State RTAP Manager's Toolkit

Seventy-three percent of those responding to the 2020 RTAP Manager’s Survey provide scholarships to subrecipients. States typically allow scholarship money to be used for attendance at conferences, roadeos, workshops, and other training. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some State RTAPs also began providing scholarships for virtual trainings. Hawaii allows for equipment purchase with scholarship funds, if the equipment is related to training. Scholarship guidelines are outlined in policies that are often posted on the State RTAP webpage. RTAP Managers can, based on funding levels and need, impose guidelines such as monetary amount allowed per scholarship, eligible use of scholarship money, and number of scholarships per person, per year. RTAPs may also have a maximum number of scholarships given out total, per year. For example, an RTAP may give out scholarships for in-state training only, for out-of-state training, or the attendee might need to have a matching contribution from their agency. See the Sample Documents and Templates section of this toolkit for examples.

Scholarships are an eligible expense under State RTAP funds, as long as they benefit rural transit service. Other decisions about whether to have scholarships and who to offer them to, are a state decision. Organizations that apply for State RTAP scholarships must be providing transportation services in rural areas. This includes public and non-profit organizations that provide transportation in rural areas. Organizations that receive or are eligible to apply for State RTAP scholarships are FTA Section 5311, Section 5310, and Tribal Transit providers, and other organizations that provide transportation in rural and non-urbanized areas are eligible to apply for State RTAP scholarships. For agencies that are receiving Section 5311(f) Intercity bus funding and/or agencies that receive both Section 5307 and Section 5311 funding, State RTAPs are free to set their own policies, as long as the scholarship is benefiting the service in the rural area. 

If a State RTAP wants to restrict scholarships such that for-profit entities are not eligible, they are free to do so. If a State RTAP wants to offer scholarships to employees of 5311(f) recipients that are for-profit entities, as long as the scholarship and the training being provided is benefitting the 5311-eligible service, it is the State RTAP’s decision. 

A State RTAP does not have to offer scholarships at all. Perhaps they may want to use their RTAP funding in some other way. 

Most State RTAPs that have a scholarship program also have a scholarship policy. An explicit policy (preferably public) is a best practice. It will let subrecipients know exactly how many trainings they can attend with the funds, what costs are eligible, how much they can spend in total, and will allow them to plan their training schedule accordingly. States generally require scholarship applicants to submit a proposal prior to the event, and approve each scholarship individually. Once approved, the applicant will attend the event and submit the final paperwork. Payments will be made at that point. State RTAP managers will need to evaluate the proposals and deliver the payments.

Policies generally include how the money can be used, exactly which expenses can be reimbursed, eligible recipients, and how the application process works. Most programs provide a link to a downloadable PDF of the policies, scholarship application, and other necessary documents. Some programs have implemented online application forms. In order to write a scholarship policy, the RTAP Manager will need to consult their advisory group (if they have one), and use their budget for guidance about how many scholarships the program can reasonably offer.

We have listed some scholarship policies from various RTAPs:

• Washington RTAP developed policy on their website for scholarships that details eligibility/non-eligibility based on factors including non-profits and urban systems and a peer review manual. It offers scholarships to all rural and tribal organizations. They do not necessarily need to be receiving funds from Washington DOT to qualify.
• Nebraska RTAP has developed a policy that includes out of state travel. In Nebraska, scholarship recipients are asked to carpool rather than use separate cars for travel reimbursement and limit food expenditures.
• Idaho RTAP allows for scholarship limitations/caps to be exempt when the applicant is attending an event hosted by the Transportation Department. 
• New Jersey RTAP scholarship opportunities are limited to individuals who are directors, managers, operators, and/or support staff of subrecipients of FTA funding including Sections 5310 and 5311 grants, as well as subrecipients of New Jersey Senior Citizens and Disabled Resident Transportation Assistance Program funds, NJ-JARC, and Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ).

Some scholarship management tips include:

• Scholarships must be submitted a certain number of days (such as 30+) before the scholarship event.
• Travel expenses must be submitted within xx days for in-state travel and within xx days for out of state travel.
• The RTAP Manager should obtain a hotel receipt, or verify with the hotel that the person was there.
• Learners have to provide an online evaluation of the session and how they will implement/utilize the information they learned.
• Many states require backup documentation to support all charges in order to be eligible for reimbursement, so retain all associated paperwork.

Idaho RTAP provides an In-House Scholarship program. Texas, Minnesota, and Oregon RTAP automated their scholarship application process. 

Updated April 15, 2024