Please plan to arrive on campus by the first day of the program (Tuesday, May 30, 2023). The agenda for your arrival is detailed below.

CHECK-IN: Tuesday, May 30, 2023, from 12:00 – 4:00 PM at the TBD Residence Hall –

CHECK-OUT: Thursday, July 27, 2023, by 4:00 PM (Friday can also be arranged upon request.)

If arriving by plane, please see the FLYING + AIRPORT SHUTTLE section below.

NOTE: You will be reimbursed for a portion of your travel costs. You will be compensated for your arrival expenses shortly after orientation. Your return expenses will be reimbursed to you shortly after the end of the program. To ensure that your repayment is not delayed, please register as a UGA vendor at your earliest convenience (see VENDOR REGISTRATION below).

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is the closet airport to Athens. It’s approximately 1.5 hours from Athens, so you will need to take a shuttle service from the Atlanta airport to the UGA Campus. Groome Transportation offers 23 shuttle rides daily between the Atlanta airport and UGA. Once you have your flight information, make a reservation with Groome. Set your drop off location as the UGA Georgia Center.

The South Deck will be immediately in front of you. Walk through the deck, enter the large lawn. Myers Hall will be on your left. Rutherford is straight ahead.

If you are driving to UGA, your destination will be the TBD Residence Hall Athens, GA 30605.

The NSURE program coordinator will be waiting for you in the TBD lobby between 12:00 – 4:00 PM to help you check in. Please arrange your travel so that you arrive within that time frame. Late check-in needs to be discussed with and approved by the program coordinator. We have a UGA campus map for your reference.

If you need a parking permit, you will receive your permit upon arrival.

You will be reimbursed for a portion of your travel costs in the form of a check approximately 2 weeks after you arrive. Your return expenses will be reimbursed to you shortly after the end of the program. (A check will be mailed to your home address.) To ensure that your repayment is not delayed, please register as a UGA vendor at your earliest convenience (see VENDOR REGISTRATION below).

Flight + Shuttle Reimbursement

After you register as a vendor, you can either scan and email your travel receipts to NSURE@uga.edu or you can bring them with you to orientation. Please note that plane ticket and shuttle receipts MUST show the ticketing information, the price, and payment. You will need these to be reimbursed.  Many times, a travel company will send an email with the itinerary, omitting the payment information. We need a document indicating that a fare has been paid to reimburse you. (The document will usually say something like, “Paid by Mastercard XXXX-XXX-XXX-###.)

Mileage Reimbursement

The UGA reimbursement amount is $0.56 per mile (updated Mar. 22). Google Maps will be used to determine the number of miles from the permanent address you give to the UGA campus. If you keep your car on campus, you will receive a UGA campus parking permit when you arrive.

In order to be paid your stipend and reimbursed for your travel, you MUST be registered in the UGA vendor system. If you do not register before you arrive on campus, your stipend check may be delayed.

IMPORTANT: If you would like to have your checks direct deposited, you will need to prepare two documents before you start the registration process below:

1. The Supplier ACH form
2. An account verification letter from your bank on bank letterhead. This is something your bank should be familiar with and will provide you if you ask for it.

You should have these two documents complete and scanned in as pdf files when you start the process, then you can attach them according to the instructions below.

Instructions

• Register as a supplier at UGA. 
  • Start by going to this website – https://suppliers.uga.edu/
    • You want to start a new registration form
    • For type of business, choose “Individual”
      • Click next
    • Tax Identification number = your Social Security number
    • Entity name = your name
    • No need to fill in additional name or URL
    • “Please indicate types of products…”
      • Enter “None.  Stipend/reimbursement only.”
      • Next
    • Primary address
      • Use the address where you would have a check sent if one is sent this summer. Can be your permanent/home address, or your school address if someone would be there
      • Enter your email
      • Do not click any boxes under “Other addresses”
      • Next
    • Company contacts
      • Enter the same information as above
      • Contact type = “Remittance”
      • OK
      • Next
    • Payment Preference
      • Do NOT click on “Withholding required” or “Enable email payment advice”
      • For Payment method (choose one)
        • Automated Clearing House = Direct Deposit of your check into your bank account
        • System check = a paper check will be issued here at UGA and can be delivered to you here or sent to the address you entered above
      • If you choose system check
        • Click next
        • Read and agree to terms and conditions
        • Submit
      • If you choose Automated Clearing House
        • Fill in the requested information about your bank
        • Add the following attachments
          • The Supplier ACH Form
          • Account verification from your bank on bank letterhead.
        • Next
        • Read and agree to terms and conditions
        • Submit

**Once you create a vendor account, there is no way to log back in to augment your profile. Therefore, send any desired changes to onesource@uga.edu and UGA Payroll will update your account on your behalf.

Questions? Please contact Kim Brown in UGA Payroll – 706-542-0202, then prompt #2.

After you register as a vendor with UGA, you will then be eligible to receive your stipend, food allowance, and reimbursement for travel. Such payments will be distributed over approximately 5 checks. You should receive your first check within 2 weeks of arriving.

Paperwork for your checks will be prepared and ready for you to sign when you arrive. Because it can take over a week for checks to be released by UGA Accounts Payable, you will need to have access to funds to cover your cost-of-living expenses for approximately two weeks after you arrive.

Please make sure you have sufficient funds before the first check (approximately two weeks). For check deposits and ATMs, Wachovia, SouthTrust, SunTrust, and Bank of America have ATM machines at Tate Plaza next to the UGA bookstore. There is also an ATM located in Russell Hall and the Ramsey Center. The stipend you’ll receive is pre-tax; however, you will not receive a W-2 form from UGA because you are not a UGA employee. Please report the stipend as income on your annual tax return.

You will be staying at the TBD Residence Hall on the UGA campus. Most participants will share a room. Prior to arriving, we kindly encourage all students to vaccinate. Additionally, students are required to review UGA Housing’s COVID health and safety policy. Please note: complying with these stipulations is mandatory. Failure to do so may result in dismissal from the program.

A description of the residence hall and a typical room with a virtual tour can be found here. Guidelines for living in the dormitory will be provided to you upon your arrival. You are expected to abide by these guidelines. Bring towels and sheets (80” twin) or be prepared to purchase them at a local store on the arrival day. There is a common kitchen area in the building and cookware will be provided. Your room does not have a refrigerator.

The TBD Residence Hall has laundry facilities for a fee.

TBD

The nearest dining hall is Snelling Dining Commons (200 W Green St, Athens, GA 30602).

You are also responsible for most of your travel during your stay. The following are several options you can utilize.

• UGA bus system
• Athens transit system

There is an official UGA app that has a lot of useful information about the campus and Athens in general.

• Apple
• Android

You will receive your summer UGA student ID during orientation. The ID card can be used for Bulldawg Bucks for doing laundry, eating in dining halls, and purchasing from vending machines. You can also use the student ID to ride the campus buses for free. You can activate your ID card with Bulldawg Bucks near the Myers check-in desk. You have wireless internet in your rooms. All you need is your ID card and associated UGA MyID to access.

Your temporary UGA student ID will allow you to access the Ramsey Student Center for a small membership fee. This massive facility encompasses 420,000 square feet — the equivalent of 5.5 acres of building — and the variety offered is as vast as the area covered. Five gymnasia, three swimming pools, three multipurpose rooms, a climbing wall, ten racquetball courts, two international squash courts, a strength and conditioning room, a one-eighth-mile jogging track, an outdoor equipment rental room, and an outdoor resource center are all available under one roof.

It is the responsibility of the individual student to have their own health insurance.

Initial Funds

Please made sure that you can financially support yourself for the first 2 weeks of the program until your first check arrives. Those expenses primarily relate to food and travel.

Linens

You will need to provide your own towels, extra-long twin bed sheets (80”), blankets, pillows, and a laundry bag. You can bring them with you when you travel, them to Athens beforehand (see address below), or purchase them when you arrive.

General Clothing

Summer in Athens is hot and humid, so plan accordingly. There are usually opportunities for outdoor recreation such as hiking, swimming, kayaking, etc.

Lab Clothing

Shirts that covers the stomach and lower back as well as the upper arms, long pants, shoes that completely cover the foot. And NO contact lenses. These requirements are for your personal safety in the lab. Please follow these guidelines closely.

Please note: the average temperature of Athens, Georgia in May, June and July is between 80 and 90 F, average raining days are approximately 10 per month.

Research Materials

• Notebook, pen, and folder
• Laptop

Detailed information about schedules will be distributed when you arrive. However, in general, you should expect to spend approximately 32 hours per week in your lab, and approx. 8 hours attending other program activities, including:

• Journal Club – once per week
• Training sessions on research ethics, lab notebook use, and computational methods
• Field trips
• Panel discussions

Arrival Day

After check-in in the TBA Hall, students will meet at <<TBD time>> at the entrance and go on a group shopping trip to stock up on groceries and other essentials. Program staff will provide transportation to a local Wal-Mart. You will be responsible for the cost of your shopping.

Holidays + Absences

All lab absences (daily or holiday) should be cleared with your individual lab mentor. Unless your research requires that you be in the lab, Monday, July 4 is a holiday. Please check with your mentor to see if you will need to be present in the lab on that day.

Connecting to UGA_Visitors_Wifi

The University of Georgia offers a self-service wifi network for guests and visitors, UGA_Visitors_Wifi. Guests can connect to this network through a self-service portal without contacting the Help Desk for a password.

1. Navigate to the Wi-Fi settings area of the device you’re trying to connect, and select UGA_Visitors_Wifi from the list.
2. After selecting UGA_Visitors_Wifi, your device should open up a web browser for you to sign into. If it does not do this automatically, navigate to your web browser and try to access a website of your choosing. The browser should automatically redirect to our access portal.
3. You should see two options for gaining authorization on this network: email or SMS text. A verification code will be sent to you via one of these options.
4. Choose your verification options, enter the appropriate contact information and proceed to the next page. You will receive a verification code via email or text, which you must enter into the box provided. You are now connected to the network.