Staff Development Fund
The College encourages the development of employee job skills. An employee may submit applications to the staff development fund for support of activities that will enhance job performance.
Staff professional development is budgeted at the department level, therefore this fund is designed to help offset rather than replace costs to departmental budgets.
Travel to meetings of professional organizations is also budgeted at the departmental level and is not supported by this fund. The staff development fund does not normally provide tuition payments for college-level or graduate-level courses. These may be funded via the Continuing Education Fund benefit.
The fund supports a variety of work-related development activities that may include: participation in short courses, workshops, and training programs, as well as opportunities for staff members to prepare training programs and workshops for other employees on campus. In some cases the College will consider supporting self-improvement projects designed to benefit the individual or to facilitate career advancement only if there is significant promise of benefit to the College as well.
Staff members applying for staff development funds must have successfully completed their provsional period, which is typically three months. The application must have the prior approval of the applicant's immediate supervisor and, if different, the prior approval of the budget director for the area in which the employee works. A detailed budget should be included in the application. To simplify the administration of the fund and maximize the chances of program approval, an employee should include as much information as possible about the program and explain how it relates to his/her work. The application should be submitted in a timely manner prior to the requested event.
In reviewing/approving applications for staff development funds, priority is given to:
- Programs/workshops providing skills training that is required for the job.
- Programs/workshops providing skills training that is directly job-related and has been identified as a need in the employee's performance evaluation or development plan.
- Programs/workshops that provide skills training that is directly job-related.
- Programs that prepare the employee for future work-related opportunities.