Administrative Guide for the Disbursal of Travel Awards

If you have any questions please contact the GSC Travel Administrator at

  1. Travel awards shall be granted to the Members of the GSA on a first-come-first-serve basis. At the discretion of the Executive Council, the number of awards granted in the fall semester, for travel during the summer and fall semester, may be limited in order to reserve funds for the spring semester.
  2. PLAN will conduct training workshops on the Travel award process beginning Fall 2013. Information on the date and location of the workshop will be added to the PLAN website at
  3. For every graduate student, we will appropriate at least $100
  4. If you are receiving additional travel funds from your department or outside source, GSC will award additional funds as outlined on the following chart:

Not Presenting (only attending) / Presenting
Maximum up to $300—if you are receiving some form of outside funding / Maximum up to $350—if you are receiving some form of outside funding
Maximum up to $200—if you have a letter from your department stating they cannot provide you with funding / Maximum up to $250—if you have a letter from your department stating they cannot provide you with funding
  1. If you CANNOT receive travel funds from other sources or your department, you MUST:
  2. provide and attach a signed letter to your Travel Expense Voucher from your department DGS or chair indicating that for the academic year. The letter should indicate whether:

▪You COULD NOT receive any additional travel funds for your travel because you have exhausted your departmental funds, OR

▪Your department does not have any money budgeted to fund graduate student travel for the 2013-2014 academic year.

  1. Graduate Students will be eligible receive up to a maximum of $350 per academic year to compete, perform, or present at conferences. A maximum of $250 per academic year is eligible for registered attendance and networking at conferences.
  2. The maximum amount of money for a single award may be adjusted from the $250.00/$350.00 current award by a three-fourths majority vote of the GSC.
  3. Students who travel to the NAGPS Regional or National meetings shall also be permitted to access the "NAGPS Travel" and "Discretionary" line items of the budget at the discretion of the President or apply to the SGA Finance Committee for SGA funding.
  4. No department shall be allowed to accessmore than twenty percentof the total "Travel/Research" line-item budget of the GSC in a single fiscal year. The Travel Administrator shall notify the Departmental GSC Representative when15%of the said budget has been allocated to that department.
  5. Research-travel award requests shall be submitted to the Travel Administrator through the GSC Websiteat least twoweeks prior to the anticipated date of travel.Requests for exceptions to this policy must be made in writing to the GSC Travel Administrator by five business days afterthe date of travel, and shall be granted only on the approval of a majority vote of the Executive Council.
  6. A properly completed reimbursement form and all original receipts shall be received by designated university official in charge of reimbursements within five to eight weeks of returning from travel.To allow time for processing, Members shall submit completed paperwork to their UBM and initiate processing within 30 days of returning from travel.Requests for extensions due to extenuating circumstances shall be made in writing to the travel administrator within the 30 day period and shall be subject to approval by the Executive Council.
  7. Only ONE Travel Expense Voucher is to be completed per travel, regardless if you have multiple funding sources or are receiving travel funds at separate times because of a waitlist.So, please include all reimbursable expenses from your travel on ONE Travel Expense Voucher.
  8. Regardless of if you have received Travel Funds or are on the waitlist to receive Travel Funds you MUST Complete and submit your Travel Expense Voucher and signed Checklistwithin 30 days the return of your travel.If you fail to meet the submission deadline without prior approval from the GSC Travel Administrator your funding will be revoked or denied.
  9. If you are on the waitlist for GSC Travel Fundsand have already traveled before receiving funds, you must complete a Travel Expense Voucher and Checklist within 30 days the return of your travel.Once you are pulled off from the waitlist and receive GSC Travel Funds, you must then submit an amendment to your Travel Expense Voucherwithin 30 days you receive this approval letterto collect your GSC travel reimbursement.
  1. No awards shall be made to a Member whose department is in “inactive” status when the request is made. The GSC Travel Administrator shall make it known to Members who were denied funds when their department may regain “active” status. It shall be theMember’s responsibility to communicate with their Departmental GSC Representative if they have regained “active” status so that they may then reapply.
  1. If the travel administrator is not notified by the departure date of the cancellation of a Member's travel plans, that Member shall be ineligible to receive Travel funds for the remainder of that academic year.

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