S.C.O.M.S.A.




Criteria
for
Budget
Allocations





A. TRAVEL

a. Organizations
Seeking
Funding

i. Each
organization
that
has
a
National
Conference
or
Conferences
is

allotted
no
more
than
$1600
for
travel
and
expenses
for
each

academic
year
(and
only
up
to
$400
per
person,
if
less
than
four

people
are
attending
the
conference).
These
funds
may
be
used
to

send
as
many
students
as
the
organizations
chooses,
provided
they

fall
within
the
requirements
set
in
parts
II
and
III
below.
The
following

organizations
have
National
Conferences:



1. Asian
American
Medical
Association


2. Association
of
Latino
Medical
Students


3. American
Medical
Student
Association


4. American
Medical
Association/Massachusetts
Medical
Society


5. Armed
Forces
Medical
Society


6. Medical
Students
for
Choice


7. Lesbian,
Gay
and
Bisexual
People
in
Medicine


8. Maimonides
Society


9. AAMC‐Organization
of
Student
Representatives


10. Phi
Delta
Epsilon


11. Primary
Care
Society
(American
Association
of
Family
Practice)


12. South
Asian
Medical
Students
Association


13. Student
National
Medical
Association



ii. Organizations
without
National
Conferences
will
be
reviewed
on
a

conference‐by‐conference
basis
with
total
funding
not
to
exceed

$1600
per
academic
year.


iii. The
annual
$1600
is
a
maximum,
and
unused
portions
do
not
carry

over
to
the
next
year.





b. Individuals
Seeking
Funding


i. Any
student
may
receive
funding
for
a
maximum
of
one
trip
per

semester.
This
includes
funds
received
through
organizations
as

discussed
above.
Documentation
of
the
conference,
such
as
a

brochure,
must
be
included
with
the
budget
request.


ii. A
student
applying
for
funds
to
attend
any
conference
sponsored
by

any
of
the
above
mentioned
organizations
must
notify
leaders
of
the

organization
and
request
them
to
apply
to
SCOMSA
on
their
behalf.

Students
will
not
be
funded
by
SCOMSA
to
attend
organization‐
sponsored
conferences
except
as
part
of
an
organization’s
overall

request.


iii. For
individual
requests
not
covered
by
student
organizations,

 SCOMSA
will
consider
funding
in
the
following
two
categories:


1. For
individuals
presenting
research
conducted
at
BUMC.
75%

of
any
travel
request,
up
to
a
maximum
of
$550
per
student

per
trip.


2. For
individual’s
attending
for
their
own
enrichment
(i.e.
not

presenting
research)—50%
of
any
travel
request,
up
to
a

maximum
of
$350
per
student
per
trip.

iv. SCOMSA
will
not
fund
students
if:


1. They
are
presenting
research
on
behalf
of
another
institution.

2. They
are
receiving
a
stipend
or
academic
credit
for
the
trip.





c. Requirements
for
Approval
of
Funding
Requests


i. A
formal
written
request
must
be
submitted
to
the
SCOMSA
Budget

Committee
at
least
six
weeks
prior
to
the
date
of
travel
in
order
to

obtain
funds.
The
request
form
is
available
on‐line
at

http://people.bu.edu/scomsa
and
must
be
completed
and
approved

by
the
Budget
Committee
for
funding
to
be
provided.


ii. All
organizations
must
submit
to
SCOMSA
(in
writing)
their
guidelines

for
how
they
allocate
money
to
attend
conferences
and
their
criteria

for
selecting
who
is
able
to
attend.
Also
they
must
submit
a
list
of

students
being
funded
for
any
conference.
Any
student
who
has

already
received
SCOMSA
funding
during
the
same
semester
will
not

be
funded.


iii. The
semester
will
be
defined
as
follows:


1. Fall
=
July
–
December

2. Spring
=
January
–
June

iv. The
price
ceiling
on
funding
of
food
will
be
$25
per
person
per
day.


v. The
price
ceiling
on
funding
for
accommodations
will
be
$80
per

person
per
day;
however
it
is
expected
that
students
will
avail
of
the

most
economical
accommodations
in
the
area
and
that
rooms
will
be

shared
when
possible.


vi. All
receipts
must
be
submitted
to
SCOMSA
following
any
trip
and
any

excess
funds
must
be
returned.
Note
that
improper
use
of
travel

funds
is
an
honor
code
infraction.


vii. The
group
of
student(s)
attending
the
conference
will
be
required
to

either
submit
a
newsletter
article
or
prepare
a
lunchtime
talk
to

inform
the
student
body
about
the
conference.


viii. One
half
of
the
approved
amount
will
be
released
after
the
request

has
been
completely
processed.
The
other
half
will
only
be
released

following
the
acquisition
by
the
treasurer
of
receipts
and
of
the

newsletter
article
or
delivery
of
the
lunchtime
talk.





B. ON
CAMPUS
EVENTS


a. A
formal
written
request
must
be
submitted
to
the
SCOMSA
Budget

 Committee
at
least
six
weeks
prior
to
the
date
of
the
event
in
order
to

obtain
these
funds.
The
request
form
is
available
on
the
web
at

http://people.bu.edu/scomsa
and
must
be
completed
and
approved
by
the

Budget
Committee
for
funding
to
be
provided.


b. SCOMSA
will
cover
funding
50%
of
the
request
initially
pending
approval,
up

to
a
maximum
of
$500
per
event.
The
student/organizations
must
then
make

every
effort
to
obtain
further
funding
from
other
sources.
In
the
event
that

other
sources
do
not
provide
the
necessary
amount,
the

student/organization
may
resubmit
for
further
funding
which
must
gain

approval
from
the
SCOMSA
Budget
Committee.
Receipts
must
be
submitted

for
the
full
amount
of
the
event,
not
only
the
percentage
funded
by
SCOMSA.

Note
that
improper
use
of
funds
is
an
honor
code
infraction.


c. On
campus
events
must
be
open
to,
and
benefit,
the
entire
Boston
University

Medical
Community.


d. One
half
of
the
approved
amount
will
be
released
after
request
has
been

completely
processed.
The
other
half
will
only
be
released
following
the

acquisition
by
the
treasurer
of
the
receipts
of
and
of
the
newsletter
article
or

following
delivery
of
the
lunchtime
talk.