Our Pay As You Are Able Model (PAYAA)

Through VELI, HuMetricsHSS is experimenting with an equitable approach to participation costs. No applicant will be turned away on the basis of their ability to contribute to the costs of participation. In some cases, HuMetricsHSS can cover full participation costs for a team or teams.

Without external support, the estimated cost of VELI would be approximately $7500 per person or $30,000 per team of four. These costs include transportation (ground and air), food, lodging, conference space, and venue and facilitation fees.

We believe institutions should be willing to invest in their own transformation, but also acknowledge that there are a host of conditions that can impede that investment, including vast differences in institutional fiscal stability.

With generous support from the Mellon and Hewlett foundations, we are able to offset participation costs for participating applying institutions through a “Pay As You Are Able” model. This approach means that some institutions might contribute significantly to their own participation, while other institutions may receive full support from VELI for their participation.

We are able to cover the following costs for all participants:

Facilitator time and labor ($14,000)
Meeting rooms, A/V, and meeting supplies ($10,000)

The expected project costs for full participation in VELI are approximately $9,000 per team. This price includes:

Costs of transportation to and from the venue site, including air transportation ($700, ground transportation during the event ($80), baggage charges ($40), and per diem on travel days ($85). [Expected travel days are Sunday and Friday]
Cost of lodging during VELI (5 nights at a cost of $350 per person)
Cost of food during VELI (breakfast, lunch, and dinner at a cost of $85 per person)

VELI expects all participants to cover their own ground transportation to and from their local airport.

Under the “Pay As You Are Able” model, we ask teams to detail what portion of these project costs they are willing to contribute. For example, a team of four from a university that holds a substantial endowment and has available professional development funding might contribute $9000 or more, choosing to contribute to core VELI costs, whereas a minority-serving institution primarily supported through tuition funding and with minimal or no professional development budget might be unable to contribute and require full support from VELI grant money.

How to PAYAA

Please use the following rubric of financial conditions to reflect on what proportion your institution may be able to contribute.

Type of institution
Institutional endowment
Availability of professional development resources, taking into account all possible sources of travel funding as well as support from provosts, deans, and other administrators
Historical expenditures on leadership, professional development, and developmental workshops (e.g. AAC&U workshops)

This financial policy was written based on the HuMetricsHSS guiding values of transparency, reflection, equity, sustainability, and reciprocity.

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