Elliott/Upitis/Bamji Travel Fellowships

History and Purpose of Fellowship

These travel fellowships are available because of generous bequests to the Faculty of Education from Charles Martyn Elliott and Kathleen Meed Elliott, from Z.R. Upitis, and from Dr. Pervez (Perry) Bamji and Mrs. Annamaria Bamji. Students in the B.Ed./Dip.Ed., M.Ed. and Ph.D. programs can apply for funds to support education-related travel outside Canada. B.Ed./Dip.Ed. candidates typically use the funds for an alternative practicum experience in an international setting. Funds may not be used for travel within Canada.

Eligibility

Eligibility for these awards is based in part on student need, and applicants will be required to demonstrate this need in accordance with Queen’s policies on student assistance. The province of Ontario matches the funds disbursed and therefore student applicants must be residents of Ontario. Residents are those who themselves, their spouses, or their parents have resided in Ontario for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the beginning of full-time study.

Please note, International Students are not eligible to apply. In order to be considered a resident of Ontario, you must be either a Canadian citizen or a Permanent Resident. The 12 months rule applies to Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents who have been living in Ontario for 12 consecutive months. If you are here on a Student Visa, you are not considered to be a resident of the province of Ontario.

Alternative Practicum Parameters

A full description of the alternative practicum policies and options is available on the Practicum Office web site.

Resources for International Placement Opportunities

The Practicum Office (A107/8) has a directory of alternative practicum placements in recent years, a binder organized by focus course and an on-line directory searchable by focus course and other variables.

Many focus course instructors have networks and suggestions regarding placement opportunities related to their course.

Education Careers Services (A101) has staff members available to brainstorm international opportunities with a particular emphasis on international schools worldwide, and public school systems in the UK/USA/AU. (All placements in international schools specifically must be cleared by Education Career Services. Please check with the office before confirming any such arrangement.)

Application Procedures and Deadlines

Step 1: Complete the financial eligibility form and submit it directly to the Student Awards Office in Gordon Hall, 74 Union Street. The deadline is Tuesday, September 25, 2012. It is not necessary to have alternative practicum arrangements in place for this step.

Step 2: As of Friday, October 05, 2012, you can check with Chelsea Barna in Education Career Services (A101) to see if you qualify to continue the process. Financial eligibility does not guarantee funding; this simply deems you financially eligible to continue with the application process. Receipt of the award is dependent on the quality of your application package (Step 3).

NOTE: IT IS THE STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO DETERMINE FINANCIAL ELIGIBILITY BEFORE CONTINUING WITH STEP 3 OFTHE APPLICATION PROCESS.

Step 3: Assuming financial eligibility, you can proceed with the application form for the Elliott/Upitis/Bamji Travel Fellowship. For this step a specific placement must be proposed along with a budget.

It is important to give yourself ample time to arrange your placement; this process generally takes 1-3 weeks. If your placement is not confirmedby the application deadline, you must provide a valid reason. A hard copy of the application, proposal and budget must be submitted by Monday, December 03, 2012 at 8:30am to:

Chair,

Elliott/Upitis/Bamji Travel Fellowship Advisory Committee

c/o Chelsea Barna in A101, Duncan McArthur Hall

Faculty of Education, Queen’s University

NOTE: We've extended the application deadline to Monday at 8:30am to ensure applicants do not miss class to complete their applications.

Preparing the Proposal and Budget

Not all proposals will be funded; therefore it is important to maximize your chances of success by seriously considering the following questions as you prepare your proposal.

• Why you? What specific knowledge, skills and ideas do you bring to the project? How will this specific experience help to make you a better educator?
• Why now? How does this project fit with your short and long term professional development goals?
• Why there? Why is it important that this project be undertaken in this specific place? Could you fulfill these professional development goals without going abroad?

The funds can be used to cover travel and accommodation expenses, and possible program/administrative fees charged by some agencies. For your proposed budget, include 2-3 examples of flight costs (please include proof with your application, i.e. print-outs from web pages or quotes from travel agents), and determine your budgetary needs by averaging these costs. Flight costs should be within reasonable limits. The same procedure should be followed for accommodation costs should you be responsible for finding your own housing.

Please do not include ineligible expenses in your proposed budget. Refer to the Terms of Reference for more detail. This is only a proposed budget; please be aware that the actual cost of your trip will vary from the amount of funding requested.

Please include with your application package verification that your placement has been confirmed, such as an e-mail from the host school/organization confirming your placement.

Additionally, if participation in your proposed placement is conditional upon receipt of the fellowship, please ensure that the host school/organization is aware, and that you have made note on the relevant section of the application form.

The advisory committee will give preference to projects that show promise of high impact at a reasonable cost.

How and When Awards Are Announced

The advisory committee will assess the applications and, subsequent to approval from the Dean of Education, an email will be sent to individual applicants by Thursday, December 13, 2012, from the Student Awards Office directly.

The advisory committee is made up of 3 members, appointed by the Dean of Education. Members of the committee evaluate the proposals individually, and then decide as a group who will ultimately receive funding. All applications are treated equally and assessments are final. Therefore, the committee does not offer an appeal process or provide explanations to any applicants regarding the awards.

If you have been approved you will receive either 60% or 100% of the proposed budget, depending on your financial situation as assessed by the Student Awards Office. Payment is initiated through the Student Award Office, in Gordon Hall, 74 Union Street*.

NOTE: Barring exceptional circumstances, the money awarded can only be used for the specific project outlined in the approved proposal. Should a previously arranged project fall through for legitimate reasons, the funding might be transferable to a similar project upon approval of the advisory committee.

*Funds will not be released without evidence of attendance at the Pre-Departure Orientation Workshop . The Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Peter Chin, will be hosting an OCASP (Off-Campus Activity Safety Policy) session on Wednesday, January 09, 2013 to discuss this in more detail.

Report to be Submitted

Following the completion of the project, recipients of an award are required to produce a report for the Dean of Education, or complete an in-class presentation, outlining the results of their studies abroad. The format and structure of this report/presentation is flexible.

Any public form of communication and report must maintain the anonymity of people and places. Thus, in the final report, real names of people and places must not be disclosed, and information that reveals the identities of specific persons or places must not be used.

The report or written confirmation from your professor of an in-class presentation must be submitted to Chelsea Barna in Education Career Services (A101), by Friday, April 26, 2013. Please retain receipts for all travel and accommodation expenses for auditing purposes.

NOTE: The advisory committee will confirm with the Practicum Office that you completed your alternative practicum in the country/region indicated on your application form.