding online; you may upload your budget worksheet but it is not required. Your supervisor must approve your proposal before it can be
processed. Be aware that your project must be approved for credit BEFORE it can
be forwarded to the Committee on Engaged Learning (CEL) for funding
consideration. Only the proposals that satisfy this first step will be
considered. You will receive an e-mail message from the Odyssey Office
notifying you whether or not your proposal has been approved for credit.
4. After
the funding deadline, the CEL will consider and evaluate all funding requests
forwarded by the Odyssey Office. The committee will determine which requests
are to be funded and the dollar amount of each grant.
5. The CEL will then submit its recommendations to the Committee on
Faculty (CoF) for review. Once the CoF approves the recommendations of the CEL,
the Odyssey Office will notify you via e-mail of the outcome. Note that
your award may be less than your request.
6. If you receive
funding, you will be given a deadline by which you must accept or decline the award. If you accept, you will work with the Odyssey Office to arrange
the disbursal of your funds. If you do not receive funding, you will be given a
deadline to alert the Odyssey Office that you still intend to pursue the
project for credit so it can be included in your record. Otherwise, you will have to
submit a new proposal for credit.
Please note the following policies:
- The
Odyssey Office will prepay as many items on your budget as possible.
- For
most items that cannot be prepaid you must bring receipts for reimbursement. Mileage
is an exception to this policy; no receipts are required. Instead you must
submit the total number of miles driven.
- Cash
advances will be issued only for per diems for meals, currently $35 per day for
either domestic or international projects. No receipts are required for per
diem expenditures.
- Stipends
are paid through the Hendrix College payroll office. The required paperwork
must be completed before stipends can be issued. Taxes will be withheld from
your paycheck. Because the College begins a new fiscal year on June 1, the
earliest stipends can be paid to summer recipients is usually in the third
week of that month. Please plan accordingly. Also, be aware that the
Business Office ceases operations in the last weeks of May, and no payments
will be processed until that office reopens in June.
- If
you are awarded funding for campus housing, those fees will be paid on your
behalf to the Business Office. Please note that Odyssey does not pay for
associated utilities.
7. All funds must be expended
and all documentation submitted to the Odyssey Office by your selected project
completion date. Any unexpended funds from your grant will be
retained by the Odyssey Office. use award funding, and submit all documentation
by my selected completion date. If you fail to participate in the project or
are unable to complete the project prior to the completion date, you will
refund to Hendrix the full amount expended on your behalf by the project
completion deadline specified in the proposal.
General Funding Policies
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 funding requests.
1. Odyssey
proposals with funding requests must be submitted online.
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. The online form is divided into focused sections with
word limits.
3. Budgets
that include student or faculty remuneration must also 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. Shared
housing on campus for students engaged in summer research at Hendrix or
qualifying with a PL experience in the local area is eligible for funding. For
any student who lives off-campus at the time that funding is requested and has
a continuing and unbreakable lease already in place, Odyssey will reimburse an
amount equivalent to the cost of shared on-campus summer housing. Evidence of
the lease must be provided. Students who do not have existing housing
commitments will be expected to live in the Hendrix apartments. Please include
housing in the budget submitted with your funding request. Attach a copy of
your lease if appropriate.
6. Normally,
Odyssey funding will not be awarded for:
• tuition at other colleges or universities;
• paid internships or professional field
experiences;
• equipment or hardware;
• projects by seniors that 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
• travel expenses which benefit the
participant beyond the life of the project, such as a passport or luggage (visa
and immunization expenses may be allowed if specifically required to carry out
the project).
7. Students
who are on disciplinary probation or who are in financial arrears to the
College (without a payment plan in place) are
ineligible to receive Odyssey funding. At the time of a student’s applying
for funding either individually with a group, the Odyssey Office will check on
these issues with the Office of Student Affairs and the Business Office. The Odyssey Office will not forward funding
applications to the Committee on Engaged Learning (CEL) unless the situation is
remedied by the time the CEL begins consideration of proposals for that funding
cycle.
Therefore, all students applying for
Odyssey funding will be asked to sign the following statement:
“By signing below, I/we request that the
Office of Student Affairs and the Business Office provide to the Odyssey Office
access to relevant information in student personal files and student financial
accounts (i.e. whether a student is on disciplinary probation or is financially
in arrears to the College). This permission is given with the understanding
that all such information will not be shared outside the Odyssey Office and
will only be used to determine eligibility for funding.”
Additionally, all students who will
participate in a funded project are subject to the same review and must be in
good standing regarding discipline and financial status to participate in the
experience. Please note that this may impact group projects if one or more
proposers become ineligible.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CEL DOES NOT EXPECT A
SPECIFIC PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION AS PART OF STUDENT-INITIATED FUNDING REQUESTS. HOWEVER,
IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO KEEP YOUR EXPENSES REASONABLE, AND IT IS HELPFUL
TO THE COMMITTEE TO KNOW WHICH ONES YOU CAN COVER YOURSELF. IT IS ALSO
APPROPRIATE AND ADVISABLE FOR FACULTY AND STAFF TO REQUIRE PERSONAL
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN GROUP PROJECTS THAT THEY DESIGN.
Funding for First-Time Travel to Present AC and UR Projects
Odyssey
will fund student travel (transportation costs, lodging expenses, registration
costs, and a per diem for food) up to $1,000 per person who has been accepted for
individual or small group presentation of undergraduate research or artistic
creations at any state, regional, national, or international meeting organized
for such presentations. The request must be the first one to come from a
student during his or her Hendrix career, and the project must be approved for
AC or UR credit by the Odyssey Office. Requests to use this travel money must
be submitted online with a First-Time
AC/UR Travel Grant Request Form and will be accepted by the Odyssey Office on a rolling basis as
long as funds are available in a given fiscal year.
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.
However, these additional requests will
not be automatically funded and, instead, will be considered in the pool of
funding requests from students and faculty for the appropriate cycle.
A presentation is considered the required
CULMINATION of a UR project, and it could be the culmination of an AC project.
The project must be completed by May 1 of the fiscal year in which the travel
grant is requested. It is therefore in your best interest to postpone applying
for the travel grant until you are ready to complete your project.
Travel supported by a First-Time AC/UR
Travel Grant should be completed before graduation from Hendrix. However, in
rare circumstances, an appropriate professional conference or performance may
occur after the student has been graduated. In such cases, travel will be
supported if:
• the
above policies are followed;
• the
majority of the research or preparation occurs while the student is still
enrolled;
• the
student applies for First-Time AC/UR Travel during her or his senior year
(while still enrolled);
• the
student has not presented the research or performed the material before;
• the
conference or presentation occurs within three months of the student’s official
graduation date; and
• the
Odyssey supervisor for the AC or UR credit submits a statement of support
providing compelling reasons for a post-graduation presentation or performance.
Notes on Odyssey Funding Processes
If your project involves a host or partner
organization, you are required to fill out a Release of Liability
form prior to beginning your experience. This precaution is to ensure your
safety and must be in place before Odyssey funding is released. We strongly
encourage you to complete this step as soon as possible.
If your project involves international
travel, you must petition for permission
to do so. This precaution is to ensure your safety and must be in place before
Odyssey funding is released. We strongly encourage you to complete this step as
soon as possible.
Your grant monies will not be sent to you automatically. You must consult with Sarah Donaghy (donaghy@hendrix.edu) at
least two weeks before embarking on your project to discuss the disbursal of
funding. Although the Odyssey Office prefers to pre-pay as much of your grant
as possible, certain expenses, such as lodging and ground transportation, will
require reimbursement with itemized receipts. Keep your receipts in a safe
place, because you will not be eligible for reimbursement if you lose them.
Take pictures of them with your phone during your project to have back-up
proof, just in case.
All funds must be expended and all documentation submitted to the
Odyssey Office by your selected project completion date. Any
unexpended funds from your grant will be retained by the Odyssey Office. use
award funding, and submit all documentation by my selected completion date. If
you fail to participate in the project or are unable to complete the project
prior to the completion date, you will refund to Hendrix the full amount
expended on your behalf by the project completion deadline specified in the
proposal.
Stipends
are coordinated through the Hendrix payroll office. If you have not previously
been paid a salary as a student worker, you will be required to complete
federal tax forms with Judy Sherrill in the Business Office. Payroll taxes will
be deducted from your paycheck.
The
Odyssey Office has a corporate credit card for online purchases payable in advance,
such as airfare. If you or your parents would prefer to pay on a personal
credit card to earn points, submit a receipt for reimbursement.
If you
want a check to be mailed to an individual or a business, contact Sarah Donaghy
to obtain the proper W-9 form so the required information can be added to the
Business Office’s payment system. This form requires a Social Security number
or the federal tax identification number for the business, and it must be
signed. In these situations, an invoice will be required for payment.
The
Odyssey Office does not do third-party hotel authorizations, because the hotels
demand a copy of the cardholder’s identification, which increases the potential
for identity theft. Submit receipts to Sarah Donaghy after you have completed
your trip.
Per diem
amounts of up to $35 per day can be awarded for food meals. No receipts are
required, but you must contact Sarah Donaghy with the exact dates of your
travel at least two weeks before you depart to make the arrangements for the
check to be processed. Cash advances from the other grant categories are not
available to students. If you choose to be reimbursed for food, you need to
submit the itemized receipt for each purchase, or the Business Office will not reimburse
you.
If your
grant award includes summer housing, you must apply with Residence
Life to stay on campus. The campus housing amount in your Odyssey grant
will be transferred to the Business Office.
Notes Regarding Travel
Hendrix carries a medical emergency insurance policy that
covers students when they are traveling abroad on institution-sponsored trips.
For more information visit https://www.eiia.org/international-travel/.
All students going abroad are required to
attend an orientation session, which is held at the end of each semester. The
Office of International Programs will address topics such as travel safety and
cultural sensitivity. Information will be provided about the medical emergency
insurance policy at the mandatory meeting and an identification card will
be issued to each student. BE SURE TO CARRY THIS INSURANCE CARD WITH YOU
DURING YOUR TRIP.
As stated earlier, if
your project involves international travel, you must petition for permission to do so. This
precaution is to ensure your safety and must be in place before Odyssey funding
is released. We strongly encourage you to complete this step as soon as
possible.