Aaron Nicolaisen | Staff Writer
Buena Vista University is now offering extra funds for students interested in interim travel, research projects, internships, study abroad programs, and other BVU experiences. Value added funds are provided by generous donors and made available for students by application each year.
The application has many specific requirements that applicants must meet. All students can apply to receive value-added funding to help with expenses in certain programs, but students who have previously received funding are not always first priority over newer students to the program.
All value added funds are donations from a variety of donors. These funds have been available for years, however the amount of money in the account varies because new funds are often donated.
The applications are reviewed by the Value-Added Funds Screening Committee and then the Vice President for Academic Affairs makes award recommendations and alerts students of the results, according to the Associate Dean of Faculty Peter Steinfeld.
“Students receiving value-added funding are asked to file final reports to the Dean of Faculty office for review no later than four weeks after the student completes their experience.” Steinfeld said.
The funding is split into four different rounds throughout the school year. The deadlines for applications occur on the following dates: September 15, November 15, February 15, and April 15.
Students interested in applying for funding are required to write a 500-word essay describing their intended use of the monetary funds along with a detailed budget. Once completed, students may turn in the applications to the Office of Academic Affairs which is located in Dixon-Eilers room 107.
The following are a few funds available to Buena Vista students: Wendy Waugaman Development Award, Ed Bock/Henry Olson Travel, William H Cumberland Research Award, Undergraduate Research, International Student Domestic Travel, and General Travel Internship Research. Besides the few listed above, there are several other value-added funds available to students.
For more information and a description of individual funds visit BVU’s Awards and Stipends page.
The new advancement within the value-added funding program is the use of centralized applications. Centralized applications allow students to fill out one application to apply for all value-added funds. Students can access the funding application here.
For more information about value-added funds or questions concerning the application process, contact Peter Steinfeld, Associate Dean of Faculty.
Photo by Dee Friesen
