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;
April 1 for fall semester and winter break projects, along with some summer PL experiences (see below).
If the funding deadline falls on a weekend, paperwork will be due by 5 p.m. on 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.
SPECIAL NOTE FOR INTERNSHIPS OR PROFESSIONAL FIELD EXPERIENCES: If you plan to do a summer internship or professional field experience, but have not received acceptance into the position by February 1, you may submit your funding application in the April 1 cycle. However, requests for internship/professional field experience funding that are turned down in the February cycle will NOT be reconsidered in April.
To apply for funding, use the funding packet of forms that can be 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 supervisor. It is recommended that you meet with your supervisor at least two weeks before the funding deadline.
2. Complete an Odyssey Proposal Form and a Funding Request Form along with a Budget Request and submit them to the Odyssey Office (SLTC 246). All of these forms are included in the Funding Request Packet available in the Odyssey Office or on the web site. USE THE CHECKLIST IN THE PACKET TO ASCERTAIN THAT YOU HAVE CORRECTLY COMPLETED ALL OF THE PAPERWORK!
3. Submit your Proposal Form and Funding Request Form together in one packet. However, 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. 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 campus mail of the outcome. Note that your award may be less than your request. Therefore it is important to have a back-up plan to cover some of your expenses.
6. If you receive funding, you will be asked to sign an acceptance form. You must then work with Janina Cambiano, Manager of the Odyssey Office, to arrange the disbursal of your funds.
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.
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 used and all documentation submitted by May 1 of the fiscal year in which your project takes place. Any unexpended funds from your grant will be retained by the Odyssey Office.
B. 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 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 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
• ordinary expenses to travel abroad (items such as passports, visas, immunizations, etc.).
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, 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.”
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.
C. 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 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 on 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.
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.
_______If asked by the Hendrix Office of Development, I agree to write a thank you note to the donor who made my Odyssey project possible.
_______I will consult with the Odyssey Office for details about processing this grant funding.
IF THIS AGREEMENT IS NOT MET, A HOLD WILL BE PLACED ON YOUR ACCOUNT IN THE BUSINESS OFFICE UNTIL THE PROJECT IS COMPLETE OR THE MONEY RETURNED TO ODYSSEY. Under extenuating circumstances you may request an extension of this deadline. Submit your request in writing to the director of the Odyssey Program.
Please note that while the project itself may not be complete, all funds must be expended and accounted for by May 1 of the fiscal year in which the project takes place.