Undergraduate Travel Support

Support for Student Travel (SUST) is a reimbursement program designed to encourage and assist NSS undergraduate students. NSS encourages undergraduate students to gain knowledge and experience by presenting professional academic conference papers, posters and presentations, all of which may include travel in California and out-of-state.

Students funded through SUST can receive partial reimbursement of costs for travel, lodging, and conference registration in support of their professional academic conference papers, posters and presentations . Priority will be given to students who have a paper, panel, roundtable, poster, or presentation accepted at a conference. Personal pursuits are not eligible for funding. Travel prohibited by the government, law, and/or the University are not eligible for funding. All state regulations regarding receipts submission, travel, etc., must be followed.

Students must follow policies and procedures as indicated below for arranging travel and securing reimbursement. Travel money will be allocated according to the availability of funds and priority of travel. Due to the limited funds available through this fund, the amount allocated to individual students will not necessarily cover all expenses, and students may need to find additional sources of funds to augment the funds available through this fund. If the actual trip expenses are less than what were noted in the proposal, then this award will be adjusted to actual cost. Students cannot be reimbursed for expenses beyond the budget allotment without approval from Dean. All awards are for reimbursements, travel advances are not available from this fund.

Travel Support Application Form
Support for Undergraduate Student Travel (SUST) Policies and Procedures

Eligibility Criteria

  1. Applicants must be presenters and/or authors of an oral or poster presentation or on a panel or roundtable, at a regional, national, or international academic conference, as indicated by an official communication indicating acceptance into the conference.
  2. Priority will be given to applicants who have not previously been awarded SUST within the same academic year.
  3. Priority will be given to applicants who do not have access to other funds through Cal State LA appropriate to support their presentation.
  4. No more than two (2) authors of a co-authored paper will be eligible to receive funding. No more than seven (7) applicants will be funded per conference to allow funding opportunities for all disciplines. The awards for each conference will be given on a first come, first served basis based on complete applications.
  5. Applications without a completed form and all necessary attachments and supporting documentation will not be considered. Necessary documentation includes Academic Application Form, Accepted Abstract for the Conference, Statement of Purpose, Letter of  Recommendation, Acceptance Verification/Notification, and Budget Estimates.
  6. Applicant must be registered as a student at Cal State LA to be eligible for these funds.

Additional Information

  1. SUST will not cover the cost of travel already completed before a formal request for travel is approved by the Dean’s Office.
  2. SUST will not cover the cost of food if the trip is not longer than 24 hours, but will cover transportation costs for day trips. Maximum hotel rates and plane fares as determined by the University will apply.
  3. Applicants will be notified via their Cal State LA email of the Dean’s decision.
  4. Awards will be made until all funds are expended.
  5. Hotel reimbursement will only cover a percentage of 2 nights regardless of length of stay. Maximum hotel rates and airfares as determined by the University will apply.
  6. Awards may not cover full cost of travel.

Deadline

Ongoing until all funds are allocated. However, the monies will be divided in half, and half of the funds will be distributed in Fall Semester and half of the funds will be distributed in Spring Semester, so as not to disadvantage students receiving acceptance notices later during the school year. All approved funding requests must be reimbursed before the end of the fiscal year for which they are awarded. 

Procedures for Reimbursement for Approved Applications 

NSS Dean’s Office requires that the following procedures must be followed for ALL travel in-state or outside of the State of California. This is required by the University for insurance purposes. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Before the Trip:

All required forms can be found on NSS College’s Website and make an appointment with Department Coordinator for assistance.

  1. Request for Travel Form - Requires applicant’s demographic information and trip destination.
  2. Breakdown of Expenses Form - Estimated cost of travel including conference registration and related expenses.
  3. Vendor Data Record – Needs to be completed if student has never won an award through the NSS Dean’s Office.
  4. When Purchasing - Please note that Business Financial Services will not reimburse the applicant if receipts are not in the applicant’s name. Please do not purchase anything for another applicant or ask anyone to purchase anything for you as doing so will disqualify you from receiving reimbursement.

All forms must be completed in the office at least 10 business days prior to travel.

After the Trip :

All required forms can be found on NSS College’s Website and make an appointment with
Department Coordinator for assistance.

  1. Travel Expense Claim - Expenses broken down by date. This form must be submitted within 30 days of returning from conference.
  2. Receipts - Official vendor receipts (not invoices or booking confirmations) are required for all covered travel expenses. Receipts have to show that payment was accepted. Airfare request must have a flight itinerary as well as payment receipt. Hotel reimbursement will only cover a percentage of 2 nights regardless of length of stay.
  3. University rate caps apply to all refund requests, including hotel expenses, airfare expenses, etc.
  4. Conference Program - A copy of the front of the program and copy of the published abstract required.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IF REQUEST FOR TRAVEL WITH BREAKDOWN OF EXPENSES, AND VENDOR FORMS ARE NOT SUBMITTED 10 DAYS PRIOR TO TRAVEL, THE DEAN’S OFFICE CANNOT GUARANTEE TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT. ADDITIONALLY, REIMBURSEMENTS WILL NOT BE ISSUED UNTIL THE TRAVEL EXPENSE CLAIM FORM AND RECEIPTS ARE SUBMITTED AFTER TRAVEL.

Please contact your department coordinator for more information on reimbursement procedures and forms.

Revised by NSS College Resources Committee
Approved by NSS Steering Committee
Received by Dean
5/2017