Students requesting funds for their St. Mary's Projects must prepare a budget indicating all anticipated costs associated with the project. Potential categories of expense include supplies, photocopying, equipment, subject incentives and fees, telephone, postage, travel (e.g. to remote data collection sites), equipment, and data collection and analysis expenses (e.g. transcribers, reliability checkers). The budget must be approved by the mentor and submitted to the Human Studies Coordinator.   Please see you mentor for assistance in applying for outside grants.

As for any coursework, students are expected to bear reasonable costs associated with St. Mary's Projects. The College has determined that it is reasonable for students to be responsible for $200 of the project expenses (based on $100 per 4 credits). College funds are available for additional support. Submission of a budget, approved by the mentor, in excess of $200 serves as an application of support. The average award is not expected to exceed $200. Students who do not anticipate that their project expenses will exceed $200, and are therefore not requesting funds, do not need to submit an itemized budget.

Students must maintain accurate records, including receipts, of project expenses. Before students may receive reimbursement funds from a College grant for their project, they must submit a summary of their expenses and the original receipts to their mentor for review, who will forward them to the Human Studies Coordinator. A final budget report must be approved by the mentor and submitted to the Human Studies Coordinator before a final grade is recorded for the project. The Human Studies Coordinator will receive final approval for all reimbursements from the Provost's Office.

Any reasonable expense that is directly related to a St. Mary's Project, is, in principle, supportable. Where possible, however, students are encouraged to conduct the project (and the research for it) in ways that do not require outside support.

Students should prepare a budget of anticipated expenses and discuss it with their mentor. T he budget request should be submitted by the student and mentor to the Human Studies Coordinator along with a comprehensive project proposal by October 20, 2005. The Coordinator will use the information in the budget proposal to request supporting funds from the Provost's Office.

Types of Support

The following types of expenses can be included in the budget request. For each type of expense, provide a description, the unit cost, and the total amount requested (e.g. if you anticipate photocopying a 10-page survey and administer it to 50 subjects, then you would list under photocopying "50 copies of 10-page survey @ $0.04/page = $20.00.")

Travel.   Students conducting projects that require travel to collect data may request support. The budget request should fully justify the nature of the expense. Travel to libraries or other locations (e.g. museums, research facilities) to obtain necessary information or materials that are not available by other means is also supportable. For information or materials that are available by other means, students should be encouraged to use library resources available through the college (e.g. direct document delivery, ILL) rather than make special trips themselves. If the student, in conjunction with the mentor , determines that using the resources available through the college would be insufficient, travel to libraries or other facilities is supportable. The College policy lists such travel as an example of a supportable expense; however, travel as a part of an internship, field experience, or study-abroad will not likely be supported, because those types of expenses are expected to be provided through other means. Students may also request support for travel to present their St. Mary's Projects (e.g. at a regional or national conference).

Contractual Services.   Contractual services include photocopying, printing, on-line data base fees, equipment rental, honoraria to research assistants, transcription services, and subject fees and incentives. Students who need to photocopy materials for their project will be given a number they can use on the machine in Anne Arundel. Photocopying that needs to be done elsewhere is also a supportable expense (see budget suggestions for current amounts). Document delivery fees (e.g. Uncover) are legitimate expenses, but note that the library has a special fund to support projects. Students should check with Celia Rabinowitz or another reference librarian about this service.

In general, students should perform their own data collection and analysis when possible. In the case of projects that require transcription of interviews, students should transcribe their own interviews, or a reasonable portion thereof, when possible. Where the mentor and the student determine that the amount of time necessary for complete transcription on the part of the student would be excessive, transcription costs may be supportable. Requests may also be made for consultant fees (e.g. statistical consultants).

Most student projects involving human subjects will be able to obtain the participation of unpaid volunteers. However, it may be useful for the experimenter to offer nominal incentives for participation. Incentives might include a slice of pizza, offering a door prize, or coupons for discounts at local merchants. If a student and mentor feel that an incentive would substantially improve subject participation, the budget request should reflect this and offer a justification. Subjects may be paid for their participation, if the student and mentor determine that it is important to do so. Again, a justification of this must accompany the budget request.

Supplies .   St. Mary's Projects will use a variety of supplies including paper, audio and video tapes, and laboratory supplies. Those supplies available at local stores (e.g. Wal-Mart) should be purchased by the student. Supplies that must be purchased from special vendors identified by the College will require a purchase order (see below).

Equipment .   Inexpensive equipment may be itemized and purchased as supplies. More expensive equipment (e.g over $100) will need to be purchased through Human Studies and will remain College property. Mentors should discuss equipment requests with the Human Studies Coordinator before submitting the final budget request.

Postage and Telephone .   Students who anticipate postage and telephone costs should discuss with their mentor the feasibility of using the College mail and phone services. Calls that must be made from off-campus may be eligible for support. Prior approval and receipts are required.

Final Budget Report

At the end of the project, students who requested funds in support of their project must prepare a final budget report and submit it to the mentor, who will forward it to the Human Studies coordinator. A reimbursement request for any outstanding expenses should accompany the report. The report should briefly characterize the expenses incurred as compared to the original budget request. This information is important in refining the budget procedures to best support student projects. The report need not be lengthy, but should be organized around the types of expenses anticipated in the original budget request. A final budget report must be submitted and approved by the mentor and coordinator before a final grade is recorded for the project.