Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 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
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
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
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
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.
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
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.
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
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: gsavp@albany.edu.
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
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
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
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
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.
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
- 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, 2013June 30, 2014
Statement of
Estimated
Revenue and
Expenses
Revenue
Projected Revenue:
UAS Cash:
Contingency Budget:
Total:
$ 194,788.00
$ 30,000.00
$ 22,500.00
$ 202,288.00
Expenses
Services
GSA Direct Sponsor Events:
RGSA:
MCAA:
Programming:
Grants:
GSA Orientation Picnic:
GSA End of Year Event:
GSA Assembly Meetings:
$ 6,000.00
$ 35,000.00
$ 6,000.00
$ 6,000.00
$ 35,000.00
$ 2,000.00
$ 2,000.00
$ 1,000.00
Total Allocated:
$ 192,500.00
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
Total:
Operatio
ns
Office
New Computers
Copier and Printers
Telephone and Fax
Organization Liability
Insurance
Office Supplies
Total:
Stipends Grants Chair
MCAA Chair
Programming Chair
Treasurer
Vice- President
President
Lead Senator and Senators
Total:
Salaries Office Managers (5)
Web Master
$ 93,000.00
$ 6,000.00
$ 35,000.00
$ 1,000.00
(1
lea
se,
3
ser
vic
e
con
tra
cts,
2
pur
cha
ses
)
$ 1,000.00
$ 15,000.00
$ 58,000.00
$ 3,000.00
$ 3,000.00
$ 3,000.00
$ 3,500.00
$ 3,500.00
$ 4,500.00
$ 1,000.00
$ 21,500.00
$ 20,000.00
$ 0.00
(In
clu
des
pap
er)
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
Total
$ 20,000.00
Table #2: Budget as of 9/1/13:
GSA Budget
as of 9/1/13
July 1, 2013June 30, 2014
Reve
nue
Projected Revenue:
UAS Cash:
$ 194,788.00
$ 30,000.00
Contingency Budget:
$ 22,500.00
Total:
Expe
nses
Servi
ces
GSA Direct Sponsor
Events:
$ 202,288.00
Budget
Allocated
$ 6,000.00
$1,921.00
RGSA:
MCAA:
Programming:
$ 35,000.00
$ 6,000.00
$ 6,000.00
$1,315.00
Grants:
GSA Orientation Picnic:
GSA End of Year Event:
GSA Assembly Meetings:
$ 35,000.00
$ 2,000.00
$ 2,000.00
$ 1,000.00
$8,000.00
$2,000.00
Total:
Oper
ation
s
$
Total Allocated: 17,000.00
Total Paid as of
$3,945
8/15:
Notes
$1,015.00
Summer
RGSO $*
$250.00
Summer
Grants $*
$1,015.00
$ 93,000.00
Budget
Paid
Allocated
Paid
Notes
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
GSA Budget
as of 9/1/13
Offic
e
New Computers
Copier and Printers
Telephone and Fax
Organization Liability
Insurance
Office Supplies
Total:
Stipe
nds Grants Chair
MCAA Chair
Programming Chair
Treasurer
Vice- President
President
Lead Senator and Senators
Total:
Salar
ies
Office Managers (5)
Web Master
Total
$ 6,000.00
$ 35,000.00
$ 1,000.00
$1,835.00
$295.00
$1,338.00
$176.00
$ 1,000.00
$ 15,000.00
$886.00
$77.00
$886.00
$77.00
$ 58,000.00
$2,477.00
$ 3,000.00
$ 3,000.00
$ 3,000.00
$ 3,500.00
$ 3,500.00
$ 4,500.00
$ 1,000.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$ 21,500.00
$0.00
$ 20,000.00
$ 0.00
$453.00
$0.00
$ 20,000.00
$453.00
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)
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
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 gsa@albany.edu.
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 Berg
9- 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 to
plan the transition. One must be a CNSE graduate student, the other must be a nonCNSE 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
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
University at Albany
G
raduate
S A
tudent
ssociation
Campus Center 165B | Albany, New York 12222
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:
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013




Purchase of books or supplies for classes
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
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013
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.
Assembly Meeting Agenda
September 6, 2013

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 31st
Fall 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
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September 6, 2013
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
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September 6, 2013
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.
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September 6, 2013

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 UAGSA 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
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September 6, 2013
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 UAGSA grant, or does not undertake the travel or conference participation specified in a
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September 6, 2013
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.
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September 6, 2013
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:
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September 6, 2013
*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 – $4,319.38
Xerox – 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.