Annual Funding

Active Research Awards

Attendance at Scholarly Conference.

1. Presentation of scholarly research as a paper or equivalent, (e.g., a poster, round-table, panel paper, or musical or other artistic work) to one’s academic peers or equivalent. 

2. Participation in a panel, workshop, institute, etc. that requires significant scholarly preparation. 

3. Scholarly activity that has been peer-reviewed or selected by a professional organization for inclusion in a conference program (e.g., invited paper, keynote address.) 

Documentation required with the application: Active participation includes documentation such as a letter of invitation or acceptance of paper, and a preliminary copy of the program, or a web link to the conference program with your name as a presenter. **** If you have not received confirmation of acceptance you may still apply for funding and you will receive conditional approval ie. conditional until such time as confirmation of acceptance has been submitted to the Faculty Development Office.

Preparation of scholarly work is determined by the following criteria: 

1. Research related to completing books, articles, reviews, reports, creative work (music, art, drama), scientific, technological projects or other types of scholarly research. This includes travel to archives, interviews, translations, purchase of essential research materials, stipends for research assistants, etc. 

Documentation required with the application:  If funding is requested for an ongoing scholarly project for which the applicant has previously received a Faculty Development award, the applicant must include a progress report demonstrating that the project has entered a new phase requiring additional funding. 

Equipment and unused materials become the property of SMC. 

Active Administrative Awards 

1. Fulfillment of major administrative commitments at conferences (e.g. officers in a professional organization hosting the conference, major symposium coordinator, etc.) 

2. This work requires organizational work in advance of the conference and active duties during the conference. 

3. This is not organizing one panel at a major meeting. 

Documentation required with the application: of administrative work must be provided with application and should include the following: 1) email/letter of invitation, or 2) web link, and 3) correspondence or outline regarding administrative work. 

Only one active administrative award is fundable annually. 

Active Pedagogy Awards

1. Participation at workshops or conferences where you are receiving substantial training to improve student learning and your teaching effectiveness. 

2. This is not course development. 

Documentation required with the application: an email/letter of invitation, or web link, and an outline of substantial training. 

Passive Awards:

1. Attendance at conferences or symposia. 

2. Passive awards have a $600 maximum per year for (pre-)tenured faculty and $300 maximum per year for adjunct faculty.

Documentation required with the application:  a receipt for registration, or  confirmation of travel, or print of or link to a webpage describing the conference or event.

Funding Limitations

Please note that funds are limited and can only be awarded so long as the fund has not been depleted.

A. Pre-tenured faculty: 

Funds are limited to $2,400 per individual per academic year funds. Active awards and scholarly research projects are funded up to the annual cap. Passive awards have a $600 maximum per year. 

B. Tenured faculty: 

Funds are limited to $2,200 per individual per academic year. Active awards and scholarly research projects are funded up to the annual cap. Passive awards have a $600 maximum per year. 

C. Adjunct faculty: 

See the CBA for further details.

D. Visiting Faculty

Funds are limited to $2,100 per individual per academic year. Active awards and scholarly research projects are funded up to the annual cap. Passive awards have a $600 maximum per year. 

Purchases of Equipment or Software

These are not to be made out of pocket, but through the College’s procurement policy. Such requests need to be made to the Faculty Development Office which will work with the faculty and appropriate College department for purchase and approval. Attach approval of any exceptions made to the reimbursement request. 

Expenses not Covered

Membership fees in professional organizations are not typically paid through this fund unless this generates a substantial reduction in meeting registration fees.

We do not cover any expenses that journals/publishers charge for publication fees.

Acknowledgment of Funding

If the project or activity results in a publication, you must acknowledge the support of the Faculty Development Fund of Saint Mary’s College. 

Funding Limitations

Please note that funds are limited and can only be awarded so long as the fund has not been depleted.

1. Faculty on the Rank and Tenure roster, including faculty on reduced services plan, academic administrators with faculty rank, and faculty on reassigned time or sabbatical. 

2. Adjunct faculty meeting criteria set out in the CBA.

3. Visiting faculty.

Faculty ineligible for awards: 

1. Faculty contracted on a per-course basis. 

2. Faculty on leave of absence. 

3. Faculty emeriti. 

Funding Limitations

Please note that funds are limited and can only be awarded so long as the fund has not been depleted.

Timing of Applications

1. Applications must be submitted through eGrants by the 20^th of each month (August-May).
2. Applications made after the 20^th will be reviewed with the following month’s applications.    
3. Applications must be submitted prior to the proposed activity.
4. Applications for retroactive funding August to May will not be considered. 
5. Applications for funding of summer activities (May 20 to August 20) must be submitted before May 20. Funding for activities occurring before July 1 will come from the current academic/fiscal year allotment. Funding for activities after July 1 will come from the following fiscal year's allotment.
6. TRAC form must be completed and submission evidence attached to eGrants application

Incomplete Applications

An application is considered incomplete if it is missing:

• A sufficient project description
• Proof of acceptance/invite (for active funding request):  a letter of invitation or acceptance of paper, and a preliminary copy of the program, or a web link to the conference program with your name as a presenter. 
• A receipt for registration, confirmation of travel or conference brochure when requesting passive travel funds.
• Sufficient detail about a purchase/fee unrelated to travel; a screenshot of a potential price for example. If funding is requested for an ongoing scholarly project for which the applicant has previously received a Faculty Development award, the applicant must include a progress report demonstrating that the project has entered a new phase requiring additional funding. 
• Total amount being requested.
• A project end date beyond the current academic year (unless traveling to a conference that takes place at the end of June AND  the start of July).

Active participation includes documentation such as:

Overseas Travel

If you are traveling abroad, you must submit a Travel Risk Assessment application in conjunction with your Faculty Development Fund application. TRAC committee meets once a month. Funds cannot be approved or released without TRAC approval. Form and details can be found HERE.

Purchases of Equipment or Software

These are not to be made out of pocket, but through the College’s procurement policy. Such requests need to be made to the Faculty Development Office which will work with the faculty and appropriate College department for purchase and approval. Attach approval of any exceptions made to the reimbursement request. 

Expenses not Covered

Membership fees in professional organizations are not typically paid through this fund unless this generates a substantial reduction in meeting registration fees.

We do not cover any expenses that journals/publishers charge for publication fees.

Getting to eGrants

Log in to MySMC, go to “All Apps,  and click on the eGrants / eProtocol button. If you are not able to log in to eGrants after logging in to MySMC, please contact Faculty Development at FacDev@stmarys-ca.edu. We will set up an eGrant account for you.

In order to use eGrants, you must enable pop-ups for the Key Solutions site (the eGrants site). Click here for instructions on Enabling Pop-ups.

Completing the Application Form

Detailed instructions are available HERE.  Less detailed instructions are provided to follow. 

A. Click “Create Proposal” in top right corner when you are in your "Applicant Home" dashboard. 

B. Choose the Faculty Development Fund form.

C. Enter your Project Title,  and start & end Date by clicking on the calendar icon.

D. Upload necessary attachments such as conference invitation:

1. Click Add.
2. Select the attachment item (type) from drop-down menu. 
3. Click Choose File and select desired attachment.
4. Press Save and repeat for other attachments.

5. Then press Next which will take you to the signature page. ( NB.  A lot of people don't take this step and their applications do not get routed for a review as a result.)

E. You can also sign by clicking on  the "Routing Signatories" page to submit your proposal for review. 

1. Under Applicant, click the box next to Sign.
2. Click Submit in the top right corner.
3. Your submitted proposal is then sent to the Faculty Development Office for review and follow-up.
4. See the following slide for what happens next.

Advice on Proposal Descriptions

Applications must briefly describe:

• the proposed activity,
• its relevance to your scholarly development or teaching,
• if classes are to be missed and if so, how they will be covered, and
• the estimated expenses including
  • registration fees,
  • transportation,
  • lodging,
  • meals, and/or*
  • transportation.**

*Per diem AY 23-24: breakfast $17, lunch $18, dinner $34
**Mileage AY 23-24: 0.655 per mile

If you are paying fees in another currency, please calculate the exchange rate.
If you are receiving funding from another source for the activity, this information and the amount received must be included in your application. 

EGrant FAQs

For additional help with internal grant applications in eGrants, contact Faculty Development at FacDev@stmarys-ca.edu.

Post-Activity  Requirments

You will be reimbursed for your activities once you have submitted all receipts AND an expense report to Faculty Development through eGrants within 30 days of your project ending; otherwise, the award may be rescinded and returned to the faculty development fund to enable other faculty to apply for funding. There is a defined FDF fund and faculty can only be supported  only in so long as the fund has not been depleted. We do not know the "real" carryover balance any month without your withdrawals so it is important to be mindful of this.

For each academic year, all expenses must be turned in by June 30th. 

If you are paying fees in another currency, please calculate the exchange rate and make your requests for reimbursement in Dollars.

If you are receiving funding from another source in addition to what is approved through the FDF, these reimbursements need to be treated separately.

Please note the Faculty Development office no longer has the resources to complete expense reports or scan receipts on behalf of faculty.

 ........................................

• Per diem AY 23-24: breakfast $17, lunch $18, dinner $34
• Mileage AY 23-24: 0.655 per mile

 ......................................

Fillable Expense Report Form Available Here

Instructions for submitting receipts and Expense Report form through E-Grants

After logging in to E-Grants from MySMC, click on your application in the left-hand menu, then the sub-menu called "Attachments" should show:

and that's where you should click “add” and upload:

1) your Expense Report form (leave middle section that asks for GL codes blank)
2) receipts as reflected in your Expense Report form
3) submit receipts and expense report as one attachment
4) Expenses need to be broken out by day/date. 

If the “add” button is absent, it maybe the case that we have not yet “returned” your case back to you – so shoot facdev@stmarys-ca.edu a quick email for us to send your proposal back to you.

Once you have uploaded receipts for this particular project, don't forget to "sign" by click on the "signed" tick box, which will indicate your attachments are ready for the FD director to review and submit for reimbursement if approved. 

If you have additional receipts and expense reports to upload to the same proposal later, we can “request additional materials” to send back to you, and you can repeat the same process described in these instructions.

Once you submit your proposal, you should see a blue message starting with “Proposal has been submitted.” This indicates that your application has been routed to the queue for review by the FD director. Thereafter, the Faculty Development office will communicate with you using the eGrants “Comments” functionality and by changing the status of your proposal triggering update email notifications to you. 

Status Definitions used by eGrants  

Submitted

When you initially submit your proposal, the status automatically becomes "Submitted.” This does not, however, mean your proposal has been accepted as eligible for funding, but rather it is in the queue for review. The Faculty Development Office communicates on the 30th of every month, from August to May, the approval, or otherwise, of all applications made prior to the 20th of that month.   

If you do not receive this initial email showing “Submitted” go back to eGrants to determine if you have signed the application. The signature page is the very last page of the application form. 

Accepted and Waiting for Funding

When status is at any time "Accepted and Waiting for Funding,” that means your project has been approved. Congratulations! Complete your project and upload your receipts and expense report once your project is complete. Please note before you can submit additional attachments, such as receipts, eGrants needs to be set up to receive new attachments in your proposal. This happens by setting your status to “request for additional material,” which also results in an automated email from eGrants letting you know there has been a change of status to “Request for Additional Materials.”  

Request for Additional Materials

The primary (though not the only) reason eGrants will change your proposal status to “Request for Additional Materials” is to indicate that your file is now open to accept your expense report and receipts. You need to check the “Comment” section in eGrants. If the comment indicates you must submit your receipts and expense report, we know that this may not happen immediately but your file is ready for attachments when you are reading. 

Funded

When status is "Funded" that means we sent your expense report and receipts for reimbursement to the Business Office and eGrants has sent you this automated email to let you know. Log back into your proposal via eGrants and click the Application Status tab to see how much you were reimbursed.

Note that if your "Funded" amount is less than your "Accepted and Waiting for Funding" amount, we assume you have additional receipts you wish to reimburse at a later date and we will return this proposal back to you with the status "Returned for Additional Materials," so that you may upload the rest of your receipts and a new expense report form. If you have completed your project, we can release the rest of your funding for other faculty projects, so please email us ASAP.

Make sure your reimbursement has been posted to your bank account (or check mailed) after two weeks from the "Funded" date. Direct related inquiries to the Business Office (not Faculty Development) if you do not receive the reimbursement. 

Declined

When status is "Declined” your proposal was not approved.  This may be because:

• A duplicate proposal that was already submitted or funded, 
• Your application did not meet the eligibility for funding
• You have already received your allowable award for the year,
• The College funds have been exhausted

The reason will be provided in the “Comments” section of eGrants. 

Closed

When status is "Closed” all transactions associated with your application have been completed. The Business Office has reimbursed you and your proposal is no longer active. 

Reimbursement

Staggered Reimbursements: If some funds are expended before your event (e.g., travel arrangements, registration) those funds can be reimbursed before the event, as long as all appropriate receipts and an Expense Report are submitted to Faculty Development. (Note: a hotel reservation confirmation is not a receipt).  No more than two expense reports can be submitted for each proposal/application, which means you should consider how you will collate your expenses and receipts accordingly.

Advance Funds: Faculty may request advance funds with the Application. Checks or E-checks will be disbursed to the recipient approximately 30 days before the funded activity.

For a cash advance of the awarded amount, the request is to be included at the time of application on EGrant.  The advance must be reconciled with an Expense Report and receipts (reflecting the deduction of the award) and submitted to Faculty Development no later than 30 days after the event. This is to comply with College policy as it relates to IRS requirements and to avoid being considered a taxable fringe to the recipient. (Should less than the award amount be spent, a check for the difference owed to the College is to be attached to the Expense Report). 

Applications for a Declining Balance Credit Card (which can be preloaded up to the amount of the award) may be found on the Purchasing website. The user will be emailed a statement with the posted transactions and have 15 days to review, attach all receipts and submit to Faculty Development with an expense report. If additional cash is spent then faculty also need to complete an Expense Report, with those receipts attached, to receive reimbursement for those expenses.

Any unused portion of the award must be returned to the Office of Faculty Development, documented on your Expense Report. If the recipient of an award must cancel plans, the award in full must be returned immediately. 

If you are receiving additional funding for activities from your department or school, these applications and associated reimbursements must be treated separately. You must apply for reimbursement of monies awarded through Faculty Development through the Office of Faculty Development and eGrants, and not through your department or school. The Faculty Development Fund must be accounted for independent of other College funds. 

Cancellation of Activity

If you need to cancel plans for any reason, there are no penalties. Simply email the director of faculty development so the funds can be released.

Funding Limitations

Please note that funds are limited and can only be awarded so long as the fund has not been depleted.

Applications for Funding July and August

Applications for funding through the annual faculty development funds are reviewed from August to May. As such, if you are planning on summer travel or making a purchase in July and August, you will need to submit your application before May 20th in order for it to be reviewed and approved. During this period, we adhere to the policy:

• Applications must be submitted before an event.
• Applications must be approved before an event
• Reimbursement is made on receipt of expense reports and receipts.

That said, if you receive an unanticipated invite, a last-minute opportunity comes your way, or a paper was accepted for presentation during the summer at the last minute we want to be able to support that also. For last-minute, unanticipated funding support needed for activities in July and August: 

1. Applications must be submitted before you leave for an event or make a purchase.
2. Applications will be reviewed after August 20th. 
3. Due to outlier circumstances, applications *may be approved retroactively for summer activities. 
4. Reimbursement will be approved after August 20^th, once expense reports and receipts have been submitted.

*No application is guaranteed funding. It needs to go through the usual vetting process. 

Reimbursement During the Summer  

All receipts for activities involving travel or purchases prior to the end of the academic year must be submitted in advance of the end of the academic/budget year; June 30th. 

Said another way, if you spent money from your annual faculty award for travel that took place between July 1 and the following June 30th you must submit receipts before June 30th. For accounting purposes, the activity and the reimbursement must happen in the same academic/budget year. Your request for reimbursement will be processed by the Faculty Development office on or before June 30th. 

If you submit for reimbursement on or after July 1, for travel that took place between July 1 and June 30th of the academic year just ended you may not be reimbursed. As the College budget rolls over from one year to the next, we must make sure that all monies are paid out of the Faculty Development fund before the new academic/budget year starts.  

We recognize that this is a tight turnaround for travel that takes place mid or late June, and in particular for travel that crosses two academic years. In such instances, we are more than willing to work with you on a case-by-case basis. 

Any requests for reimbursement for travel and purchases that take place between July 1 and August 20th will be processed after August 21st.

TRAC provides risk assessment for College-sponsored activities off-campus, including academic international and domestic travel programs, athletic travel, College-sponsored travel by faculty, staff, and students (including conference travel, research conducted off campus, and club-sponsored activities like alternative spring breaks sponsored or hosted by campus organizations). This protocol applies to risk management only.  Any other approvals (chair, director, VP) are still required in addition to this form.

Please submit this form for TRAC review at least a month before travel.  If you have questions, contact the 2023 - 2024 TRAC Chair Sarah Dempsey at sdd4@stmarys-ca.edu.

When traveling for College business and using Faculty Development Funding, faculty must complete the TRAC form and attach it to the eGrants application. This must happen before funding is approved. 

Use this link to reach the TRAC form

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7c6_wg4qRtS6_jN2jg8CZLEnkaKI5igpjv3hQ9gPMNjCzlA/viewform