Council of Graduate Students
at The Ohio State University

Claiming An Award

Procedures for claiming an award depend on whether the Ray Travel Award is the recipient's sole source of university funding or not.  All recipients are required to review the following policies and retain the appropriate materials for submission.

Pre-travel Approval and Information

  1. Pre-travel form - We will need a pre-travel form from the student
  2. International Travel - There will be a separate form that needs to be filled out. This form will be sent to the travel office to review and approve as part of the overall travel approval process. 
  3. Booking flight - Students must use Concur to book their airfare.
  4. Driving vs Flying - We will need a mileage comparison for flying vs. driving.
  5. Checking baggage - We will need a website receipt on the expense to check a bag.

Ray Award as Sole Source of Funding

The recipient must provide the following information to the CGS office within one week of award letter or else the award will be forfeit:

  1. Employee/Studnet ID # (short number on your BuckID)
  2. departure city and date
  3. arrival city
  4. return date
  5. copy of the conference program or schedule (if not yet available, date at which it is expected)

Travel expenses claimed must be submitted to the CGS office no later than 30 days weeks after the last day of the conference, or else the award will be forfeit. The following must be provided:

  • Proof of the presentation (such as a copy of the program with the student's participation indicated or a copy of the invitation letter)
  • all original receipts for allowable expenses. No photocopies will be accepted.
  • For airline travel reimbursement, please bring both of the following:
    • Proof of purchase: the ticket itself, or the full confirmation letter for an e-ticket.
    • Proof of travel: your boarding passes from the trip.
  • If your receipts are in a foreign currency, please write the equivalent amount in US dollars on the receipt before submission. When possible, use the exchange rate in effect when you made the purchase.
  • A signed copy of the travel reimbursement form to expedite the reimbursement process (CGS administration will complete the appropriate chartfield information, etc.) Link to form at top of page.
  • CGS Award letter notifying you that you were awarded the Ray Travel Award

In addition, the recipient should arrange to have their name appear on all receipts for which reimbursement is requested (even if you are sharing expenses with someone else); substantial delays may result from the submission of receipts in another person's name.

If it is impossible to avoid having a receipt with someone else's name, then a statement must be provided explaining the relevant circumstances. The statement must include the contact information (name, address, phone number and dotted email address) and signature of the person whose name appears on the receipt.

Other Awards Received

If any other university office is contributing funds toward the trip, then CGS will work with them to file a joint reimbursement request. It doesn't matter if the money is coming from department funds, a research grant, or anything else as long as it is being disbursed through the university. If this is the case, the recipient should contact the CGS office with the name, number and email address of the appropriate fiscal officer who is making the arrangements. The student is then responsible for following all of that unit's guidelines for receipt submission.

In addition, the recipient should ensure that CGS is provided with a copy of the completed reimbursement form and copies of any receipts listed on the form from your department contact who arranged the travel. Finally, the recipient must provide CGS with proof of presentation (such as a copy of the program with the recipient's participation indicated or a copy of the invitation letter).

CGS reserves the right to permanently withdraw an award as well as the ability to enter future Ray Award competitions if any other campus department/office informs us of funding that the recipient has not disclosed to us. Funds must be disclosed even if they are covering expenses that the Ray Travel Award does not reimburse (for instance, meals). In cases of doubt, please contact our Coordinator of Student Governments, Erica Brown.7947, and our Treasurer & Ray Travel Award Committee Chair, Jon Fritz.288.

Post-travel

Students will have a maximum of 30 days to turn in all travel paperwork (including but not limited to: audit form, summary, post-travel form, all itemized receipts, conference agenda, proof of attendance/presenting, etc.) If the student doesn't make this deadline, we will not be reimbursing their travel. For example, students who are traveling during October will need to submit their paperwork before winter break.

Please submit a brief, 300-word testimony regarding how the Ray Travel Award contributed to the development of your career. This testimonial should include:

  • A brief description of what/how you used the Ray Travel Award
  • How has the Ray Travel Award influenced your professional development?
  • Include a photo from the conference or a headshot to be included with the testimonial in CGS promotional materials.