Latest Updates

This message is intended for active award recipients (those who received STF funding and have an open budget or who were recently awarded funding but do not yet have a budget). There is no impact to any closed budgets or award recipients who have finished spending. There is no impact to any proposal applicant who has a pending proposal or who did not receive STF funding.

As we near the end of both the academic and fiscal year, we have some important announcements to share with you regarding your STF Award.

June marks two major UW financial events:

• 2021 Biennium Close, fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023
• UW Workday Financial Transformation

Read on to learn how these events will impact your award:

Existing / Legacy Awards (Winter 2023 and Earlier)

• If you have an award that was approved in Winter 2023 or earlier, all purchases must be made by June 15 and your budget must be reconciled and prepared to close by June 30, 2023.

We invite you to please make any purchases you can before June 15, 2023, so that your budget can begin to be reconciled prior to the June 30 cutoff date. Please review the The University’s 2021-23 Biennium Close website, maintained by UW Finance/Procurement Services, this contains important biennium close information including cut-off dates for financial activity.

If your budget is over-spent and showing a deficit, this discrepancy must be reconciled by June 30, 2023. Ellen Kesselman, our fiscal support specialist, will be in contact with you to advise and support you with this process.

If you foresee that your project will not be fully implemented and ready to close by June 30, 2023, please email us at stfproposalteam@uw.edu to request an extension before June 15, 2023.

If you’re still in the process of implementing your project and an award extension is submitted and approved, the unspent funds will be made available to you again following the biennium close and the launch and implementation of Workday. Unfortunately, we do not yet have a solid timeline on when those funds will be made available again after the Workday Financials “Go-Live”. We will, of course, keep you up to date as soon as we learn more.

New Awards (Spring 2023)

• If you have an award that was approved in Spring 2023, your budget will not be created until after the biennium close and Workday transition. We anticipate opening budgets in September 2023.

Per STF policy, you MAY NOT purchase items through other budgets or sources and later reimburse that source with the STF budget. We thank you for your patience during these major events and invite you to reach out to us at stfproposalteam@uw.edu with any specific questions about your project.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your specific Award Budget, please let us know so we can best accommodate your circumstances amidst these unique situations.

Many thanks for your continued participation in the Student Technology Award process,

The Student Technology Fee

Now Accepting Proposals

[Priority Deadline: April 6, 2023]

Read the full, PDF-version of the Call for Proposals here.

ABOUT THE STUDENT TECHNOLOGY FEE

Since 1996. The UW Student Technology Fee (STF) was created by the Washington State Legislature [RCW 28B.15.051] and the UW Board of Regents in 1996 to provide for and enhance technology resources for students beyond the classroom environment. The STF is student-levied and student-distributed, generating over $4 million in annual revenue which is paid out to over 100 student groups and departments each year.

The STF is used to fund a variety of technology needs, some being one-off proposals and others being regular and renewable “Block” requests. Recent requests have included a Smart Board for the Department of Economics, automated sanitization stations for the Department of Chemical Engineering, and equipment for a Mars Rover built by Husky Robotics. Other departments, including UW Libraries, STLP, The Daily, and UW-IT receive Block Funding totaling over $1 million annually.

The STF Committee is composed of representatives selected by the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS). These representatives, or Committee members, are responsible for reviewing proposals, debating their merits, and rendering a decision. The Committee is also supported by several student and professional staff members who conduct day-to-day operations, fiscal oversight, and auditing services.

Contact. For all proposal-related matters, please email stfproposalteam@uw.edu, or, if you have already submitted a proposal via Submittable, you can send a message through the Submittable platform. For all other matters, please email stfexec@uw.edu or schedule a meeting with us using our self-service booking tool here.

WHAT’S NEW

Submittable. New this year, we are now using Submittable, an online grant management platform, to process, track, and provide support to proposals and awards – all in one easy-to-use spot. As an applicant, you can log and submit new proposals, continue working on draft proposals, track your proposal through the review stage, and manage your award afterward. Submittable allows you to communicate with STF staff all in one spot so there’s no more worries about misplaced emails or having to search through inbox looking for information about your award.

> You can now get started by logging into Submittable with your UW NetID. Then, we recommend you check out this quick start guide to orient yourself to using the platform. If you have questions or need support using Submittable, let us know or visit the Submittable Help Forum.

> Proposals submitted in previous years will not be transitioned to using Submittable (except for Block Awards). Continue to use our Legacy Amendment process to submit any changes to your award.

Application. With the transition to using Submittable, we’ve made substantive changes to the application. For those familiar with our old application, this will be an entirely new experience. An overview of the new application and what to expect is provided later in this document and on our website. Additionally, Submittable allows you to invite other members of your project team to collaborate with you on filling out the application and saves as you go so you don’t lose progress.

Support. The STF is dedicated to providing you and your team with support from idea to implementation and beyond. Whether you are just starting your journey to refine your potential project or are ready to implement your project, the STF staff team is available to assist you, answer questions, provide feedback, and work with you to troubleshoot obstacles you face. We want you to be successful and have the best chance to receive funding from the STF, so we’ll work with you during the initial application phase to provide feedback and recommendations on how to revise your application before it reaches the Committee. Furthermore, if you are denied funding, we’ll work closely with you to provide feedback and suggestions on how to change your proposal should you wish to re-apply in the future. You can rest easy knowing that we are here to support you through this process, any time you need.

TIMELINE

Priority Deadline. The priority deadline to submit an STF proposal is Thursday, April 6, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Consideration of proposals submitted after this deadline may be delayed to the following quarter based on the volume of proposals received.

Internal Review. Once submitted, expect internal review by STF staff to take 7 – 14 business days. We’ll be in touch if there are any issues regarding your proposal at this stage.

Committee Review. Once cleared through internal review, applicants may be invited to briefly present their proposal to the Committee. If you are unable to attend a proposal hearing, you may be asked to submit written responses to Committee questions. Proposal hearings will occur on the following days (subject to change):

> Monday, April 17, 2023, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in HUB 303 or via Zoom

> Monday, April 24, 2023, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in HUB 303 or via Zoom

> Monday, May 1, 2023, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in HUB 303 or via Zoom

> Monday, May 8, 2023, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in HUB 303 or via Zoom

> Monday, May 15, 2023, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in HUB 303 or via Zoom

Notification of Decision. After all hearings are completed and the Committee has deliberated and voted, applicants can expect a notification of a decision on their proposal by Friday, May 26, 2023 (subject to change)

Budget Creation. If approved, your STF award budget will typically be created within 14 – 21 business days.

Annual Report. If approved during Spring 2023, your first annual report will likely be due on June 30, 2024.

WHO CAN APPLY FOR STF FUNDS?

A UW department, unit, or other organization or Registered Student Organization with departmental affiliation may apply for STF funding. No other group is eligible for funding. RSOs without departmental affiliation will be denied.

AWARD TYPES

Single Award. Single awards are the most common award type and are sufficient for most project needs. Single awards are non-renewable and non-recurring and are best suited for projects that have a defined one-time purchase of equipment or services.

Block Award. Block awards are renewable and recurring allocations of funds best suited for well-established departments and units with annual, recurring expenses such as subscriptions, regular device replacement, or similar needs. Block awards do not roll-over year-to-year and unspent funds are returned to the STF at the end of the year.

PROPOSAL WORKSHOPS

Learn about the proposal process from our staff and get your questions answered live at one of our Proposal Workshops. You’ll have an opportunity to work with staff to improve and develop your idea into a full proposal. Proposal Workshops will be hosted on the following days:

> To be announced.

POLICIES

Read and review all of our policies here before submitting your proposal.

This post contains information regarding proposals that were approved before 2023. Beginning in 2023, all new proposals are processed using Submittable, a third-party grant management solution. Limited information from “legacy” proposals submitted through the old STF process has been migrated to this new site.

Looking for a specific proposal? Use the search bar to type in the year and proposal number if you know it (2022-24 for example), or if you don’t, try searching for what the project is about (CART Captioning, for example).

Just want to browse old proposals? Check them out here.

Please note that we are not able to provide all the original data associated with each proposal, including the line-item budget. If this is a concern, please contact us at stfproposalteam@uw.edu.

Additionally, proposals dated between 2021 and 2022 may not contain accurate statuses or award amounts. If you are a proposal author, please check your original award letter or amendment approval for the most accurate allocation. Thank you.

Amendments

Are you the recipient of an award granted before 2023 and need to request an amendment? Complete an amendment request using this form.