Part III.  Logistics

Attached: Participant Agreement, Memo from Sam Killings, bi-weekly report, and samples, W-9, Sample evaluation surveys

 

Students will need to be housed, paid, insured, cared for, and connected to university facilities during the time they are on campus.

 

  1. Logistics
    1. Room and Board, if applicable (auxiliary personnel)
    2. Travel Arrangements
    3. Payment mechanism
    4. Assignment to labs, pairing with mentors
    5. Health fees/ health insurance
    6. Computer accounts
    7. Sending acceptance packet to students

2.      acceptance

3.      W-9

4.      (Invoice)/ Participant agreement

5.      what get back from the student

    1. Keeping track of non-acceptances
    2. Evaluations.
    3. Tee-shirts, photos etc.
    4. Materials for different participants

 

a.      Room and Board

Housing:  Some programs just give the students a stipend which is sufficient to cover housing.  However, especially if you are bringing underrepresented minorities here, you’ll want a more protected setting.  It is also useful for establishing a spirit of community. 

a.       You’ll have to set up your housing in advance.  Some dorms are handled through Conference Services; others through the Housing office.  Reservations should be made as soon as you can predict the number of participants.

b.      For those off campus, the housing office has a pretty good board, and there are LOTS of sublets in the summer.  http://www.cshrc.org/

c.       Be sure to request a dorm where there will not be high school students!

d.      SPUR is working to get a lounge in the dorm, so kids have a place they can hang out. (We can check on the hours for Gunness in the summer.)

e.       The dorm assistant (mixed).  It’s often recommended, but the funding often doesn’t allow it.   IF we had an office of Summer REU’s, we might have a hang-out place and an ombudsman for students.  As it is, you are it.

Board:  

  1. Conference Services also arranges meal plans. 
  2. Conference services will get cards for you…. to swipe in the dormitory, and for the meal plan.
  3. We found the meal plan inadequate during the time our students were here, and so I supplemented it with a second card, OCMP. http://www.ocmpamherst.com/  I don’t get a kick back, but our program couldn’t afford the $25/day per person charge, so we got the UMass cards for “retail.”  They could use it in the Blue Wall, the Hatch, the library, (wherever we authorized), and if they went to a dining commons, it was swiped as a set amount (all you can eat).  However the hours are not always suitable for your programs, and the students like the variety.  You can set an upper limit (and they’re both pretty easy to monitor).  The two together were less than the original quote from Conference Services.  Both charged only what the students used.  I would enroll the students for say $40 in OCMP, so they’d have a back-up.

 

Note from Bob Liebowitz:  Programs that do not provide housing should still separate out a portion of the total stipend to designate as Housing and Board allowance.  Those amounts are not taxable; the stipends are. 

 

b.      Travel Arrangements

a.       Arrival and departure: Programs differ.  Many give an “up to $500” allowance and can reimburse.  We used WorldTek Travel last summer with fair results.  Check with your business office for who is a UMA Vendor.  We opted to meet our students at the airport and use shuttles to send them back.  Some groups use Seemo; or Valley Transporter.  We had a couple come by train!  Parking? (Did any students have cars?)

b.      Local transportation.  I never figured it out.  It was prohibitive to rent a van.  SPUR gets one.  I don’t know how to get the use of the campus vans. They have them, because the Alumni Association  used them.  To work on together!!

 

c.  Payment:

See the attached Memo from Sam Killings (the Asst. Controller). 

These are “scholarship” positions. The students are not employees.  (Same for UMass or Non-Umass students.)  Before students come, send them paperwork for them to return, so you can pay them soon after they arrive.  Payment can be split into 3 equal payments.

 

Attached:

·        Sample student participant agreement

·        Policy from Sam Killings

·        Sample participant report form

·        W-9 form  (Non-UMass only) http://www.mass.gov/Aosc/docs/Forms/VendorCustomer/newMass_W9.pdf

 

(This is a GREAT improvement over previous systems, and we have Mike Wright and Sandy Petersen to thank.)

 

a.       Assignments to Labs etc.  Some programs do this as part of the application process.  Others do a wait and see. 

It is useful to recruit a near-peer mentor in the lab for the student besides the supervising professor.  Some programs have been doing programs for the near-peer mentors as well as the students themselves.

 

d.   Health fees etc.

Residential students:

If housed in dorms run by Conference Services: 

1. Health Insurance

When they are accepted, they need to provide proof of health insurance. (They fax both sides of their health card.)  An extra $10/week per student is charged so the students can use University Health Services.  When students don’t have health insurance, there’s not a handy solution, but it’s important to get it.  Also to problem solve together, perhaps.

Non residential students  (I don’t know.)

 

e.   Computer accounts:  get a NENS account. (off OIT website.)  Check with Yvette Mushenski.  In dorms you pay for the connection.

(Library privileges—Ann Moore amoore@library.umass.edu.)

 

f. Sending packet to students

2.      Acceptance letter

3.      W-9

4.      (Invoice)/ Participant agreement

5.      what get back from the student

Ø      W-9

Ø      Copy of Health insurance card

Ø      Signed participant agreement (can wait till they come)

Ø      Some general info: allergies, dietary restrictions, special conditions etc.

 

 

  1. Keep track of non-acceptances. They may be handy contacts in the future.
  2. Evaluations

Ø      It is important for the students to be given the opportunity to voice their opinions and for the programs to seek feedback for improvement. 

Ø      Some funders require them, but they are a good idea for everyone.  I have attached some samples given to me by Stephanie Burrell (formerly Coordinator for SPUR).  We found them easy to customize and a good basis for our own project. 

Ø      Ideal arrangement is to have the evaluation implemented by someone not associated with the program.  The MRSEC has had students write to NSF; CoE used the Donahue Institute; Linguistics had someone from the Research Area with Evaluation experience.

 

i. Reimbursements:  try to avoid them.  I found it useful to give students “Guest cards” (from the machines in the basement of the library) for laundry, copying etc.  I had to put out cash, but used the machine receipt to get paid back.

 

j.  Tee-shirts etc.  We did it. Used a UMA vendor.  We also had professional photos taken of the group. It was a nice touch and we could give it to the group.  Lots of programs put them on the websites.

 

k.  Materials

Mentor Packets

·        Program brochures

·        Participant list

·        Staff contact list

·        Orientation agenda

·        Schedule of Program seminars and social events

·        “Roles and responsibilities”

·        Name-tags

·        Labels for folders ??

 

Dorm Assistant Packets

·        Room list

·        General information packets

·        Contact list

 

Student Packets

·        Books: (On Being a Scientist; Graduate School and You)

·        Program Info

·        Participant List

·        Mentor/mentee roles and responsibilities

·        UMass folder, pen, pad

·        Staff contact list

·        Program schedule of events (syllabus)

·        Orientation agenda

·        General info packet

·        Name tags

·        Bus schedule

·        Gym (and pool) schedule

·        Campus maps

·        Dining hall schedule

·        Labels for folders

·        Pioneer Valley information/ musical, cultural, sporting events.

·        Goodies

 

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