Research Funds and Forms

Policy on Department Research Funds

Faculty may use yearly allotted research funding for expenses in the following categories:

Travel

  1. Travel expenses shall be defined as the transportation, housing, registration, and per diem expenditures involved in 1) conference/seminar attendance and participation, 2) visits to archives and research libraries, and 3) out-of-area fieldwork.
  2. Travel funds left unspent at the end of the fiscal year will revert to the department.

Research Materials

  1. Research materials include books, document reproductions, database subscriptions, and software.
  2. Faculty may purchase, via procard, only for single-item purchases.
  3. Procard use is permitted only for materials needed for on-going research projects.
  4. According to university policy, items ordered via mail, phone, or internet must be delivered to a department address.
  5. Faculty may request the use of the procard for database subscriptions only if no university or department subscription exists. Any costs incurred by a failure to cancel a subscription at the end of the period will be borne by the faculty member.

Exceptional Costs Associated with Research or Publication

  1. Exceptional costs include indexing and/or transcription services, image permissions, and subventions.
  2. Faculty may submit an email to the UBM for exceptional costs only after demonstrating that other sources of university funding have been exhausted.

 

Faculty are bound by university policy regarding the appropriate use of funds.  Faculty are responsible for preserving appropriate documentation and producing upon request in case of an audit.

All research must be approved by the department chair. The department chair retains the right to refuse requests that fail to conform to any of the above policies.

If faculty have questions regarding the propriety of specific expenses, they should consult the department chair and/or the department UBM. Final discretion on all decisions lies with the chair.