Assembly Meeting Agenda - albany.edu · Web viewPresident’s Report (Extended version – the meeting will be bullet points of this) Since taking office June, I have done my best

Assembly Meeting AgendaSeptember 6, 2013

President’s Report (Extended version – the meeting will be bullet points of this)

Since taking office June, I have done my best to learn the history of our organization, our past partnerships, our fiscal situation, but more than anything I spent time considering our structural capacities. I started wherever I found something that I thought had to be unpacked. This led me to evaluate our printer contracts and our printer usage, our finances of the last five years, and to meet with any office I thought we ever might have had a relationship with.

Finances:

My analysis of our finances was partial but will be continued as part of the special projects I have set up for this semester. I discovered that we saved around 3,000 dollars last year from cutting the prints to 50 a week, something that obviously in hindsight was not worth it at all. Also, I found in a meeting with our UAS accountant that even though we are an agency of account of UAS, they had no real idea about what caused our debt crisis a few years ago. When asking them for more information to clarify our money situation, we discovered that we had accidentally paid several members of last year’s EBoard too many times. The follow up on that issue indicated that to recover those wages we would have to pay some company 1,000 dollars to recover 2,000. Thinking about the option of a donation, we found that our organization, although a non-profit cannot accept donations (or be offered to donors as an option) unless we have a UAlbany Foundation account. I am currently opening one for us and the option will be offered to the overpaid officers to donate some money back.

Two things became clear from following this trail of questions; if we are going to have a good handle on our finances, not just our money, but our capacity for growth and right to information, we were not going to be guided by UAS and we would need someone with the time and brainpower work on a handbook. This led me to the specialization of office managers. This summer we were short on office managers. I would like to thank our VP Nic for substituting for several weeks in the office to keep it open for students. But now we have hired 4 new office managers out of 80 applications and a dozen or so interviews. Each OM was hired for their particular skills and will be given special projects. One office manager will continue our financial analysis under the direction of Jessica and I. This will result in a GSA financial handbook.

The financial handbook will include an annotated version of our fiscal regulations, an analysis of our ledgers from the past five years to find out who much we spend on what kinds of operations and our patterns through the years. It will also include guidelines for buying printers based on an evaluation of our past usage, particularly our usage during certain months. We need


to start creating institutional memory and document it, so that we do not just restart the same processes every year.

Administration:

As I kept discovering this type of information and tried to piece together a mental picture of what our organization really is, I started to meet with offices and administrators about my various goals to work with them and have a strong voice on campus. I always received the same look, and a similar response. Each year they have their meeting with the GSO/A president and who promises that graduate students want to be involved and have a voice. Then partnerships fall flat, reps stop attending committee meetings, there is some crisis in the GSO/A and the whole vision falls apart. I tried to convince them that we would begin to establish things like handbooks, and guidelines to ease the problems with turnover of the EBoard each year etc. to which they usually smiled politely and agreed that it was a good idea, but one administrator told me point blank, that I would simply not be able to do the things I said I wanted to do.

He was right to have his doubts. A six person EBoard elected by about 350 graduate students that turns over every year, a 20-30 person assembly and small staff can distribute some resources and plan some social events, but it cannot act as a strong student government. With the bylaws in process I believe it is truly time for us to re-think our structure or we are no doubt headed for something like the financial crisis again. We will be ridiculed, and we will not be in a position to defend ourselves. We cannot move forward as is. Crisis will continue to occur and by no fault of any one or few people because are structurally unsound. We need to come to terms with the fact that this is not any of our primary jobs, and re-think and re-structure ourselves to accommodate this.

Committees:

I have a plan, that starts small, but its trajectory will hopefully have a snowballing effect. I have chosen some of the weakest parts of our structure to try to rebuild. First, our reputation in the eyes of administration is weak because of our attendance on administrative committees and in the Faculty Senate. Once one of us is sitting on a committee, and realizes that we aren’t being listened to, that we don’t have time, and that we have no support or traction from the student body because we were just dropped in the room to give a token graduate student opinion… we stop going. Yet, these committees are very important spaces for us to be exercising our voices. To address this issue I have adopted to following strategy. We have hired an Office Manager who is going to have the responsibility of coordinating with people who sit on administrative committees. People who sit on these committees will have to report back to this OM so that she can review what was discussed and connect people on different committees who are dealing with similar issues. For example, the Campus Center expansion project has been on the agenda of several committees this past year. If we had four voices with a coordinated strategy, we may have been able to achieve some goal related to the project. In addition to coordinating voices and


strategies, we are trying to develop a polling system which would operate like another listserv. Students could sign up for to be consulted on important issues for graduate students. A committee rep could submit a few simple questions for a 24 hour survey and perhaps 100, maybe 200 students would respond. This mechanism would give the grad rep sitting at the table with administrators much more authority to say that they are actually representing student interests and are not just a token opinion. Also, to get the reports back into the mainstream flow of information, I hope that we can develop a semester or yearly report which gives committee highlights for the graduate population to keep them informed. This means your reports do not just go into a folder and rot. They have an important function in making our voices mean something on this campus. Also, we are going to get purple polo shirts for people who sit on administrative committees to show appreciation for service.

Programming:

The key component is communication and documentation of our institutional memory. We are also going to establish a handbook in programming. Our programming chair for the summer had to resign for personal reasons and after evaluating the picnic I have decided that the next programming chair’s primary responsibility before putting on any programs will be to work with myself and the EBoard to put together a GSA programming handbook. We may run some low intensity programming, but no major program will be planned until this handbook is completed.

Networking:

I have stated in several documents before that part of my strategy to boost support for graduate students is to develop a strong and sustained network with other offices on campus. To begin to build this network we are going to create a newsletter 3 times a semester. In this newsletter we are going to reserve space for ITLAL, GSEU, UUP, the Sustainability office, Career Services, International Studies, Financial Services etc. for them to express in more detail than a listserv allows, how they can help graduate students. Keeping ourselves informed is half the battle. Hopefully, this snowballs into a stronger sustained relationship with these organizations.

A few quick things:

I have also learned a great deal about the Campus Center Expansion project, which I can report on more in October. And, we will be opening the downtown office very soon. We just needed the manpower to set it up and approval to buy a printer for it.

CNSE-split

And finally the big one you have all been waiting for: the CNSE split. If you read the paper, you know just about as much as most people know. And this is the primary problem.


Information is actively withheld, not just passively missed. Understanding that my comments reflect this organization, I made sure not to express a position on the idea of the split without consulting this assembly. However, I did think it my responsibility to express concern that there is not even enough information available to take an informed position.

This dynamic leads me to recommend to this assembly that we take a firm stance against such an unprecedented and large scale operation happening without transparency or student input. We are a public University and this is an academic institution. But every step that is taken in this process is done in secret and in the name of economic development. If this pattern continues, the result will no doubt have negative effects for those whose interest is to maintain this University as primarily a public and academic entity. I am strongly suggesting that we stand against the CNSE split until we are granted two graduate student seats on the working group which is designing the re-structuring plan. I am not suggesting this because I think the split is inherently a bad idea, but because I believe the people making the decisions about this split have little concern for the interests of graduate students.

Strategic Plan:

Finally, I want to suggest to the assembly that what we need guiding the development of these handbooks, our mission, and our new bylaws is a strategic plan. I ask that the assembly wait to pass any bylaws until I can propose a strategic plan. Thank you.

MCAA report:

After last year’s election there was not much time to congregate with the new e-board members despite the many efforts. On my end this began a summer of disconnection with the GSA that was nothing but detrimental. Because of my lack of involvement this summer the work load this semester is heavier. Nonetheless I am ready, willing, and able to do what my job requires me to do. After my return to Albany I have taken the necessary steps to make up for my earlier mistakes. I have continued to work on the Decolonizing lecture series which will continue this semester with a decolonizing food lecture which would focus on the historical origins of “ethnic foods” from different colonized cultures and their relationship to their colonizers, as well as their relationship with the political economy and how that has affected their cuisine. I will also be organizing a decolonizing language lecture event which would focus on the historical origins of certain discriminatory/oppressive words that have been traditionally used to keep people in a marginalized state. Apart from these 2 program we have managed to once again establish a relationship with Dr. Betty Shadrick the Dean for Graduate Student Diversity. This relationship has led to my sponsorship of a few programs this semester that aid in the graduate student experience. I will also be serving on the Committee on Campus Security and the Community Engagement Committee.


Meeting with Betty Shadrick

Welcome reception, September 13th, 3-5 pm, refreshments will be served, Campus Center Terrace lounge, reception for all graduate students – expect to contribute $500

Brown Bags, 3 to 4 luncheons a semester, $200 per event for food

Holiday Gala, Thursday December 5 2013, 40-50 students, 5-7pm, Buying gifts for prizes and foods, $700,

Spring Fling, April 11th, 5-7pm, (message therapy), music, keep an eye out for possible location, puppy therapy, $700

Brown Bag on Financial Literacy,Time management and stress management skills, professional development series,

Committed $3,500 for Shadricks program, $2000 for decolonizing lecture series, $500 for International studies Thanksgiving dinner.

Vice-President Report:

RGSO Announcements

The deadline for application of Fall 2013 RGSO funding has been extended to September 20th. The applications are to be sent electronically, by mid-night, to the email: [email protected]. Applicants are instructed to use the current forms in the 2012 Handbook, although these have not been updated to reflect the new name of the Graduate Student Association.

The RGSO committee is currently looking for volunteers to assist in the review of RGSO applications.

RGSO Finances

In the penultimate assembly meeting of the 2012-2013 school year, the assembly allocated $3,000 dollars to be offered to RGSOs events that may occur during the summer. Only a small number of organizations took advantage of this opportunity. A total of $1315 was allocated for


the Summer funds, $615 of which has been spent. The remainder of these funds will be rolled over to the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

RGSO Handbook Revision

As many are aware, a new Constitution was proposed and past in April of 2013. It was also the intention of the assembly to revise the By-Laws and Financial Guidelines. In this revision the RGSO Handbook would be more formally integrated within the By-Laws. Although the Constitutional Committee is in charge of this process, I have requested that the current state of revision be made available for comments. It has been difficult, however, to obtain the status of the changes. I am currently contacting those in the committee to finalize this revision process and be able to present the current status to the assembly for comments.

Grants Chair Report:

The summer grants program was characterized by a slow start up and elongated process (beyond the 5 week turnover quoted in the grants guidelines) to awarding and final disbursement, due to the turnover of the office as well as the chair being abroad for several weeks during the summer on research. Despite these minor delays in the process, the committee was formed and evaluated all 19 of the grant applications, which came from a diversity of departments across campus. There were (6) research grants and (13) travel grants—all were awarded anywhere from $325 to $500, with a total allocated budget of $8,000. Thus far, all but (8) have submitted their reimbursement documentation.

The fall grants program is currently on hold until the new application process and guidelines are reviewed and accepted by the assembly. The GSA Grants Chair and GSA President designed new research and professional development grant applications due to the outdated and cumbersome nature of the previous applications. The former applications and process had not been updated since 2001 and the executive board felt it was time to overhaul the former process in an attempt to allow the grants program to work more easily and effectively for the graduate student community. The research grant will fund the same types of expenses as it had previously. The application asks for similar components but does not require the applicant to repeat these elements multiple times throughout the application. The professional development grant has been broadened to include seminars, exhibitions, online courses, certifications pertinent to a student’s degree, and other similar activities. These applications have been shortened extensively and no longer require a letter of support but simply ask the applicant to justify their participation in the given activity. The process will all be done through email whereby students will fill out the word document applications and email them directly to the grants chair. The


grants chair will then distribute the necessary materials to the grants committee for review. Applicants will no longer be required to submit 5 additional, paper copies for the committee. Instead, the grants chair will be responsible for distributing application materials to committee members electronically. Because the process is no longer blind, we will be expecting committee members to be forthcoming about the applications they may encounter from individuals with whom they are familiar. We will expect any committee member who receives an application from someone they know to return these applications and review a different one. Additionally, no committee member will be allowed to review applications from their own department or program. Due to the first assembly meeting for the semester not taking place until September 6th, the fall grants program has been temporarily suspended. Upon approval from the assembly, the new grant guidelines and applications will be promptly posted online to allow students to apply for activities and research that take place within the traditional fall funding period. Due to the delay, the deadline for fall grant submission will now be October 1, allowing students just under a month to complete the applications. This should not prove to be an issue as the new process has been simplified and streamlined.

Programming Chair:No officer report.

Treasurer’s Report:

- We are currently in the process of moving our voucher system to an online one using myinvolvment. Once the system is set up and finalized we will slowly transition from the old process to the new. Most likely all vouchers will go through the online system, but until it is complete we won’t know for sure. We do know that all RGSO vouchers will be moved to the online system. Therefore there will be mandatory training for all RGSO groups.

- Thanks to the frugal nature of the last administration we came into the summer with a substantial surplus, $40,000. In the last meeting of the spring semester part of this money was awarded to summer grants and RGSO summer funding, as well as new computers and possibly printers. The remaining will be split between the contingency budget and roll over to the computer/printers that have not yet been purchased.

- There is “leeway” built into this years budget in order to prevent any overspending/debt issues. (please see proposed budget attached.) We will reevaluate the budget at the start of the Spring 2014 semester, and any left over moneys can be voted on at the end of the semester to put toward any mix of the following- RGSOs, Grants, professional development, office upgrades.


- As of 7/1/2013 we have spent $4,000.00 on the GSA picnic and Office expenses. There has also been almost $10,000 allocated toward summer grants and RGSO events, which is rollover from the last budget. As of 8/27/13 we have $60,000 of our estimated $194,788.00. (see table #2 - Budget as of 9/1/13)

Table 1: Proposed 2013-2014 Budget:GSA Proposed Annual Budget

July 1, 2013- June 30, 2014Statement of

Estimated Revenue and

ExpensesRevenue

Projected Revenue: $ 194,788.00UAS Cash: $ 30,000.00Contingency Budget: $ 22,500.00

Total: $ 202,288.00 Total Allocated: 192500ExpensesServices

GSA Direct Sponsor Events: $ 6,000.00RGSA: $ 35,000.00MCAA: $ 6,000.00Programming: $ 6,000.00Grants: $ 35,000.00GSA Orientation Picnic: $ 2,000.00GSA End of Year Event: $ 2,000.00GSA Assembly Meetings: $ 1,000.00

Total: 93000


OperationsOffice New Computers $ 6,000.00

Copier and Printers $ 35,000.00

(1 lease, 3 service contracts, 2 purchases)

Telephone and Fax $ 1,000.00Organization Liability Insurance $ 1,000.00

Office Supplies $ 15,000.00

(Includes paper)

Total: 58000

Stipends Grants Chair $ 3,000.00MCAA Chair $ 3,000.00Programming Chair $ 3,000.00Treasurer $ 3,500.00Vice- President $ 3,500.00President $ 4,500.00Lead Senator and Senators $ 1,000.00

Total: 21500

Salaries Office Managers (5) $ 20,000.00Web Master $ 0.00


Total 20000

Table #2: Budget as of 9/1/13:

GSA Budget as of 9/1/13

July 1, 2013- June 30, 2014

Revenue

Projected Revenue: $ 194,788.00UAS Cash: $ 30,000.00Contingency Budget: $ 22,500.00 Total Allocated: 17000

Total Paid as of 8/15: 3945

Total: $ 202,288.00ExpensesServices Budget Allocated Paid Notes

GSA Direct Sponsor Events: $ 6,000.00 $1,921.00

RGSA: $ 35,000.00 $1,315.00 $1,015.00Summer RGSO $*

MCAA: $ 6,000.00 Programming: $ 6,000.00 $250.00

Grants: $ 35,000.00 $8,000.00Summer Grants $*

GSA Orientation Picnic: $ 2,000.00 $2,000.00GSA End of Year Event: $ 2,000.00GSA Assembly Meetings: $ 1,000.00

Total: 93000 1015

Operations Budget Allocated Paid NotesOffice New Computers $ 6,000.00

Copier and Printers $ 35,000.00 $1,835.00 $1,338.00


GSA Budget as of 9/1/13

Telephone and Fax $ 1,000.00 $295.00 $176.00Organization Liability Insurance $ 1,000.00 $886.00 $886.00Office Supplies $ 15,000.00 $77.00 $77.00

Total: 58000 2477

Stipends Grants Chair $ 3,000.00 $0.00

MCAA Chair $ 3,000.00 $0.00Programming Chair $ 3,000.00 $0.00Treasurer $ 3,500.00 $0.00Vice- President $ 3,500.00 $0.00President $ 4,500.00 $0.00Lead Senator and Senators $ 1,000.00 $0.00

Total: 21500 0

Salaries Office Managers (5) $ 20,000.00 $453.00

Web Master $ 0.00 $0.00

Total 20000 453

Business:1- Motion to approve a secretary (responsibilities include taking the minutes of our

assembly meetings)2- Motion to approve an assembly speaker (responsibilities include learning Robert’s Rules

of Order to run assembly meetings)3- Motion to approve the budget (see treasurer’s report)4- Motion to establish a Wages and Benefits Committee to support the GSEU’s campaign to

better graduate student working conditions. This committee has existed in the past. Interested committee members should email [email protected].


5- Motion to establish a Special Election Committee to facilitate election of new Lead Senator (the elected Lead Senator has resigned). Take volunteers at meeting so the process can move forward as quickly as possible.

6- Resolution to pass new grants guidelines. See appendix A. 7- Motion to approve purchase of two printers from Xerox Eastern. See appendix B.8- Motion to approve E-Board appointment for Grants Chair: Kimberly Berg9- Motion to approve Senator appointments

Genevieve Kane

Bryant Barksdale

Christine Preble

10- CNSE Resolution which has 3 parts

A- calls on administration to be more transparent about the CNSE transition.

B- calls for two graduate student representatives on the working group which is going toplan the transition. One must be a CNSE graduate student, the other must be a non-CNSE graduate student.

C- calls for the assembly to take a stance against the transition until graduate students are given representation on this working group. This resolution does not indicate a stance against the idea of a separation, but takes a firm stance against such an unprecedented and large scale change happening without proper graduate student participation.

Appendix A-1: Grants Guidelines


RESEARCH / PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT GUIDELINES

In the event that any portion of the Grant Guidelines conflict(s) with either the intent or the language of the GSA Constitution or the GSA Bylaws, the Grant Guidelines should be

considered inferior.GRANTS

UA-GSA offers two types of grants:

1- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS intended to pay for or offset travel and other costs related to conference/exhibition/seminar participation.

2- RESEARCH GRANTS intended to pay for or offset costs incurred while conducting sanctioned research.

Both types of grants are for amounts up to $650.00. Grant funds are currently generated entirely from graduate student activity fees.

FUNDED ACTIVITIES

For Research Travel to research facilities Purchase of equipment and supplies (non-durable) Remuneration of human subjects Costs associated with specialized research training, including travel to obtain such

training Room and board expenses at research facilities or field sites.

For PD such as: Presentation of a paper, poster, literary piece, or artwork Serving as a discussant or panelist Chairing of a session or panel

Sanctioned PD expenses include: Room and board expenses incurred while participating in an event and/or room and board

expenses incurred on the day immediately preceding or following an event (while in transit to or from Albany).

Registration fees for academic conferences, symposia, literary readings, exhibitions, and other academic meetings.

We will NOT FUND: Purchase of books or supplies for classes

University at Albany

Graduate Student Association

Campus Center 165B | Albany, New York 12222


Computer or any other hardware, or durable good Any publication cost Living expenses while a student is in the writing stages of master’s thesis, dissertation, or

other research or academic papers or work

DEADLINES

The deadline to apply for a UA-GSA grant for Fall and Spring semesters shall be the second Friday after classes commence in the applicable semester. The deadline for Summer semester shall be June 1 each year.

Application deadlines are:

Fall: October 1st (for this year only!)Spring: January 31st

Summer: June 1st*

*If the deadline falls on a weekend day, the deadline will default to the following Monday.

ELIGIBLITY

Students are limited to one travel or one research grant per funding period and are limited to a max of 1,000 dollars throughout their graduate career at the University at Albany.

You must be a matriculated University at Albany Graduate Student (full or part-time) You must show proof of paid mandatory graduate activity fee for current semester. UA-GSA officers are NOT eligible for grants while in office. Students serving on the UA-GSA Grants Review Committee are NOT eligible to apply

for UA-GSA grants in the category they are evaluating.(If fees are not collected during the summer semester, proof of paid mandatory graduate activity fee for preceding Spring semester –or- pre-registration and pre-payment of mandatory graduate activity fee for the subsequent Fall semester.)

Students on the Grants Review Committee will be asked to re-cuse themselves from evaluating applications from people they know to ameliorate bias.

APPLYING

All applications must be written for layperson comprehension. Reviewers of your application may include persons unfamiliar with your academic specialty. Please keep this in mind when preparing your application materials.

For the RESEARCH PROJECT APPLICATION you must complete the GSA Research Grant Application Packet and submit it to the grants chair email with your CV attached, a print screen capture of your GSA bill paid, and a letter of recommendation from ONE faculty member. Please also submit a copy of IRB paperwork, if applicable.


For the PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION you must complete the GSA Professional Development Grant Application Packet and submit it to the grants chair email with your CV attached, and a print screen capture of your GSA bill paid.

To do a screen capture of your bill, call up your student bill on myualbany and press control + PrntScr on your computer and paste the picture into a word document. Send this word document titled “GSA billed paid” to the grants chair email.

CRITERIA

Research Grant Proposals (in rough order of importance):

Clarity of exposition (e.g. are the aims and methodology of the project understandable to lay-persons).

Significance of the research the discipline or field. A reasonable budget. Strength of the Curriculum Vitae (preferred) or Resume. Strength of faculty recommendation (only for research grants).

Professional Development Grant Proposals (in rough order of importance):

Clarity of exposition (e.g. are the aims, methodology and results of the paper/project clearly outlined in the description).

Significance of the paper or exhibition to the discipline or field. Importance of the conference. A reasonable budget. Strength of the Curriculum Vitae (preferred) or the Resume.

THE APPLICATION

Knowledge of and compliance with the GSA Grant Guidelines is the responsibility of the applicant only.

All applicants will be sent a letter (or email) confirming the receipt of their application by the Grants Committee.

If the project has multiple authors or is a group presentation and all or some members wish to apply for GSA funding, ONE application must be submitted jointly by those applying for funding. If applicants do not submit jointly, the application will be considered incomplete/fraudulent and will not be considered for funding.

The entire grant review process should not exceed 5 weeks from deadline (except in cases where there is an appeal or other special circumstance).

All individuals receiving a grant or not receiving a grant will be notified by letter within two weeks from the time final decisions are made.


Any individual(s) denied grant funding, may request in writing the reasons for denial.

FUNDING PERIODS

Grant funds may be used for activities or research that fall after the previous granting period’s deadline. For example, a student may apply for funds in the fall to reimburse an activity which occurred on June 2nd or after. In special circumstances, the Grants Chair may, at their discretion, grant the extension of a grant award into the next funding period. All requests for such an extension must detail the special circumstances surround the request, and must be submitted in writing to the Grants Chair before the end of original award period.

The following are the three UA-GSA Grant funding periods:

Summer Period: June 1st – January 31stFall Period: October 1st – May 31st

Spring Period: January 31 – September 17th

Important Note: If the deadline falls on a weekend, or a holiday, the effective deadline will be the next regularly scheduled UA business day.

CLAIMING YOUR AWARD

To claim a grant award, the award recipient must, within two weeks of the conclusion of the award period, submit the following items:

The original receipts, stapled to a letter size paper, with a list of receipts accompanying it.

Professional Development Grant recipients must provide a photocopy of the conference/activity program cover page and the relevant page(s) which show the grant recipients participation.

Research Grant recipients who did not supply proof that they have gained a IRB or IACUC approval, must do so at this point.

The reimbursement materials must be submitted to the GSA office / or online (if the process is online). If not online an Office Manager will fill out a voucher. The UA-GSA Grants Chair shall make sure documents are properly completed, and shall sign the voucher within one week of their arrival in the office. The President and Treasurer will also sign the voucher and submit the documents to UAS, which will verify the documents and mail a check to award recipients.

In extenuating circumstances extensions beyond the 2 weeks may be filed. Extensions may not exceed the last day of the next funding period. If a research or travel project, or part thereof funded by a UA-GSA grant extends beyond the end of the initial funding period for which he/she received a grant from the UA-GSA Grants Committee, the grant


recipient is required to file an Interim Grant Report to the UA-GSA Grants Committee at the close of that funding period, and submit their receipts/expenses documentation when the project is completed. The Interim Grant Report will briefly detail progress and expenses to date, and the work remaining.

No more than one PD and research grant may be in progress.

The grant recipient is responsible for keeping track of the date for report submission; the UA-GSA Grants Committee will not send out reminders to students.

The UA-GSA Grants Committee is responsible for maintaining complete and current financial records on each grant awarded. Additionally, a running general ledger should be maintained by the UA-GSA Grants Committee as a subsection of the GSA General Ledger which is monitored by the GSA Treasurer. These records are for audit purposes as well as general accounting needs.

DISBURSEMENT

Awards will be disbursed upon receipt of proof of attendance, original receipts, and an itemized budget of expenses.

In very special cases, part or all of an award may be made available prior to the start of the research project. Special cases include individuals unable to finance the research project or part thereof outlined in the grant proposal with their own or other funds. Applicants may petition the Grants Chair in writing for special treatment any time after the grant awards have been announced. The Grants Chair will respond in writing detailing the terms of the agreement. The Grants Chair will place both the request and the response in the applicant’s file.

In special cases a log of expenses may be accepted. Special cases may include, for example, living expenses for individuals conducting extended research in the field or at distant research facilities; or even odometer records when a personal vehicle is used for travel.

Receipts totaling more than an allocated portion of the award will be excluded. For example, if a student wins a grant of $300, and if two nights of hotel expenses are authorized and the New York State reimbursement rate for that city is $75 per night, then only $150 of a $362 hotel bill would be paid. The remaining award amount ($150) must be claimed with receipts for other expenses (some of which may be governed by similar caps due to New York State per diem regulations).

UA RESEARCH COMPLIANCE

Approval for research involving human or animal subjects must be included in the application. All research that involves either human or animal subjects must be approved by the appropriate university body. The UA-Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews


all research projects which collect information on or about living human subjects. The IRB is also responsible to judge whether a research project will impact human subjects. The University at Albany Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) reviews all research involving animals. Applicants must attach documentation that proves that approval has already been received.

APPLICANT RESPONSIBILITIES

During the evaluation period the applicant is responsible for informing the GSA Grants Committee if receive other funding or intend to withdraw from UA-GSA grant competition.

After the evaluation period and until the close of the funding period, the applicant is responsible for informing the GSA Grants Committee if they were unable to undertake the project as originally planned (e.g., because of a delayed or denied visa) or of the intention to forego a UA-GSA grant award.

Written notification of the intention or need to forego a grant award shall result in no penalty to the applicant. The Grants Chair will acknowledge any such withdrawal in writing, and the declined award will be treated as over-funded monies.

Co-authored papers require one application filed jointly by those Co-Authors seeking GSA funding. The Co-Authors will assign one author who will be responsible for the allocation of the GSA travel grant award. For the purposes of proportioning grant monies, co-authored papers will be treated as a single proposal.

REVIEW PROCESS

Public discussion of any specific information on, or about, current or past UA-GSA graduate student grant proposals is forbidden. All grant proposals are CONFIDENTIAL and should not be discussed with anyone outside the Grants Review Committee. Only information waived by a GSA Grant Consent form signed by the applicant will be eligible for public viewing, at the discretion of the Grants Chair, the day after award notices have been sent. Any information filled out on the Grant Release Form, or included in the Final Report will be deemed available for public viewing or transmittal and may be used to promote GSA programs, at the discretion of the Grants Chair, when it is received in the GSA office.

However, the GSA reserves the right to make a public announcement, if an applicant is notified or sent an award letter, posting their Name, Discipline/Department and brief description of their project / presentation at public forum such as the GSA website. Applying for this grant is consent that the GSA may post the Name, Discipline/Department and brief description of their project / presentation of an awardee, at the GSA’s discretion, and will not be liable for ANY damages in posting the general information indicated.


No member of the UA-GSA Grants Review Committee, other than the Chair, is allowed access to any grant proposals, Faculty evaluations, or UA-GSA evaluations from any other funding period.

The Chair of the Grants Committee is allowed access to all previous grant proposals and evaluations. In the case that the current Chair of the Grants Review Committee submitted a grant proposal in a previous funding period, he/she is not allowed access to their application packet if they waved their right of access to any of the material.

No one shall have access to grant proposals and evaluations from the current funding period except members of the current Grants Review Committee and the current UA-GSA office manager.

Both successful and unsuccessful proposals and evaluations are to be kept on file in the UA-GSA office, in a locked cabinet, for a minimum of three years.

Research and Professional Development grants will be evaluated separately.

The UA-GSA Grants Review Committee will take no longer than nine weeks to evaluate grant proposals and make final decisions regarding PD and research grant awards.

CRITERIA FOR AWARD AMOUNT

The award amounts will be determined by the average of the applicant’s scores from the individual committee members. Adjusted for insignificant statistical deviation, similar scores will all receive similar funding.

Prevailing NY State per diem Guidelines will be used to determine legitimate GSA travel expenses (including mileage), meal expenses, and lodging expenses.

The GSA will generally fund lodging only for the night that the student participates in a recognized function. Meals will generally be funded for the day of the function, and depending at the Grants Committee’s discretion, one day of transit.

The Grants Chair may incrementally adjust individual award amounts to reflect extraordinary proposals. Adjusted Grants must be documented in writing by the Grant Chair, with a copy of the Justification for Grant Adjustment 1) placed in the applicant’s Original Application file, 2) circulated to the Assembly at the next meeting after the award, 3) sent to the award winner.

APPEALS

There are two conditions for appeal: 1) Where a faculty evaluator for the applicant has been unfair or biased; 2) Where the Grants Committee has been unfair or biased.


There are two time periods in which an appeal may be initiated: 1) During the review process, while the grant applications are still in committee, during which the Grants Committee will determine the results of the appeal. 2) After the committee reviews and within two weeks of the date that award notices are sent from the GSA office. In this case the appeal must go to the GSA Assembly.

The applicant must submit the appeal in writing to the Grants Chair who will forward the appeal to the Grants Committee or the GSA Assembly.

If the Formal Grant Appeal process results in the awarding of a grant to a student and the grant moneys for the relevant funding period are expended, the money awarded to the student will come from the grant funding cycle next following the Assembly’s decision.

OVER-FUNDING

In the event that a student obtains adequate funding from other sources, and chooses to decline a UA-GSA grant award or accept a lesser amount, then the top ranked alternate grant proposal will be funded.

UA-GSA FUNDING ALLOCATION PROCEDURES The amount of money allocated by the UA-GSA to the total grant fund will be distributed based on the average actual demand of the previous two years. In approximate terms, this amounts to 40% of the annual budget spent in each the Fall and Spring terms, and 20% of the annual budget spent in the Summer term.

MISAPPROPRIATION OF GRANT AWARD

A. Situations Considered Misappropriation of Grant Awards:1. If a student’s budget or travel plans change and they did not inform the Grants Chair.

Such changes are allowed when the student informs the Grants Chair and the change is approved.

2. When the UA-GSA grants are applied to student expenses associated with class work or a project other than that specified in the grant proposal.

3. When a student a) does not complete a research project or part thereof funded by a UA-GSA grant, or does not undertake the travel or conference participation specified in a travel grant proposal, and b) has collected all or part of the award in advance of the travel or research.

4. When original receipts, or adequate documentation of expenses incurred are not submitted and a student has collected all or part of the grant in advance of the travel or research.

B. UA-GSA Procedures for Misappropriated Awards:


1. The student will be contacted and given the opportunity to explain and rectify the situation.

2. If the student does not explain or rectify the situation to the satisfaction of the UA-GSA Grants Committee, the student’s faculty advisor and department chair will be contacted by the UA-GSA Grants Committee.

3. If the situation cannot be adequately resolved by the student or her/his faculty advisor and department chair, then the UA-GSA Grants Committee will notify the University Bursar’s Office, which may then commence collection procedures with the student.

GUIDELINE AMENDMENT

1. The Grants Chair may initiate Grant Guideline amendment at any point during their tenure. To ensure continuity and equity, the normal time for amendment will be after Summer grants have been announced. The amended, but Unratified Grant Guidelines will govern all applicants in the following Fall round of grant competition. Upon ratification and/or revision by the Assembly, the amended Grant Guidelines will take effect immediately and retro-actively to the beginning of the current (Fall) round of grant competition. The Unratified Grant Guidelines will be presented to the Assembly at their first meeting in the Fall of the new academic year.

2. In extraordinary circumstances, the Assembly, under the leadership of the Assembly Speaker and with a simple majority vote, may initiate amendment of the Grants Guidelines. Assembly led amendments must be available for implementation by the Grants Chair six weeks before the deadline for the next granting period.

MISCELLANEOUS

NOTE: The awarding of grants is contingent upon the availability of GSA funds. Grant awards also are contingent upon your ability to convince reviewers that your cause is a worthy one–as such, awards do NOT reflect the value of your work.

NOTE: Pending ratification by the UA-GSA Assembly of updated or amended guidelines, the GSA is committed to fulfilling the expressed intent these guidelines wherever the letter of the guidelines is outdated.

NOTE: In the event that any portion of the Grant Guidelines conflict with the either the intent or the language of the GSA Constitution or the GSA Bylaws, the Grant Guidelines should be considered inferior.

If you have any questions, please contact the Grants Committee at the GSA Office in Campus Center 165B (442-4178).

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Appendix A-2: PD application packet

GSA Professional Development Grant

Description of Activity (provide as much detail as possible for reviewers including location of the activity, type of conference or seminar, and other similar information) Maximum 300 words:

How will this activity benefit your professional development? That is, what is the value of this activity in your professional progress? Maximum 500 words:

In what other prior professional development activities have you participated?

What is the itemized budget for this activity? What is the amount of funding requested from the GSA? How many other grants have you received from the GSA (specify amount and year)?

Why did you select this particular activity?

Appendix A-3: GSA Research Grant

GPA*:Year in Program:*If you are a first year graduate student, you may choose to enter your undergraduate or master’s GPA.

Project Abstract Maximum 300 words:


Research Plan (include a description of methods, your proposed timeline, in addition to other relevant information) Maximum 500 words:

How does your project contribute to your field and/or degree?

In what other prior professional development and research activities have you participated?

What is the itemized budget for this activity? What is the amount of funding requested from the GSA? How many other grants have you received from the GSA (specify amount and year)?

Appendix B:

Canon – 62 pages per minute printer – $7,800

Xerox – Konica Bizhub 423 - 42 pages per minute printer – $4,319.38Xerox – Konica Bizhub 552 - 55 pages per minute printer – $5,953.78

Recommendation: we should purchase the 423 for East Campus and the 552 for Downtown immediately.

Documents

Assembly Meeting Agenda - albany.edu · Web viewPresident’s Report (Extended version – the meeting will be bullet points of this) Since taking office June, I have done my best