COP 03-1112: Faculty Professional Development (FPD) Travel Fund

Purpose Statement

Travel funds are awarded to encourage faculty members to pursue opportunities to continue professional development while employed at Florida SouthWestern State College (the "College").

Guidelines

Full-time faculty within the academic unit may be awarded Faculty Professional Development Funds ("FPDF") for travel that aligns with the College’s mission, priorities, and goals. Furthermore, any expenditures must comply with all applicable Florida Statutes.

Procedures

1. Eligibility Criteria.  
   1. Full-time College faculty who work for the academic unit may apply for an award from the Faculty Professional Development fund.
   2. Individuals may apply as often as they wish.
2. Allowable and Ineligible Uses of Award Funds.
   1. Successful applicants may use an award to cover participation in conferences, workshops, and seminars; in-service training; consulting in one’s area of expertise; presentation of art or music; serving on juries or as a judge for professional organizations; travel expenses; and/or any other direct costs associated with the approved training or professional development activity.
   2. It is recognized that there may be additional types of expenditures appropriate for the use of the FTDF.
      1. The College will not approve the use of the FTDF for food and entertainment, gifts, personal items for the office, reimbursement for student expenses, and items that neither enhance the classroom experience nor provide professional experience for the instructor.
      2. Ineligible expenses also include services for work that cannot be separated from personal use, such as cell phones and/or cell phone plans and Internet services at home.
3. Maximum Award Amount.  
   1. The maximum amount that will be awarded to a faculty member for all travel within the budget year (July 1 – June 30) is $2,000, at the discretion of the Professional Development Committee. Recipients of FPDF may not request payment for expenses that exceed the amount awarded.
   2. Any expenses incurred in excess of the awarded amount must be paid by the individual or another College funding source.
4. Requirements of an Award Recipient.  Award recipients are expected to make a contribution to the intellectual climate of the College by using their professional development opportunity to fuel the development of new curriculum or course materials, provide a workshop or community of practice in the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, or inform participation in a community outreach event.
5. Application Deadlines.
   1. Applications will be reviewed quarterly and late applications will not be considered.
   2. Applications are due by the following deadlines:
      1. First Quarter (July 1 - September 30): last Friday in March*
      2. Second Quarter (October 1 - December 31): last Friday in August
      3. Third Quarter (January 1 - March 31): last Friday in November
      4. Fourth Quarter (April 1 - June 30): last Friday in February
   3. Applications for travel between July 1 and September 30 may be submitted at any time before the third Friday in June. Those applications submitted by the March deadline will be reviewed in early April and will be given priority over later applications. Those applications submitted after the March deadline will be reviewed by the end of June.
   4. Applicants who are submitting a late application should include a brief narrative explaining why the application is late and noting why the application warrants consideration. Late applications are considered during the October Professional Development Committee Meeting (for second quarter applications) and during the February Professional Development Committee Meeting (for third quarter applications).
   5. Faculty members should wait to receive approval from the Chair of the Professional Development Committee before purchasing airline tickets or agreeing to participate in activities to ensure the FPDF can be used.
6. Application Procedure.
   1. Applicants must complete the electronic FPDF Travel Funding Request Form, which is available from TeamDynamix. Once submitted, the form will be forwarded on to the applicant’s department chair and dean for approval. The form must be accompanied by any supporting documentation that is referenced in the rubric.
   2. Chair and Dean Endorsements are required before an application can be reviewed. Forms cannot be considered until they have received the endorsement of the applicant's dean and department chair.
   3. Application Review Process.
      1. The annual budget for the FPDF will be divided into four (4) portions, and 25% of the budget will be allocated to each quarter. All funding is subject to College budget approval and availability. Any unused money from one quarter will automatically roll over to the next.
      2. When selecting applications to be funded, the Professional Development Committee will rank applications based on the rubric included in the Travel Funding Request Form. Any monies left after requests are fulfilled at the end of the budget year will be used to fund travel for a group of new faculty to attend a national conference on teaching and learning.
      3. Additional documentation may be needed to effectively evaluate an application. If the committee deems such supplementary material to be necessary, the applicant will be contacted by the committee chair.
   4. Processing Awarded Travel.  Travel expense reimbursement is a two-step process. First, the travel and expenditures are authorized; second, expenses are reimbursed to the traveler.
      1. Procedures Prior to Travel.  
         1. Faculty should arrange to meet with the Administrative Coordinator for the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) to complete a Travel Authorization (TA) as soon as possible once their travel funding is approved.
         2. The process of completing the travel authorization, if not completed in a timely manner, could result in a faculty member not being able to access the approved travel amount.
         3. Faculty should be prepared with any of these applicable items:
            1. Cost of registration fees and form/link;
            2. Event agendas (to include meals supplied by the event);
            3. All costs for necessary travel (airfare, luggage fees, taxi, shuttle, auto rental, mileage, airport parking);
            4. Lodging (sales tax and fees), parking costs, internet access;
            5. Travel dates and times (departure and return);
            6. Fees for travel services (e.g. Expedia, Priceline); and
            7. Meals that will not be covered by the event.
         4. Not all travel expenses will be reimbursed.  Faculty should refer to College Operating Procedure ("COP") 04-0102 ("Travel Procedures") for all expenses that are not covered and all other travel related procedures.   
      2. Procedures Following Travel. 
         1. Faculty must provide all required receipts and documents (agenda, program, final hotel bill, taxi receipts, detailed rental car bill, etc.) to the Administrative Coordinator for the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence ("CTLE") for Travel Reimbursement ("TR") within seven (7 ) working days upon return from travel.
         2. The traveler is responsible for any expenses incurred if travel is canceled and for any expenses above the approved amount.
   5. Important Considerations.
      1. Conference Location and Affordability.
         1. To help the College be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars and to allow the broadest number of faculty members to benefit from traveling to conferences, the Committee encourages faculty to consider conference location and cost before submitting a presentation proposal or applying for faculty travel funding. In particular, if the faculty member is attending a regional conference out-of-the-area (e.g., the Northwest regional meeting of an organization when a Southeast alternative meets nearby), the faculty member consider whether similar well-established/recognized meetings are being held in our geographic region - especially if they would meet the faculty member's professional development needs as effectively as the out-of-area conference.
         2. This is a suggestion, not a requirement, and the committee recognizes that there are often out-of-region conferences that don’t have parallel events nearby and/or situations when themes or resources at conferences further away make for a more valuable professional development experience. With that being said, taking this idea into consideration generally would allow for a greater number of faculty to travel to conferences and grow professionally, and it is worth bearing in mind for that reason.
         3. Traveling to Support Students.  Faculty who are traveling with students as part of the professional development experience are encouraged to first check with the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creativity ("CURC") to see if funding might be available before submitting an application for consideration.
      2. In District Lodging Reimbursement Not Allowed.  Per College policy, if a faculty member is attending a conference in a county served by the College (Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, or Lee), the Professional Development Committee may not be able to provide funds for hotel accommodations, though mileage may still be covered at the rate outlined in the Travel Funding Request Form.
      3. Prohibited Expenditures Under Florida Law. 
         1. As per state statute, Florida colleges may not promote, support, or maintain any program that advocates for and/or financially supports diversity, equity, and/or inclusion. Consequently, the Professional Development Committee will not be able to fund any professional development that is deemed to fall under these criteria.
         2. All such determinations will be made by the Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs.