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Guidelines for Use of Undergraduate Research Funds

In using undergraduate research funds, you are a representative of Middlebury College both in your use of funds and your behavior. You are expected to properly steward your award. This includes:

• Traveling as a group and sharing expenses whenever possible
• Spending appropriately and reasonable (no personal items or alcohol, no expensive meals)
• Accurately reporting expenses (including itemized original receipts and/or research expense log)
• Expenses incurred prior to award notification are not reimbursable.

How to Access Funding

• Reimbursement for expenses: this is the most common way to access your funds. Students pay for expenses, save and submit itemized receipts, research expense logs, participant expense logs and get reimbursed through direct deposit or check, depending on what they have set up in Oracle.
• Direct charges: through academic departments, faculty, or Undergraduate Research (Jill Strube): This is common for science supplies (e.g. chemicals), Studio Art supplies, data sets, and airfare.
• Cash advance: in special cases we can request a cash advance for expenses. This is typically done only for some participant compensation needs.
• Stipend dispersal: for Kellogg Fellowship only.

Getting Paid via Reimbursement 

Your Undergraduate Research award letter has details about how to get paid via reimbursement and provides a link to a reimbursement form to submit via MiddApply.  

Expenses are generally reimbursed according to your budget. If there is a change to your budget, please contact ur@middlebury.edu to have this reviewed and approved. The UR office reserves the right to refuse reimbursement for any expenses deemed excessively high or unnecessary.

Please submit legible itemized receipts for reimbursement. If itemized receipts are not available (less common), please provide written documentation detailing the expense, vendor, purpose, date and amount for review. 

Expenses can be submitted to an agent of Middlebury College only once. If you receive additional funding for this project you must update all sources on the amounts and covered expenses.

Timeline for Tracking and Submitting Expenses

During Your Project

• Keep a log of your activities and expenses, including any travel, mileage, and original receipts.

  • If your research includes human subjects, please record your payments in Middlebury’s . Also review the guidelines on compensation to human subjects participating in your research on the Eligible Expenses page. 

  • If you’re in an area with smartphone access, free and low-priced apps are available to track expenses. The most helpful ones allow categorizing, notes, photos of receipts and exporting of a report for project documentation.

• Make sure you are a supplier in Oracle. See for details.

• Set up or confirm your direct deposit information: Before submitting any expenses, confirm you are set up for direct deposit with Middlebury to receive your reimbursement.

• Seniors: if you are graduating and closing a bank account please make sure Oracle is updated with your post-college mailing address and bank account information.

After Your Project 

• In , you will see step-by-step instructions to submit your expense for reimbursement (only available after you have accepted your research award). 

• Upload your tracking log and scanned receipts and submit in MiddApply.

• It can take 2-3 weeks to process your reimbursement. 

Direct Charges for Large Expenses

Some items may be charged directly to Middlebury. This includes:

• Supplies ordered through a department

• Airfare. See the Travel page for details. 

• Other expenses charged through a faculty or staff college credit card. See more specific information about  or .

Tax Information

Currently, the following expense-based reimbursements for students are not considered taxable income:

• Activity required to complete a credit-bearing course (senior research project funding)
• Presenting research as a representative of the college (academic travel funding for presenters)
• Supplies or travel associated with a research assistant position

For awards not processed through student employment as wages:

• U.S. citizens, funding amounts will likely be reported on your 1098T.
• Non-U.S. citizens need to contact Middlebury’s  if they do not know their particular circumstances. Depending on the status of a Non-US citizen’s paperwork and country of residence, taxes up to 14% may be withheld when the reimbursement is processed.

The impact these awards may have on an individual’s annual tax returns varies. Contact the  for further clarification.