Policies

Application Guidelines – Policies

URECA PROGRAM POLICIES 

 

Gift Card Policy for URECA Students

• MTSU will provide a taxable stipend to the student researcher in the amount of the gift cards purchased.
• The student researcher, in association with their faculty mentor, will be responsible for tracking their electronic gift card payments and the associated card distribution for the study.
• For accounting control purposes, the student must retain their gift card purchase receipt and provide the receipt to their faculty mentors for verification.
• Students will not be issued their final stipend payment until they have submitted gift card documentation, including a purchase receipt and distribution documentation.
• Based on the additional controls that Amazon provides, Accounting Services and the Undergraduate Research Center recommend that students use Amazon to send gift cards to participants. Amazon provides a record of gift cards that have been sent and received by participants; this documentation provides support that the cards have been distributed. Please note that Accounting Services reserves the right to request this documentation as well.

URECA Funding for Publications

Expenditures supporting publications that will not return royalties to the author or authors may be requested from URECA funds.  Similar to conference travel support, funding to support publications must meet the following guidelines: 

1. At least one MTSU undergraduate student must be listed as an author on the supported publication. 
2. Students seeking funding for publication support should email their requests to the URECA Director, Dr. Jamie Burriss.  Please include documentation of the accepted publication.
3. The student may request up to $400 to assist with the cost of publication.   The $400 can be paid directly to the publisher or reimbursed to the student. 
4. Funding is limited to once per academic year, which is defined as the start of the fall semester through the end of the summer semester. 

Support for royalty-generating publications is not permitted from URECA funds. 

Other Policies

• Eligibility
  Students must be enrolled full-time in an undergraduate degree program at MTSU during both the fall and spring semesters to be eligible for URECA grants, URECA travel, or conference travel funding.  Effective Summer 2025.
• Application Limits
  Students may submit only one URECA grant application per cycle. Multiple submissions will not be accepted. Effective Summer 2024.
• Previous Awards
  Students who have previously received URECA funding must complete all award requirements—including final reports and presentations—before applying for additional funding. Incomplete or unclosed projects will make a student ineligible until all obligations are met.  Effective Summer 2024.
• Conference Travel
  Conference travel funding is available only for students with active URECA projects. Effective Summer 2024.
• Project Extensions
  Students who are unable to complete their projects within the original award timeframe may request a one-semester extension. Projects may be extended for up to three semesters beyond the initial timeline outlined in the proposal.  Effective Fall 2024.
• Funding Transfers
  URECA grant funding is non-transferable and may not be reassigned to another student. Effective Fall 2024.
• Course Credit
  Students enrolled in a research course for academic credit are not eligible to receive URECA funding for the same project.  Effective Spring 2023.