Understanding Funding and Budgeting Finances

1. Understanding Funding and Budgeting Finances
Dr. Luis A. Vazquez
Regents Professor
MATC Scholars Program
March 26, 2021 - April 9, 2021
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

2. OUTLINE
• Introduction
• Learning Objectives
• Learning Outcomes
• Session Presentation
• Conclusions

3. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Present funding sources
• Present budgeting basics
• Present strategies for maintaining and
increasing funding opportunities

4. LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Students will know what funding sources
are available
• Students will have a strategy for
managing their funds
• Students will know how to work with
faculty to support research

5. WHY FUNDING IS IMPORTANT?
• Reduces student loan debt
• Limited ability to get loans
• Connection to faculty mentors and advisors
• Critical faculty advising project engagement
• Funding is prestigious and looks good on a
resume

6. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY RACE AND
ETHNICITY AT A GLANCE: 2017

7. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY RACE AND
ETHNICITY AT A GLANCE: 2017

8. GRADUATE ENROLLMENT GENDER, RACE,
ETHNICITY: 1995-2016

9. TYPES OF STUDENT LOANS OFTEN CONSIDERED

10. TOTAL ANNUAL AMOUNT BORROWED FROM:
FEDERAL SUBSIDIZED, UNSUBSIDIZED, AND
PLUS LOANS
Source: https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/trends-student-aid-2019-full-report.pdf

11. ANNUAL BORROWING BY TYPE OF LOAN,
DEGREE PROGRAM: RACE, ETHNICITY 2015-16
Source: https://www.luminafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/race-and-
ethnicity-in-higher-ed.pdf

12. ANNUAL BORROWING BY TYPE OF LOAN,
DEGREE PROGRAM: RACE, ETHNICITY 2015-16
Source: https://www.luminafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/race-and-
ethnicity-in-higher-ed.pdf

13. UNMANAGEABLE DEBT: WHO HAS IT?
Source: U.S. Average Student Loan Debt Statistics in 2019 | Credit.com

14. STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS: AVERAGE $37,172
IN STUDENT LOAN DEBT

15. FEDERAL LOANS: 10 TO 30 YEARS
AVERAGE: 21 YEARS; 36% 12 YEARS
Source: U.S. Average Student Loan Debt Statistics in 2019 | Credit.com

16. WHAT ARE SOME TYPES OF FUNDING?
• Research and Training Grants
• Scholarships
• Fellowships
–Recruitment
–Special Needs
–Faculty Associated
• Assistantships (TA, RA, GA)

17. • Scholarships are awards given to students based on
academic excellence and/or talent.
• Students may also receive scholarships based on
factors like ethnic background, field of study, or
financial need.
• Scholarships vary in their amounts and the number
of years given aid.
• Like a grant, students do not need to pay back the
money awarded in a scholarship.
• Scholarships can be awarded through your school or
through private sources.
SCHOLARSHIPS

18. There are generally three types of fellowships:
• Recruitment
• 1st year funding to recruit students
• Caution, this is only for one semester to a year
• Special Needs
• This can be associated with a college/
department/state and is also has a limited time
period
• Faculty Associated – may be required that you
work with the faculty member
FELLOWSHIPS

19. • Research and Training Grants are gifts that you
do not need to repay.
• Students may receive grants from the
government or through private sources of
funding.
• Grants may require students to maintain a
specific GPA throughout their academic career.
• In graduate school, grants can be used towards,
travel, research, experiments, or projects.
GRANTS

20. Duties of a TA vary, and you can expect to be
responsible for one or more of the following:
• Running laboratory sessions
• Conducting study and review sessions
• Grading undergraduate student papers and exams
• Holding regular office hours and meeting with students
• Teaching or assisting with one or more sections of a
course
TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS

21. RESEARCH/GRADUATE ASSISTANTS
• Benefits for Faculty
• Why Become a Research Assistant?
• What Does a Research Assistant Do?
• How Do You Get Involved as a
Research Assistant?

22. COMMON MISTAKES
• No savings for emergencies/Not meeting
guidelines
• Incurring a lot of school debt
• Invest and lose all your money
• Not knowing the difference between funding
sources/Agency program ending
• Changing or not changing advisors without
considering funding

23. HOMEWORK/HANDOUTS: BUDGET CALCULATOR
• http://gradsense.org/gradsense/budget-calculator

24. Slide design © 2009, Mid-America Transportation Center. All rights reserved.
Dr. Luis A. Vazquez
Regents Professor
Vice President for Research
& Graduate Studies
New Mexico State University
P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003
lvazquez@nmsu.edu
CREDITS