Grad student support funds

Policy on the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science Graduate Student Support Program (GSSP) (2012-2013)

 

Objectives
The Graduate Student Support Program (GSSP) funding is set annually and is subject to availability of funds. The philosophy and objectives behind this program are:

1. It is a cost-sharing scholarship program where the funds go directly to high caliber graduate students.
2. It is intended to encourage and reward researchers for their successes in obtaining grants and research funding.
3. It offers minimum funding for graduate students during their residence time conditional on all eligibility criteria being met.

Level of Support and Matching Funds for the Basic or Modified GSSP Funding:

 

Level of Support and Matching Funds for the Basic or Modified GSSP Funding:

The level of support provided to eligible faculty members for their eligible students for the 2012-2013 fiscal year is based on the required admission date, immigration status and matching funds as follows:

Amounts for Fiscal Year 2012-2013 for the period from:			Basic GSSP1		Modified GSSP1&2 for International Students paying International Tuition Fee Rates for 2012-2013
	ENCS Thesis Program	Admission Date	Basic GSSP* funding	Matching funds required by Supervisor or Student’s Scholarship**	Modified GSSP*&** Funding	Matching funds required by Supervisor or Student’s Scholarship**
May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013 (12 months)	M.A.Sc. or M.Comp.Sc.	January 2012 (2011/4) to June 2012 (2012/1)	$5,000	$5,000	$8,000	$8,000
		January 2011 (2010/4) to June 2011 (2011/1)	$5,000	$5,000	$5,000	$5,000
		September 2011 (2011/2)	$5,000	$5,000	$6,000	$6,000
	Ph.D.	January 2010 (2009/4) to June 2012 (2012/1)	$10,000	$7,500	$12,500	$10,000
September 4, 2012 to April 30, 2013 (8 months)	M.A.Sc. or M.Comp.Sc.	September 2012 (2012/2)	$3,333	$3,333	$5,333	$5,333
	Ph.D.	September 2012 (2012/2)	$6,667	$5,000	$8,333	$6,667
May 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012 (4 months)	M.A.Sc. or M.Comp.Sc	September 2010 (2010/2)	$1,667	$1,667	$1,667	$1,667
May 1, 2012 to July 31, 2012 (3 months)	Ph.D.	September 2009 (2009/2)	$2,500	$1,875	$3,125	$2,500
For January admitted students matching funds from supervisor’s research grants paid from January to April are eligible matching funds, provided that the minimum matching funds each year is respected. If the additional support provided for eligible international students paying international tuition fee rates under the Modified GSSP program is not chosen, the Basic GSSP program guidelines will apply. * Students on a leave or a parental leave from their program during the 2012-2013 fiscal year are not GSSP eligible during the term of their leave. Graduate Student Support and matching funds from the faculty member will be prorated to reflect the academic terms that the student is registered for during the fiscal year. Students cannot make up for the lost GSSP in future semesters. ** Certain Scholarships/Awards held by the student (internal or external to Concordia, including any Partial Tuition Fee Remission Awards) may be used as matching funds. The professor is required to attach recent proof of the student’s scholarship/award reflecting amount and dates of the award. Exceptions: Students receiving Concordia full-tuition remission scholarships/awards, such as the Concordia International Tuition Fee Remission Award, and the Concordia Full Tuition Recruitment Award, and other Concordia recruitment/entrance scholarships or awards are not eligible for the Basic or Modified GSSP (please see Special GSSP guidelines). Tuition fees not charged in the joint agreement between Concordia and the China Scholarship Council, the Concordia International Tuition Fee Remission Award, the Concordia Full Tuition Recruitment Award, as well as student loans are not eligible matching funds. Students receiving the Special Scholarship for New High-Caliber Ph.D. Students Award are not eligible for GSSP funds.

 

Student Eligibility Criteria for Basic or Modified GSSP Funding for 2012-2013:
To be eligible for the Graduate Student Support funds, the student must meet the 3 criteria below:
(1) enrolled in one of the thesis-based graduate programs of the Faculty under the grantee's supervision, and originally admitted into the Ph.D. program from September 2009 (2009/2) to September 2012 (2012/2) and originally admitted into the Master’s thesis program from September 2010 (2010/2) to September 2012 (2012/2),
(2) registered for full-time studies throughout the fiscal year and have a CGPA of at least 3.40 based on at least 2 semesters in the program at Concordia University (all students entering the University will receive funding, and will then be evaluated for the CGPA requirements after two semesters and a minimum of 8 credits at Concordia), and
(3) All sources of external funding to the student will need to be supplied by the student. Sources of funding in the form of scholarships (including NSERC, FQRNT, etc.) to the students may serve as matching funds (certain scholarships/awards are not eligible matching funds; see exceptions).

Allocation of GSSP Funding to ENCS Faculty Members:

This support is made available to full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members in ENCS. The grantee will be receiving 50% the allocated amount for graduate students that he/she co-supervises with a full-time tenured and tenure-track, faculty members. Professor emeritus faculty members will also be considered. A grantee who is co-supervising a graduate student with a faculty member who has affiliated (adjunct) status, will receive 100% amount allocated for that student. The level of support provided to eligible faculty members for the 2012-2013 fiscal year is based on the required matching funds and the eligibility criteria.

How to Request GSSP Funding:

Each year (in May for continuing students and in September for new Fall students) the supervisor will be required to verify and sign the list of students under his/her supervision (full and co-supervision) on the Graduate Database Budget Report provided by his/her department. To request GSSP funding, the faculty member must indicate the GSSP funding requested on the Graduate Database Budget Report. The faculty member must provide the matching funds from his/her research grants. Eligibility criteria, matching funds and GSSP funding levels are set by ENCS each fiscal year, and are subject to change at any time without prior notice.

If a student scholarship/award is to be used as matching funds, the supervisor must indicate this on the Graduate Database Budget Report, and attach recent proof of the student’s scholarship/award reflecting amount and dates of the award

Use of Faculty Graduate Student Support Funds and Approval of Expenses:

All GSSP funds must be spent on the respective eligible graduate thesis student in the form of a bursary. It cannot be transferred to other students. The matching funds must be provided to the student on a separate bursary form where funds from the other research account(s) will count towards the matching funds before the award of the GSSP funds. The Department Chair/Director must approve all expenses. Graduate Studies Bursary/Notice of termination forms (including forms for the matching funds) must be submitted to the Research Officer for approval. Graduate studies bursary forms must be submitted within 30 days prior to the start of the bursary start date, and no later than February 28, 2013. (ENCS Research Office, room EV2.139). Commitments ending after April 30, 2013 will not be permitted due to the Concordia fiscal year. Any unspent funds will be withdrawn from the grantee's account on April 30, 2013.

Other Information:

1) For balance of funds see Millennium FAST from My Concordia Portal: https://www.myconcordia.ca/ or Banner: https://dione.concordia.ca/banner/prod/pages/home.html.
2) For list of students/employees paid from GSSP funds see Pay Advice Report for actual payments to employees from My Concordia Portal: https://www.myconcordia.ca/.
3) Matching funds paid to students paid from the supervisor’s research contracts are normally paid as a salary and must be paid on a TRAC RA contract and must respect the TRAC RA Collective Agreement.

FAQ:

Question: Are September admitted eligible students shortchanged because they receive 8-months support at the beginning of their program?
Answer: September admitted eligible students who are registered at the end of the eligibility period are eligible to receive the remaining 4-months support from the GSSP and supervisor’s matching funds.

Question: Are SIP students eligible for GSSP?
Answer: The SIP student is eligible for GSSP if the primary supervisor is an ENCS full-time faculty member, and the student is registered in the SIP-Engineering program.

Question: How can I pay my January admitted eligible students during their first term?
Answer: To pay a January admitted student, you can multiply the annual amount the student should receive by 4/12 and pay that amount from January to April from your own research grant funds, and then pay the difference from your own funds and GSSP from May to December. To do this, you must complete two separate bursary forms for each period.

Question: How much must I pay if my Ph.D. student is admitted in January 2012 and I wish for him/her to receive $17,500 (i.e. $10,000 Basic GSSP and $7,500 from my own research grant funds) in equal bi-weekly instalments for the period from January 3, 2012 to December 31, 2012?
Answer: You can complete as in the example below:

ENCS Thesis Program	Student Admitted	GSSP Award Date	GSSP Type	Matching funds2 required from Supervisor	GSSP2 funding
Ph.D.	January 2012	May 2012	Basic	$7,500 (from Jan. 3, 2012 to June 15, 2012)	$10,000 (June 16, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2012)
Ph.D.	January 2012	May 2012	Modified	$10,000 (from Jan. 3, 2012 to June 15, 2012)	$12,500 (June 16, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2012)
M.A.Sc./ M.Comp.Sc.	January 2012	May 2012	Basic	$5,000 (from Jan. 3, 2012 to June 30, 2012)	$5,000 (July 1, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2012)
M.A.Sc./ M.Comp.Sc	January 2012	May 2012	Modified	$8,000 (from Jan. 3, 2012 to June 30, 2012)	$8,000 (July 1, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2012)

GSSP guidelines and funding amounts are subject to change without prior notice.

Level of Support and Matching Funds for the Special GSSP Funding:

The Special GSSP is made available for students awarded recruitment/entrance scholarships such as the Concordia International Tuition Fee Remission Award, Concordia Full Tuition Recruitment Award, Concordia University Graduate Fellowship, Frederick Lowy Scholars Fellowship Elgard/Bacher Graduate Fellowship, the Concordia University Graduate Fellowship, the Concordia Merit Scholarships J.W. McConnell Graduate Fellowship, and the Bourse d'études Hydro-Québec de l'Université Concordia.
The level of Special GSSP support provided to eligible faculty members for their eligible international students for the 2012-2013 fiscal year is based on the required award date, immigration status, eligibility criteria and matching funds as follows:

Special GSSP for Students receiving the Concordia International Tuition Fee Remission Award
For Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	ENCS Thesis Program	Student Admitted	Award Date	Special GSSP* funding	Matching funds* required by Supervisor
	Ph.D.	May 2011 (2011/2) or May 2012 (2012/1)	May 1, 2012	$10,000 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	$7,500 (May 2012 to April 30, 2013)
	Ph.D.	Sept. 2011 (2011/2) or Sept. 2012 (2012/2)	September 4, 2012	$10,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)	$7,500 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)
	Ph.D.	Jan. 2012 (2011/4) or Jan. 2013 (2012/4)	January 7, 2013	$10,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)	$7,500 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)
Special GSSP for Students receiving the Concordia Full Tuition Recruitment Award
For Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	ENCS Thesis Program	Student Admitted	Award Date	Special GSSP* funding	Matching funds* required by Supervisor
	Ph.D.	May 2011 (2011/2) or May 2012 (2012/1)	May 1, 2012	$10,000 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	$5,000 (May 2012 to April 30, 2013)
	Ph.D.	Sept. 2011 (2011/2) or Sept. 2012 (2012/2)	September 4, 2012	$10,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)	$5,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)
	Ph.D.	Jan. 2012 (2011/4) or Jan. 2013 (2012/4)	January 7, 2013	$10,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)	$5,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)

Special GSSP for Students receiving the Concordia University Graduate Fellowship
For Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	ENCS Thesis Program	Student Admitted		Award Date		Special GSSP* funding	Matching funds* required by Supervisor
	Ph.D.	May 2012 (2012/1)		May 1, 2012		$10,000 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	$7,500 (May 2012 to April 30, 2013)
	Ph.D.	Sept. 2012 (2012/2)		September 4, 2012		$10,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)	$7,500 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)
	Ph.D.	Jan. 2013 (2012/4)		January 7, 2013		$10,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)	$7,500 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)
Special GSSP for Students receiving the Frederick Lowy Scholars Fellowship
For Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	ENCS Thesis Program	Student Admitted		Award Date		Special GSSP* funding	Matching funds* required by Supervisor
	Ph.D.	May 2012 (2012/1)		May 1, 2012		$10,000 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	$5,000 (May 2012 to April 30, 2013)
	Ph.D.	Sept. 2012 (2012/2)		September 4, 2012		$10,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)	$5,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)
	Ph.D.	Jan. 2013 (2012/4)		January 7, 2013		$10,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)	$5,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)
Special GSSP for Masters thesis Students receiving the Elgard/Bacher Graduate Fellowship, the Concordia University Graduate Fellowship, or the Concordia Merit Scholarships
For Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (May 1, 2012 to  April 30, 2013)	ENCS Thesis Program		Student Admitted		Award Date	Special GSSP* funding	Matching funds* required by Supervisor
	M.A.Sc./ M.Comp.Sc.		May 2012 (2012/1)		May 1, 2012	$8,000 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	$8,000 (May 2012 to April 30, 2013)
	M.A.Sc./ M.Comp.Sc.		Sept. 2012 (2012/2)		September 4, 2012	$8,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)	$8,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)
	M.A.Sc./ M.Comp.Sc.		Jan. 2013 (2012/4)		January 7, 2013	$8,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)	$8,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)
Special GSSP for Masters thesis Students receiving the Bourse d'études Hydro-Québec de l'Université Concordia
For Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	ENCS Thesis Program		Student Admitted		Award Date	Special GSSP* funding	Matching funds* required by Supervisor
	M.A.Sc./ M.Comp.Sc.		May 2012 (2012/1)		May 1, 2012	$5,000 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	$5,000 (May 2012 to April 30, 2013)
	M.A.Sc./ M.Comp.Sc.		Sept. 2012 (2012/2)		September 4, 2012	$5,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)	$5,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)
	M.A.Sc./ M.Comp.Sc.		Jan. 2013 (2012/4)		January 7, 2013	$5,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)	$5,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)
Special GSSP for Students receiving the J.W. McConnell Graduate Fellowship
For Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	ENCS Thesis Program		Student Admitted		Award Date	Special GSSP* funding	Matching funds * required by Supervisor
	Ph.D.		May 2012 (2012/1)		May 1, 2012	$10,000 (May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013)	$0
	Ph.D.		Sept. 2012 (2012/2)		September 4, 2012	$10,000 (Sept.4, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013)	$0
	Ph.D.		Jan. 2013 (2012/4)		January 7, 2013	$10,000 (Jan. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013)	$0
*The Special GSSP (GSSP) funds for September and January admitted students will be provided over 2 fiscal years (2012-2013 and 2013-2014) as long as students maintain full-time enrollment and all eligibility criteria continue to be met. Students on a leave or a parental leave from their program during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 fiscal years and during the period of Special GSSP support are not GSSP eligible during the term of their leave. Graduate Student Support and matching funds from the supervisor’s research grants will be prorated to reflect the academic terms that the student is registered for during the fiscal year and period of support. Student scholarships/awards are not eligible matching funds. If the students defer their admission by one term, the faculty member must provide matching funds and request GSSP the term of admission. Matching funds must be from the supervisor’s research grants (student scholarships/awards may not be used as matching funds. Special GSSP students are not eligible for the Basic or Modified GSSP. GSSP funding amounts are subject to change without prior notice.

To be eligible for the Special Graduate Student Support funds, the student must meet the 4 criteria below:
(1) awarded for May 2011 (2011/1) to January 2013 (2012/4) the above-mentioned recruitment/entrance awards/scholarships and maintained eligibility for this award throughout the period of support,
(2) enrolled in one of the thesis-based graduate programs of the Faculty under the grantee's supervision, and originally admitted into the Ph.D. program from May 2011 (2011/1) to January 2013 (2012/4), or Master’s thesis program from May 2012 (2012/1) to January 2013 (2012/4),
(3) registered for full-time studies throughout the fiscal year and have a CGPA of at least 3.70 based on at least 3 terms in the Ph.D. program at Concordia University (all students entering the University will receive funding, and will then be evaluated annually for the CGPA and other eligibility requirements after three terms in the Ph.D. program at Concordia), and
(4) matching funds from the supervisor’s research grants (student scholarships/awards may not be used as matching funds).

Allocation of the Special GSSP Funding to ENCS Faculty Members:

This support is made available to full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members in ENCS. The grantee will be receiving 50% the allocated amount for eligible graduate students that he/she co-supervises with a full-time tenured and tenure-track, faculty members. Professor emeritus faculty members will also be considered. A grantee who is co-supervising a graduate student with a faculty member who has affiliated (adjunct) status, will receive 100% amount allocated for that student. The level of support provided to eligible faculty members for the 2012-2013 fiscal year is based on the required matching funds for the Concordia recruitment scholarships/awards and the eligibility criteria. The Special GSSP funds are subject to availability, and funding amounts and guidelines can change without prior notice.

Use of Faculty Graduate Student Support Funds:

All Special GSSP funds must be spent on the respective eligible graduate thesis student in the form of a bursary. It cannot be transferred to other students. The matching funds must be provided to the student on a separate bursary form where funds from the other research account(s) will count towards the matching funds before the award of the GSSP funds. The Department Chair/Director must approve all expenses. Graduate Studies Bursary/Notice of termination forms (including forms for the matching funds) must be submitted to the Research Officer for approval.

Since commitments ending after April 30, 2013 will not be permitted due to the Concordia fiscal year, 2 bursary forms should be completed (1st bursary form from the admission term start date to April 30, 2013 and a 2nd bursary form from May 1, 2013 until the end date stated in the Special GSSP table above) for GSSP bursary forms must be submitted for periods within the Notification of Internal Award (NOIA) start and end dates stated on page 1. Graduate studies bursary forms must be submitted within 30 days prior to the start of the bursary start date, and no later than February 28, 2013. (ENCS Research Office, room EV2.139). Any unspent funds will be withdrawn from the grantee's account on April 30, 2013.

Other Information:

1) For balance of funds see Millennium FAST from My Concordia Portal: https://www.myconcordia.ca/ or Banner: https://dione.concordia.ca/banner/prod/pages/home.html.
2) For list of students/employees paid from GSSP funds see Pay Advice Report for actual payments to employees from My Concordia Portal: https://www.myconcordia.ca/.
3) Matching funds paid to students paid from the supervisor’s research contracts are normally paid as a salary and must be paid on a TRAC RA contract and must respect the TRAC RA Collective Agreement.