Registration Policies

SC09 Education Program Registration Policies

The SC09 Education Program will occur Saturday, November 14 - Tuesday, November 17, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Participants will be engaged in hands-on activities to encourage the application of computational science, grid computing and high performance computing resources in education.

Housing, travel and meal costs are provided for participants; however, participants are asked to pay a registration fee of $75 to cover a portion of food and materials expenses. This fee will be refunded if notification of cancellation is received by Thursday, October 15, 2009. A limited number of scholarships are available for participants unable to cover the registration fee.

In addition each accepted participant will be required to submit a $250 fully refundable commitment deposit to secure their spot on the SC09 Education Program participant list. The SC09 Education Program cannot waive this fully refundable deposit; participants with concerns should contact the SC09 Education Program Committee.

Education Program participants are encouraged to stay for the full SC09 conference to benefit from all that the conference has to offer. Participants who stay beyond Tuesday, November 17 will need to cover the cost of their own housing and meals beginning Wednesday, November 18, 2009.

Teams:

• Team applications are encouraged. In order to apply to register a team, you must first apply to register yourself for the SC09 Education Program. After you have applied to register yourself, you can create a new team or join a team by visiting this page: http://www.computationalscience.org/sc09/listTeams.

Who May Apply:

• Applications are encouraged from undergraduate faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and high school teachers.
• Attendees of the summer workshops are encouraged to apply to continue expanding their knowledge and skills.
• Faculty, educators, administrators, and special education professionals who work in fields that address Learning and Physical Challenges in Education are encouraged to apply.
• Educators in disciplines that use High Performance Computing including but not limited to physical sciences, life sciences, geosciences, engineering, computer science, and mathematics are encouraged to apply, as well as faculty in interdisciplinary fields.
• Due to space and budgetary constraints, not all applications will be accepted. Applicants are encouraged to provide adequate information that will help the SC09 Education Committee make informed decisions during the selection process.
• Applications are especially encouraged from Minority Serving Institutions, including but not limited to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and Tribal Colleges and Universities.

Registration and Notification of Acceptance:

• Applicants will be notified of their status by Tuesday, September 1, 2009.
• Applicants will be added to the NCSI database of participants. This database is used to manage the assessment activities by the NCSI evaluation team, and to allow applicants to update contact information, and view their acceptance status. No information will be shared with external parties.

Participant Responsibilities and Benefits:

• The SC09 Education Program will cover the cost of travel, lodging, and meals for accepted participants from the evening of the Friday, November 13, 2009 through to the morning of the Wednesday, November 18, 2009 (Tuesday's accommodations will be covered). Participants are encouraged to stay longer to enjoy the conference, but at their own expense.
• A block of rooms has been reserved specifically for Education Program participants at the Red Lion Hotel in the Jantzen Beach area of Portland.
• Rooms will be provided at double-occupancy. Participants, who would like a single-occupancy room, will be required to pay the difference in rate and tax.
• A deadline will be established for room reservations; after this date, hotel reservations must be made using the SC09 on-line housing reservation system on the SC09 website. Conference rates will not be given to participants who contact hotels directly.
• For those participants who choose to stay at other hotels, the conference will not pay for or reimburse any part of their hotel costs. Also be ware that other hotels do not provide busing at times appropriate for the education program. Participants staying at other hotels will be responsible for paying for taxis themselves which will not be reimbursed.
• Each participant will receive a complimentary registration for the Education Program, the Technical Program, and the Exhibit Hall. Individuals wishing to attend additional parts of the conference, such as Tutorials, must register for, and pay the fees associated with those components of the conference using the standard SC web registration page.
• All travel by air must be booked via the offical SC'09 travel agency. Reservations must be made four weeks in advance of the conference. Any travel by automobile must be approved the SC'09 communities chair four weeks prior to the conference.
• Reimbursements for travel expenses will be processed in a timely manner after the conference, upon receipt of the completed and signed SC09 Travel Expense Report along with original receipts.
• In addition, to receive travel reimbursements a participant must be in good standing: complete the pre-conference, daily, and post-conference surveys, submit an Action Plan, and actively participate in all aspects of the SC09 Education Program. Detailed travel expense guidelines will be available on-site. The pre-conference survey is due August 23rd.
• Once applicants are selected to the SC09 Education Program and they have confirmed their intention to participate, the SC09 Education Committee will provide further guidance on logistics and next steps.
• Applicants who are selected to participate will be asked to pay a registration fee of $75 to cover a portion of the food and materials expense. This fee will be refunded if notification of cancellation is received by Thursday, October 15, 2009. Scholarships are available for people unable to cover this registration fee. Requests for scholarships should be sent to nsci-info@shodor.org.
• In addition, each participant will be required to submit a $250 fully refundable commitment deposit to secure their spot on the SC09 Education Program participant list. This deposit will be returned upon completion of guidelines as established by the SC09 Education Committee.
• Notification of your application status (accepted/declined) will be sent during the first week of September 2009.
• Information regarding registration fee scholarships ($75) will be sent after participant selection.