Professional Development Funds

Professional development of faculty and staff is important to the execution of our mission, and for recruiting and retaining high performing faculty and staff. The School encourages professional development activities and provides financial support to faculty and staff. The following pertain to the purpose, allocation, and use of funds for professional development.

Purpose of Funding:
1. These funds may be used for conference attendance and participation, purchase of data, paying for expenses related to conducting research or teaching, special purpose software and other items as approved by the department chair or the dean.
2. The funds shall not be used to purchase computer equipment, mobile devices, or cell phones.

Allocation of Funds:
1. Allocation of funds to academic departments and two support units (Office of Graduate Studies and Business Records & Advising) within the school is based on the FTE or headcount of regular faculty and/or staff. The choice of FTE or headcount is determined by the dean, based on availability of funds. In determining the FTE or headcount, all regular faculty and staff are included. Generally, temporary faculty and staff with term appointments (e.g. Adjunct or Visiting faculty) are not be included.
2. Allocations are made based on the position of each faculty/staff member. In FY18, the following amounts are used, and may be changed in subsequent years.
a. Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty: $1,600
b. Clinical Faculty: $1,000
c. Lecturers: $1,000
d. UP and USS Staff: $500
3. Funds are allocated shortly after the start of each fiscal year.
4. A department/unit is allowed to carry over a maximum of 20% of its allocation into the next fiscal year.

Funding Decisions and Expenditure Tracking:
1. Unit heads are responsible for making funding decisions as follows:
a. Academic department ? Department chair
b. Office of Graduate Studies ? Associate Dean for Graduate Programs
c. Dean's Office and Business Records & Advising ? Dean
2. A faculty/staff member may receive funding in excess of the amount indicated in the allocation model if sufficient funds are available in the department/support unit.
3. In case of disputes, the dean, after consultation with all parties concerned, will make the final decision.
4. A cash accounting system is used to pay for or reimburse expenses. Thus, funding of expenses comes from funds for the fiscal year in which the expenses are paid for or reimbursed. Hence, it is possible that a portion of expenses may be paid from the next fiscal year's funds if the professional development activity occurs near the end or beginning of a fiscal year. The cut-off date is determined by the University's Financial Operations Office.