EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FUND

Application Requirements and Conditions

1) Students listed on each application must be currently enrolled in the School of Music at the time of submission, and be in good academic standing.

2) All funding awarded can only be for upcoming events/projects.

3) Each application must have all the requested information pertaining to each field of the JotForm in order to be approved. In particular are student ID’s, the funding division, and in particular the new categorical designations specified by the University in the High Impact Practices document.

4) In order for approval, all students listed on each application must submit a thank-you letter, to “Dear Donor”, prior to the funds being deposited into their account. This letter should be submitted as an email to the committee member who is monitoring this, Brian Blanchard: brian_blanchard@byu.edu

5) For experiences/projects that occur during Spring and/or Summer term when the recipient student is not enrolled in classes, funding may be awarded provided that said student is returning as an enrolled music major for the ensuing Fall semester. In the event of funding being awarded during a time of non-enrollment—when no tuition is billed by the university, the student’s access to the funds will not be possible until their enrollment resumes.

6) Students are required to provide to the School of Music a written thank you letter to donors before funding will be released to their account.

7) The University now requires students to provide a final report about their funded experience, as now forecasted in the STUDENT PROGRAM EVALUATION form. A student who does not submit this final report will not be eligible for future funding.

Funds are not to be used for:

1) Travel costs for first rounds of regional, national, and international competitions, nor the entrance fees for such competitions

2) Private/individual lessons or graduate school auditions

3) School of Music ensemble tours

4) An event that has already taken place; no retroactive funding nor reimbursing

5) A different event/experience/project than the one applied for. If plans or circumstances change such that a student ends up unable to realize the funded experience/project, funds are to be returned to the account from which they came. Awarded amounts cannot be repurposed for a different experience/project without 1) reporting to the committee that the original purpose was cancelled/unmet (with a description of the causing circumstances), and 2) a new application for the next intended experience/project.

6) Experience/projects occurring after a student’s formal enrollment ends. Students who are graduating, transferring to another school, or permanently leaving the university for other reasons are ineligible to receive Experiential Learning funds. Students should not delay their graduation in order to receive funding.

Guidelines:

1) The intended disbursement of Experiential Learning funds is to provide all School of Music students equal access to financial help towards them having, as part of their BYU studies, the kinds of experiences envisioned by the University in the Definition and Application of the BYU Experiential Learning Framework. It is the second page, High Impact Practices, where the breadth and scope of the University for these funds is presented. This guide will aid both faculty and students in preparing applications for Experiential Learning funds.

2) Each student is expected to personally contribute to the costs of every submission. In the past student contributions have averaged around 20-30%. Lesser percentages can be tailored and expected of students in cases of financial difficulty.

3) There is no expectation that every student in a given division/program receive some piece of the Exp Lrn funds pie each year. It is understood that funding will likely go towards students in the latter years/semesters of their studies (though this is not required), or for students presented with special opportunities/events, as they may arise.

4) The yearly allotment that each division/program receives is the total amount for both graduate and undergraduate students in that division/program. The faculty of said division/program will determine such allocating of awards between graduate and undergraduates.

5) Across the School of Music many students are in more than one entity that receives Exp Lrn funds. For example, a student who is part of a studio and who also is in a degree program outside the studio—like a voice student in Music Ed, or a percussion student in Commercial Music. Generally, funding for a student is to come from the division/program to which the experience/project pertains. Through mutual discussion and agreement between faculty, a student may receive funding comprised of monies from more than one division/program.

6) As in the past, funds are intended to help as many students as possible; care should be taken that a single student not receive an inordinate amount of funds. Also, if a student receives a large amount of support during a funding cycle, priority should be given to other students in the next one. In cases of unanticipated opportunities—singular events, rare festivals/competitions, unforeseen invitations, or other such things—special consideration for exceptions to this can be made at the discretion of the faculty.

7) Applications for funding may be submitted before a student receives official acceptance into a program. If the student ultimately is not accepted, the funding must be returned.

8) When a student’s involvement touches multiple divisions, said divisions can pool their funds and contribute together to support a student. Amounts from each of the supporting divisions is to be clearly indicated in the application.

9) To help extend the reach of allotted funds, faculty should work with students and ensure the budgeted figures in each Exp Lrn submission are accurate and viable. Itemized amounts for flights, hotels, transportation, supplies, etc., should not be inflated to have extra personal advantage for the experience/project. It goes without saying that students should choose the most cost-effective options. For example, if lodging is needed then student dorms, shared hotel rooms, Airbnb’s, hostels and the like, can help reduce costs.