Congratulations on your Project funding! Before UROP can transfer any funds to you, you must satisfy all pre-funding requirements as listed below.
Complete 1-2 by filling out and submitting the online forms. Complete 3-7 by submitting the requirements via email by “replying all” to the UROP Project Funding Decision email.
Deadline for 1: Fall: 12 pm, 11/22; Spring: 5 pm, 4/13
Deadline for 2-7 (all other requirements): Fall: 12 pm, 12/6; Spring: 12 pm, 4/25
If you have any questions, contact UROP anytime at urop@hawaii.edu.
- Sign Up for a UROP Funding Recipient Orientation
The orientation will consist of networking with fellow UROP funding recipients and a detailed explanation on the funding process, the successful steps to completing your project, available resources, and project completion requirements. Attendance is mandatory for all UROP Project funding recipients. - Complete the Funding Acceptance Form
The form asks funding recipients to confirm their funding disbursement semester and enrollment status at UHM to ensure funding eligibility. - Submit Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
The MOA outlines UROP’s conditions for funding. This is a formal agreement between the funding recipient, faculty mentor, and UROP. The MOA must be signed by the funding recipient and the faculty mentor. - Complete Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training
See Required Training & Research Compliance. - Submit a Safety Checklist
See Required Training & Research Compliance. - (If applicable) Research Compliance Requirements
If the UROP Project Funding Decision email indicated any research compliance requirement for your project, submit relevant documentation showing compliance. See Required Training & Research Compliance. - (If applicable) Submit Budget Edits
If UROP requested any edits or clarifications on the budget via the UROP Project Funding Decision email, funding recipients must make satisfactory edits and resubmit. Turn on the TRACK CHANGES function (on Word or equivalent) and revise the budget according to the request.
All prior funding recipients must submit all outstanding UROP Project and/or Presentation completion requirements as outlined under the Project Completion page and/or Presentation Completion page prior to the deadline before any new funding is released.
When presenting, showcasing, or displaying your UROP project in any format, please remember to acknowledge UROP support and include the UROP logo in the presentation slides or poster and acknowledge UROP verbally and/or in writing. Please consider using the following verbal/written acknowledgment or a similar variation:
“This work was supported in part by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship (OVPRS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.”
Because UROP funding is disbursed as a scholarship by the Financial Aid Office, UROP funding is subject to financial aid guidelines (e.g. a UROP Project funding recipient must enroll in at least one credit in the semester of disbursement, including summer, to receive UROP funding). Once a Project funding recipient fulfills all pre-funding requirements, the Financial Aid Office reviews the recipient’s UROP budget and the funding amount based on the recipient’s cost-of-attendance in the disbursement semester. Over 90% of UROP funding recipients receive their UROP funding without any issues because:
- Most recipients’ cost-of-attendance allows them to receive their UROP funding, and
- The Financial Aid Office can increase a recipient’s cost-of-attendance for non-stipend funding if a recipient’s acceptance of UROP funding causes their financial aid package to exceed their cost-of-attendance.
However, the Financial Aid Office cannot increase the cost-of-attendance for stipend funding, and in rare cases, a recipient may have to choose between a UROP stipend and other forms of financial aid (e.g., loans or grants) they already have. In all cases, UROP communicates with each individual recipient regarding Project funding disbursement prior to disbursement to facilitate the funding process.
Once the cost-of-attendance matter is resolved, UROP schedules the funding to be transferred to a recipient’s myUH account and notifies the recipient via email (subject line: “UROP Project Funding Disbursal Notification”). In general, most recipients receive their funding at the beginning of the funding semester if they submitted all pre-funding requirements by the deadline.
Once UROP schedules the funding and sends the email notification, it takes ~2 weeks for the funds to show as a credit (Achv Schl UG Research) in the “View My Student Account” tab in the myUH account, which also shows each UHM student’s financial transactions with the University, including the UROP funding, scholarships, awards, loans, tuition fees, student fees, etc.
Please note that once UROP funding is transferred to a myUH account, it will balance any existing charges in your MyUH account. In other words, if there is an outstanding balance on a given myUH account, UROP funding will automatically pay the outstanding balance first. If the transfer of UROP funding results in a negative value (negative balance means the University owes you money and positive balance means you owe the University money) in the “Term Balance” in “View My Student Account”, you will receive the positive value of the displayed amount via eRefund or a check mailed to your address at the beginning of the semester of disbursement. eRefund takes ~1 week to transfer and a mailed check takes ~2 weeks to arrive after the funding shows as a credit in the “View My Student Account” tab. UROP highly recommends all recipients to sign up for eRefund in order to expedite the transfer of funds and receive an email update from notify@hawaii.edu when your eRefund is processed. There is no email update for a check, but your “Term Balance” will show $0.00 if a negative balance was processed.
Lastly, please note the following important details regarding myUH and account balances:
- If you have a tuition plan set up for the semester of disbursement (i.e., you have not paid your tuition yet), your UROP funding will pay your tuition first.
- The transfer of UROP funding to your myUH account affects the balance of the semester of disbursement. If your semester of disbursement is Summer 2021, UROP funding will affect your Summer 2021 balance and not your Fall 2021 balance. One exception is that a balance may pay for a previous semester’s or a coming semester’s outstanding balance if the payment due date has passed.
- For international students: a refund of any negative term balance is processed after the end of the 50% tuition refund period.
Please note that any funding you receive from UROP should be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as it may be subject to taxation depending on the overlap between your UROP project/presentation funding and any course requirement. For example:
- Non-stipend funding originally intended for and spent towards a UROP project/presentation that is also required by a course (i.e. you are receiving academic credit for it) may not be taxable
- Non-stipend funding spent towards a UROP project/presentation that is not required by a course may be taxable
- Stipend funding obtained to work on a UROP project/presentation, regardless of any course overlap, is generally taxable
Please note that these examples may not apply to you depending on your exact circumstances. Additionally, any changes in the amount you receive from UROP at the completion of UROP project/presentation may change your potential tax liability. Please consult with a tax professional for more information.
All information above applies to international students as well. In addition, international students must submit UH Form WH-1 (two pages) to Donnie Feng, UH Disbursing and Payroll (808) 956-6067.
Depending on the individual, international students receiving UROP funding may experience an overaward – the amount of scholarships received is greater than the tuition and fees balance in a given semester. In this case, the International Student Services (ISS) will contact the international student and ask the student to complete additional paperwork in order to receive UROP funding. Please contact ISS for any questions at issmanoa@hawaii.edu.
Purchasing Items
Recipients may start making purchases after receiving their official funding disbursement email from UROP with the subject line: “UROP Project Funding Disbursal Notification”. This email confirms that UROP scheduled the funding disbursement. Recipients may not use the funds to reimburse themselves for items purchased prior to receiving this email from UROP. All receipts documenting purchases should be saved and organized for submission to UROP at the end of the project, except for stipend and Meals & Incidental Expenses (M&IE) charges associated with travel.
The acquisition of required items is the responsibility of the recipient and mentor (i.e., UROP does not make purchases for recipients). In some cases, research or creative work involves materials which recipients are not able to purchase directly (e.g., hazardous materials). In this case, recipients should work closely with their faculty mentor and/or department to obtain the items and arrange reimbursement to the purchasing party.
Scope & Budget Change
Working on a research or creative work project may involve unforeseen changes to original plans. Recipients do not need to communicate with UROP on all changes they implement. For example, if the timeline is delayed for a week, please work with the mentor to stay on track – UROP does not have to be notified. If the price of a particular item has changed slightly (e.g., price fluctuation on flight, lodging, materials and supplies, etc.), UROP does not have to be notified prior to purchasing.
On the other hand, if recipients need to make a “significant” adjustment to the original plan, recipients should first discuss and confirm with the mentor. Significant adjustments include:
- A change in the completion semester
- A change in the travel plan (e.g., no longer traveling, traveling in a different semester than originally planned)
- A need to purchase an item over $100 with UROP funding that was not in the original budget
Once the mentor confirms that a significant adjustment is necessary, send an email to UROP with the mentor copied and explain the situation. Also, please ask the mentor to confirm that the adjustment is necessary.
If recipients need to purchase an item over $100 with UROP funding that was not in the original budget, they should open the most recently approved budget by UROP and turn on the Track Changes function and update the rows that contain:
- Items no longer needed. Edit the cost to $0
- Items with price increases/decreases. Edit the cost accordingly
Then, add the new item by creating a new row. The new row should be the last item in the corresponding category (Materials/Supplies, Travels, Outsourcing, etc.). Once the new row has been created:
- Populate all cells (Item #, Item Name, Quantity, Cost per Unit, Cost, and Justification)
- Update all corresponding subtotal and total rows
- Save the file as [LastName]_[FirstName]_BUD_[YYYYMMDD]. For example, the file name should look like the following if the recipient’s name is Elise Keoni and the date is June 29, 2020: Keoni_Elise_BUD_20200629
GROUP: Use the main applicant’s name and not one of the co-applicants for consistency
Send an email to UROP with the new budget attached and the mentor (and group members, if applicable) copied to explain your situation. Also, please ask your mentor to confirm that you discussed the request by using “reply to all” and confirm with UROP via email