Classified Professional Development
Guidelines / Application Instructions
Purpose and Committee
Composition
The Classified Professional
Development Fund exists for the purpose of helping LBCC contracted classified
employees attend workshops, training, conferences, and classes which enhance
their ability to perform their job or promote career growth. A committee, composed of five classified
staff representatives, one Administrator and one representative from the Staff
Development division, are responsible for considering applications for
funding. A list of current committee
members is available from the Staff Development Office, IA-232A, Human
Resources, or the Classified Association President. Questions concerning the application or
funding decisions may be addressed to any of the committee members.
Criteria for Funding
Decisions
The criteria the committee
uses to base its funding decisions are: responsible use of College money and
balance of distribution. The Committee
strives to be consistent, while remaining flexible enough to consider all
options.
In order to allow as many
classified staff as possible to access the fund, professional development
activities should be financed with contributions from the employee’s
department, and/or the employee, in addition to the Classified Professional
Development Fund. *The Committee expects
that the combined department and employee contribution will represent a minimum
of 10 percent of the total cost of the activity. As the request figure increases,
the applicant and/or the department are expected to contribute at a higher
percentage. An explanation should accompany requests if no department funds are
available.
*Temporary Addendum: The 10% contribution from
personal/department has been waived for the 2009/2010 school year.
Applying For Funds
Application forms are available on the LBCC intranet and
from the Staff Development Office, IA-232A.
Applications MUST be submitted to the Staff Development Office, IA-232A,
prior to the start of the activity. Deadline
for applications to be considered by the committee at its next monthly meeting
is the first working day of the month at 5 p.m. The committee will normally meet within the
first 10 working days of the month, and applicants will be notified by phone or
e-mail by a committee member of their decision shortly thereafter. Written notification from the Staff
Development office will follow. If the
activity occurs prior to the committee meeting and the committee denies the
request, the employee/department will be responsible for all expenses.
Activities Which Will Be
Considered For Funding:
1.
Job enhancement training and conferences.
2.
Training to keep up with job changes.
3.
Educational course work toward degree or
certificate.
4.
Testing or certification fees.
Activities Which Will Not
Be Considered For Funding
1.
Professional membership dues.
2.
Books, tapes, and other materials.
3.
Recreational or leisure activities.
Other Issues Considered In
Funding Decisions:
1.
Funds remaining - half of the annual
funding will be designated to be awarded July through December, and the other
half will be designated to be awarded January through June. Unexpended funds will be carried forward to
the next six-month period.
2.
First-time applicants will be given
preference over previous grant recipients when funds are low.
3.
The committee may choose to limit the
number of people or dollar amount granted for a single activity.
Application Requirements & Limitations:
1.
The current application form must be
used. Requests made on outdated forms will be returned.
2.
Individuals may not receive more than
$2,000 over a two-year period. The
two-year period shall be defined as July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011.
3. *Personal and/or department contributions are required
to compose a minimum of 10% of the total cost of the activity. See Criteria For
Funding Decisions above. If you are requesting reimbursement for college
tuition, your department will not normally be expected to help pay for that.
* Temporary
Addendum: The 10% contribution from personal/department has been waived for the
2009/2010 school year.
4.
Every section of the application must be
completed and required information attached.
Consideration of incomplete applications may be delayed.
5.
The committee will consider amendments to
applications if received prior to the activity.
6.
Meals are reimbursable at a per diem rate
by travel location. For a complete listing of per diem rates by city, refer to
IRS Publication 1542 at http://www.gsa.gov/.
After accessing the site, select Per Diem Rates under Travel Resources to view
the rates for your primary destination to determine which meal rates
apply.
7. Tuition for approved course work will be reimbursed at
actual cost to the classified member, to a maximum of $2000 per biennium. Tuition reimbursement will take place after
completion of the course and a copy of the passing grade is submitted to the
Staff Development Office.
8.
If requesting mileage reimbursement, turn
in a completed Driver Status Report form to Sharon King, CC-133, prior
to requesting reimbursement. The Driver
Status Report Form must be filed annually.
9. Neither cash advances nor personal reimbursement will
be made prior to the completion of the activity. Advance payments can be made by LBCC to a
vendor for expenses such as registration, travel tickets, and lodging. Receipts must be provided for all
reimbursable costs except food. Receipts
must be submitted within six weeks following the activity, but not later
than June 30, in order to receive reimbursement.
Revised 08/12/09