Staff Professional Development
Who is Eligible?
Full-time staff and part-time fully benefited staff that meet the required criteria including:
- Must have successfully completed the 90 day new employee orientation period for their current position
- Must be employed by the university at the time of the development activity
Employees in grant funded positions are not eligible.
All staff are encouraged to participate in the many Employee Development activities and events available through the University.
What is the Award?
The SPDF program is a matching funds program up to $500, for departments, who pay for staff to participate in professional development activities. Employees who pay for their own development activities are not eligible for this program.
Individual full-time staff and part-time fully benefited staff are eligible to be approved for matching funding of up to $500 per fiscal year for development activities. Departments hosting in-house development events are eligible to be awarded matching funding of up to $1000 per fiscal year to support the event.
Staff PDF awards cannot be transferred to the legal spouse and/or dependent children of an eligible staff employee.
Awards are distributed through reimbursement to the department via a non-mandatory transfer process and are contingent upon successful completion of the development activity and submission of the Staff Report form.
What Activities are Eligible?
The Staff PDF makes available matching funds for the purpose of supporting staff participation in on- or off-campus professional development programs such as workshops and seminars. In addition, the Staff PDF provides matching funds for in-house development events in which staff members participate.
The Staff PDF is intended to fund supplemental staff development activities and should not be considered a primary funding source for required training for an employee’s position.
Requests must demonstrate how the activity for which funding is sought supports the:
- Current Strategic Plan for the University;
- Current Departmental Action Plan; and
- Employee's Individual Professional Development Plan:
- Through improving performance in the employee’s current position; or
- Through improving the employee’s qualifications for career opportunities that may arise within the University
The Staff PDF is not intended to academic tuition, stand-alone certification exams, annual certification/licensure fees, stand-alone membership fees for associations/organizations/clubs or required training for the employee’s position. If the membership fee is part of the registration or training program, it may be considered. Use of Staff PDF awards is subject to University audit.
Please note that certifications or materials that are transferable to the employee and are not a requirement of the job as listed in the job description, are taxable.
Who Approves Awards?
Priority of fund allocation will be determined using the eligibility criteria, the number of eligible requests received and availability of funds. Applicants will receive notification from the Staff PDF Coordinator as to whether each request is approved or denied; if denied, an explanation will be provided.
What is the Application Process?
1. Complete the Staff Professional Development Fund Request Application form, including all approvals and signatures as required.
Participation in professional development events during work hours must be pre-approved, if required
2. Submit the completed application form and all required attachments to the Staff PDF Coordinator at the address below.
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Complete applications should be received in the Human Resources Office at least six (6) weeks prior to the event for which funding is being requested.
- Applications will not be accepted for events that have already occurred.
3. Written notice of action upon the request will be sent to the applicant by the Staff PDF Coordinator.
Applicants must notify the Staff PDF Coordinator as soon as possible if unable to participate in the development activity as planned. (The SPDF will not fund charges resulting from the cancellation of an event.)
Please note: you could be asked to provide additional justification to support your request.
4. Upon approval of the request, it is the employee and/or department’s responsibility to complete registration, make any related travel arrangements or any other pre-payment required.
5. Within thirty (30) calendar days of completion of the event, a brief report detailing the activity, benefits and final budget for the staff development activity must be submitted to the Staff PDF Coordinator using the Staff PDF Report form. The report is required for disbursement of the Staff PDF funds and for future consideration of Staff PDF requests.
The approved award amount will then be transferred to the fund designated by the department via a non-mandatory transfer.
If final expenses exceed the approved award, the amount in excess will not be covered by the Staff PDF
If final expenses are less than the approved award, the amount in excess will be retained by/refunded to the Staff PDF so that other staff may have the benefit of such staff professional development funds.
Whom to Contact?
Contact the Staff PDF Coordinator with questions about the Staff Professional Development Fund:
Teri Begley, HR
Jones 120, Coates CPO 24A
521 Lancaster Avenue
Richmond, KY 40475-3102
859-622-6835
