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SGA Club Travel Award Program

Students

The Student Government Association (SGA) offers limited financial support to SGA club members attending professional conferences. This is meant to supplement existing club funding. Funding is provided to help cover expenses related to conferences, lectures, seminars or other club-related field trips that contribute to the enhancement of their club.

SGA Club Travel Awards may not be applied to organizational membership fees.

Eligible SGA club members may request funding for up to $500 per member during each academic year. No funding is available from July 1–Sep. 1.

Eligibility

  • The club must be currently recognized and in good standing with the SGA (not currently on probation).
  • Club members applying for a travel award must possess a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater.
  • Club members applying for the award must be enrolled in at least six credits at TMCC.

Eligible Expenditures

The SGA may provide funding for the following expenditures:

  • Registration
  • Transportation
  • Lodging

The SGA will not provide funding for Meal Costs (Per-Diem).

Travel Award Program Instructions

Step 1: Review and follow all TMCC travel policies and procedures.

Step 2 (at least 30 business days before travel): The club must complete the Off-Campus Event Request form. Only one form is required per club traveling.

Step 3 (at least 15 business days before travel): Complete the RSO Travel Award Application.

Travel award applications must contain the following items per club member traveling (where applicable):

  1. Lodging cost support documentation.
  2. Transportation cost support documentation.
  3. Registration support documentation.
  4. Letter of recommendation from club advisor stating why it is important for each club member to attend.
  5. The entire trip cost (even though the SGA will only award up to $500).

All of the requested documentation must be attached to the online application; otherwise, it may be automatically rejected.

After the application is submitted, it will be reviewed by the SGA Finance Committee chair or designee, and the Student Life and Development coordinator or designee. If the request is complete, it will be added to the next scheduled SGA Finance Committee meeting agenda in compliance with Nevada Open Meeting Law.

Following the meeting, the SGA Finance Committee chair will contact the club via email regarding the status of their application.

Award Appeal (within ten business days of receiving the notification letter)

If a travel award is not approved and a club member wants to file an appeal, the member may complete the SGA Finance and Travel Request Appeal Process.

Post-Approval Requirements

If notified that the award has been approved, recipients who are also TMCC student employees must complete the following. If the traveling club member is not a TMCC student employee, they do not have to complete Step 4.

Step 4: Spend Authorization Form for TMCC Student Employees Only (formerly known as a "Travel Request")

Important: This form must be completed and routed for approval before travel can occur.

This form is completed in Workday. Additional information on completing the spend authorization and the award notification are emailed to the recipient. (Note that this form is separate from the travel award application.)

The spend authorization requires the following information:

  • Lodging estimate (showing an estimate of the total cost incurred for lodging, unless the recipient is staying with a friend, in which a memo will suffice).
  • Transportation estimate.
  • Registration cost.
  • Per diem cost. To fill in the per diem amounts, please visit www.gsa.gov (for rates, select the heading "Travel", then proceed to "Plan a Trip".)

Post-Travel Requirements

Once the trip is completed, the recipient is required to complete the following. If the required items are not completed in compliance with SGA and TMCC travel policies, the entire club may be placed on probation. The club member who did not complete the required items will be ineligible to receive any SGA funding (SGA finance requests or SGA club travel awards) for the remainder of the current academic year and the following semester.

Step 5 (within 15 business days of the return): Expense Report (formerly known as a "Travel Claim")

This form is completed in Workday and must include the following documentation:

  • Travel invoice (this will either be the plane booking, car rental booking, or mileage justification).
  • Lodging invoice (recipient must turn in the final invoice received upon check-out from a hotel at the end of travel, unless the recipient is staying with a friend in which a memo will suffice).
  • Trip itinerary or conference schedule (this is a schedule that lists the details of the trip or conference).
  • A copy of the conference registration form, if applicable.
  • Per diem cost. To fill in the per diem amounts, please visit www.gsa.gov (for rates, select the heading "Travel", then proceed to "Plan a Trip".)

Step 6 (within 30 business days after returning from travel): Presentation and documentation.

Club members who received a travel award must submit a copy of their expense report and supporting documentation (outlined in Step 5) to the SGA. Club members must provide a two-page, double-spaced written summary and give a five-minute presentation on how the conference benefited the member at an SGA Senate Meeting within 30 business days after returning from travel. The written summary must be emailed to SGA at least one business day before said meeting.