Congratulations on becoming an Academic Competition Sponsor (or Co-Sponsor)! 

An Academic Competition Jira ticket should be submitted each time an academic competition is preparing for competitive event and travel that is over 30 miles from campus, overnight, or has students missing curfew.  This will ensure that supervisors are aware of sponsor/chaperone travel for the competition, as well as provide Academic Programs with a central location for all necessary information regarding your trip.  Review the Step By Step Guide to Academic Competition Paperwork to ensure you properly complete all necessary paperwork.

It is time for you to start looking into the cost of event registrations, transportation, lodging, meals, and any other trip expenses.  Fill out this Budget Worksheet to help you determine how much money each student will need to contribute and how much money will come from Academic Programs or Department-specific funds.  Remember that students do not cover the costs of non-NCSSM employees.  A completed budget template requires a sponsor signature, supervisor signature, the signature of the Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Programs in charge of Academic Competitions (Dr. Tonya Little, tonya.little@ncssm.edu), and Coordinator for SCSSI signature (Taylor Parsons, taylor.parsons@ncssm.edu).  A Budget Worksheet should be completed for each trip / event (one for Regionals, one for State, etc), with the finalized document uploaded to the appropriate Jira ticket.  

Per the Academic Competition Guidelines: 

• Day trips only:  ratio of students to adult chaperones (14:1)

• Overnight travel:  at least two chaperones are required.  Ratio of students to chaperones (8:1)

• Mixed-gender trips:  Both a male and female chaperone required

If an individual that is not an NCSSM employee plans on chaperoning during a trip, NCSSM's Volunteer Services Procedures must be followed.

• The competition sponsor should make a copy of and edit the HR Volunteer Agreement Form. Have the chaperone sign this document via DocHub. 

• Sponsors should upload the completed agreement document to the HR Volunteer Submission Inbox.

• Volunteers must have a background check.  Sponsors must complete the NCSSM Background Check Form for their volunteer and include $35 per background check per person to their budget.  Allow 4 weeks for this process.  

• Once the background check is completed and required forms are received, HR will notify the departmental contact listed on the Volunteer Agreement of the approval for the volunteer to begin their assignment. 

After creating an account with SCSSI (see Section 1), contact SCSSI (scssi@ncssm.edu) at least 1 week in advance of collecting money if you would like students/families to pay with a credit card.  You will need to add an SCSSI credit card fee to the amount listed on the contract to parents/students.  The NCSSM SCSSI Payment Portal will have your academic competition listed.

Review the School Sanctioned Activities Guidelines.  

• If your competition is traveling under 30 miles from campus and students won't be missing Check, please complete the School Sanctioned Activities Short Form. Remember that students will still need to sign out on ORAH even once this form is completed.

• For competitions requiring overnight travel, travel over 30 miles from campus, or when students will be missing check, the School Sanctioned Activities Long Form must be completed and shared with parents via DocHub for signature completion. Share to parents' NCSSM email addresses, not their personal emails. Once all signatures are obtained, the sponsor must call each parent to verify they have given their permission for their student to travel.  Please refer to the School Sanctioned Activites Guidelines on how to share these complete documents with Academic Programs and Student Life. Remember that students will still need to sign out on ORAH even once this form is completed.

A Travel Authorization (TA) Form is necessary if there are costs associated with competition travel. This form is required by the Business Office. The TA Form must be filled out for each proposed trip that requires funds and must be authorized and received by the funding source at least two weeks prior to the first day of travel.  

• MORGANTON sponsors can complete Jada Smith's Travel Request form to initiate the process of completing the TA form.  

• DURHAM sponsors can go to their Departmental Admin for assistance in completing the form.  Only once sponsors' Travel Authorization forms have been approved and students have remitted all payments can sponsors proceed with the funding request process. 

To understand how to complete a Travel Authorization Form or pay for competition-related expenses such as registration, lodging, and airfare, please review the Step by Step Guide for Academic Competition Paperwork.

*Important: Due to the inevitable complications in completing the necessary approval and funding process for multiple competitions, all paperwork must be submitted and student funds collected at least two weeks prior to the date the initial payment is due for each event.  Failure to meet this deadline will preclude participation in the competition.*

Faculty or staff who are chaperoning a trip in which students will be traveling are required to carry copies of each students' Medical Contact Cards.  Contact your Department Admin (DUR) or Academic Programs (DUR/MOR) to collect these forms.  After your trip, return the forms to the admin you received them from so that they can be securely filed or destroyed.

Reserving an NCSSM Vehicle (no cost):

• If you are a sponsor in DURHAM and need to reserve an NCSSM vehicle, please see the NCSSM Vehicle Registration Best Practices.  It is important to note that typically Durham vehicles are limited to trips that are under 4 hours drive time (one-way) and it is not possible to multi-night park at the airport.  Sponsors can reserve a rental vehicle through Enterprise and they should reach out to their departmental assistants for any help.

• If you are from MORGANTON and need to reserve an NCSSM vehicle, please complete the NCSSM-Morganton Vehicle Request Form.  Do not wait until the last minute to reserve a vehicle.  Jada Smith (jada.smith@ncssm.edu) can assist sponsors with reserving a rental vehicle. 

For academic competitions with larger groups or that need to travel a longer distance to their event, please reserve rental vehicles or make other arrangements (charter buses, rail, air, etc.) for transportation.  

Please share the Absence Request Form with students and verify it has been completed if the academic competition requires students to miss any classes.  

When students leave the day of departure, make sure they sign out on ORAH with the correct pass.  If there are questions regarding which pass to use, students should contact Justin Plummer (plummer@ncssm.edu) in DUR or Jainny Estrada (jainny.estrada@ncssm.edu) in MOR.  Safe travels!

When you arrive back at campus from your trip, make sure to return any Medical Contact Cards to the admin assistant you received them from.  The admin will securely destroy these copies for you.

If you completed a Travel Authorization Form prior to departing on your trip, you must complete the Travel Reimbursement form within 10 days of returning from the trip, even if all expenses/items for travel were paid prior to the trip and no employee reimbursement is needed.  A Travel Reimbursement form is necessary to help the Business Office finalize all travel expenses and requires sponsors to provide trip receipts to prove their expenses.  Use Jada Smith's Travel Completion form to initiate the Reimbursement / Expense Report process and finalize the travel process (MOR) or ask your Departmental Admins for assistance in completing the form (DUR). 

Do not forget to complete the Accolade Tracker form if any of your students / the team received any awards at a competition!

Also remember to keep copies of all paperwork!