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.
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.
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. 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’s RTAP allows for scholarship limitations/caps to be exempt when the applicant is attending an event hosted by the Transportation Department.
Texas, Minnesota, and Oregon RTAP automated their scholarship application process.
Some scholarship management tips include:
Updated May 5, 2022
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