Instructor Guidelines for Funding Requests
The FYS Oversight committee will consider requests for funds foractivities and, in some cases, materials that directly support thestudent experience in first year seminars. When making your request, youshould include a budget detailing your costs and an explanation of howyour request relates to the goals of the course.
For each semester, first priority will be given to requests submittedvia email to the chair of the committee by two weeks after the first dayof classes. Please keep in mind that funds are limited, and thereforeexpensive requests must be heartily justified. Under normalcircumstances no single request will place undue hardship on thecommittee's budget.
The committee considers the following questions in approving requests:
- Will the funding requested improve the students' learning and experience in the seminar?
- Will the funding have benefit to multiple iterations of the FYS or FYW?
- Does the request positively impact more than one seminar?
- Is the FYS Oversight committee the best place to fund the request?
Some additional guidelines:
- The committee does not ordinarily fund the purchase of books or CD/DVDs. Requests should go first to the library. If there is some reason why the library cannot purchase the materials (for example, if they are in a language in which the library does not buy materials), an instructor can request funds from us. Please include an explanation of why the library cannot buy the materials. In addition, the committee does not ordinarily fund the purchase of desk copies for instructors; if there are extenuating circumstances, we will consider requests. We encourage instructors to contact the publisher of the text first.
- When requesting money for trips, please include information about costs: admissions fees, food budget, mileage, hotel costs (if applicable), etc.
- When requesting money for a speaker, please include a CV or other materials about the person.
- Finally, keep in mind that all FYS and FYW seminars have a social activity budget of $250. You do not have to make a special request to the committee for that money. Instead, send receipts and a list of people participating in the social event to Tammy Sightler in CTL to get reimbursement. We encourage you to spend your $250 on a social activity and request funds for other events or materials.
The chair of the FYS Oversight committee is eager to answer questions about the process before, during, and/or after a request has been submitted.