Stipend Reserve Fund

The GDBBS operates a Stipend Reserve Fund that provides flexibility in funding of graduate students. There are two types of accounts; savings and loans.

Savings

The investigator may want to deposit funds now to pay for a student in later years.

An individual can deposit in the Fund by supporting a student who would otherwise be the responsibility of the Division, by paying tuition for a student they are supporting, or by transferring unrestricted funds to the Fund.

A PI may withdraw previously deposited funds for the support of a graduate student who would otherwise be the responsibility of the PI (including travel to scientific meetings), to support an undergraduate conducting honors dissertation research, or to support a postdoctoral fellow no more than two years post-degree.

Loans

To be eligible for loans from the Fund to pay a student stipend, the faculty member must be a member of a Program that makes mentor selection before the beginning of the second year. Those that don't select mentors before the beginning of the second year have many fewer ways to pay back the loan.

A faculty mentor may borrow money from the Fund to pay the stipend of a student that would otherwise be the mentors’ responsibility. This should be considered a last resort and only requested when all other alternatives have been exhausted (See Procedures below). Loans from the Fund are limited to 18 months of student stipend.

A faculty member can pay back a loan by supporting a student who would otherwise be the responsibility of the Division, by paying tuition for a student they are supporting (credited for the amount returned to the Division by the Graduate School), or by transferring unrestricted funds to the bank.

A Program can pay the individual’s loan by forfeiting part of their administrative budget or an allocated slot for a new student.

A Department can pay the individual’s loan by transferring unrestricted funds to the Fund.

Procedures

All savings transactions can be accomplished by completing the appropriate form.

All loan requests should be made in writing to the Program involved and should be screened and approved (or denied) by the Program and the Chair of the Department where the mentor derives their primary appointment. Upon recommendation of the Program and the Chair the request will be approved and funds disbursed by the Division.

Any investigator with a debt to the Fund will be required to pay the stipend of any student(s) rotating in their laboratory. If the program involved fails to notify the GDBBS of such a rotation assignment the program will be responsible for any new debt incurred.

No faculty member with a debt to the Fund will be allowed to take a new student. An exception will be made if the investigator pays the second year stipend of that student and that payment retires the outstanding debt. Any payment in excess of the debt will be deposited to the Fund for the investigators later use.

If the Program feels it is important for an assignment to be made to a mentor in debt, they must pay the debt by giving up a slot for the next recruiting season. The amount of stipend for this lost slot will be assigned to retire the debt so that this assignment can be made.

Once an assignment is made, the GDBBS will provide up to 18 months of loans if the mentor cannot pay their students (this requires the recommendation of the Program and the Chair).