GUIDELINES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

PROJECTS

I.  CRITERIA:

    Development of projects should meet the following criteria:

    A.  Address one or more current institutional goals;

    B.  Serve identified professional development needs (e.g., individual

         development plan as stated in the Performance Management System,

         supervisory input, etc.);

    C.  Target one or more student populations served by York Technical

         College;

    D.  Prepare faculty and staff to recognize, teach, and evaluate employment

         skills (e.g., communications, human relations, computation, computer

         applications, critical thinking, and current technical competencies), and

    E.  Result in positive impact on student, employer, and campus communities.

II.  FUNDING:

    A.  Project funds:

         1. Must relate to current identified needs (see Criteria above)

         2. Provide support not duplicated through other budget sources

    B.  Project budgets may include:

         1.  Personnel Salaries

         2.  Transportation

              Mileage reimbursement for use of personal vehicles will be provided for

              credit courses if the course is required by the College as a condition of

              employment verified by Human Resources.  Meals while attending

              seminars/workshops may be requested according to state per diem

              guidelines.

         3.  Registration/Tuition

             The College does not prepay registration fees for credit courses.

             Registration as approved in the project will be reimbursed by the

             College after satisfactory completion of each course and upon

             submission of grade reports and receipts by the participant.  Fees for

             credit courses and books are covered only when the credit course is a

             condition of employment verified by Human Resources.  For purposes

             of reimbursement, satisfactory completion is considered a grade

             of "C" or better for undergraduate courses, and "B" or better for

             graduate courses.  Prepayment will be made for seminars and

             workshops (registration and agenda information must be submitted

             with the project proposal).

         4.  Instructional Supplies/Materials

              Instructional supplies/materials for credit courses are covered only

              when the credit course is a condition of employment verified by

              Human Resources.

    C.  After projects are funded, substitutions or adjustments to the budget

         require the supervisor's approval after consulting with the Professional

         Development Council Chairperson.

    D.  The Professional Travel Authorization and Reimbursement Voucher form

          will be attached to the Award Letter and labeled with the approved

          project number and the account number for accounting purposes.  Both

          of these numbers should be used for all transactions relating to the

          project.  When hypothetical proposals are funded, the PDC will not issue

          a travel authorization form until the project participant selects a

          conference and date.

    E.  Operational travel budgets will bused to cover travel activities that are not

         specifically development activities.

    F.  Funds are provided by the York Technical College Foundation to support

         faculty and staff in taking internal credit and continuing education

         courses.  Faculty and staff may be approved to take one internal course

         per semester.  Funding normally covers tuition only; however, books

         may be covered if the course is a condition of employment verified by

         Human Resources.  Fees are waived.

    H.  Supervisory approval of the reimbursement voucher and submission of

         the project evaluation are required prior to reimbursement.

         Reimbursement will not be processed until the evaluation is received.

III.  GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT APPLICATIONS:

    A.  All applications should be neatly written or typed.

    B.  Use simple, clear, and concise language.

    C.  Components of narrative should take the following elements into

         consideration:

         1.  Narrative must be concise, specific, and clear; simply state how you

              plan to accomplish your goal and meet identified needs.

         2.  Narrative must establish the need and show how the need relates to

              institutional goals and/or accreditation standards.  A key element in

              implementing any development plan to meet identified needs is the

              thoughtful, individual planning that must occur as a part of the annual

              performance management system.  Planning and discussion at

              departmental and divisional or supervisory levels should result in

              submitting projects that benefit all communities served.

         3.  Project requests for seminars, workshops, and conferences provide

              opportunities for faculty and staff to enhance knowledge and skills

              related to their subject area and professional job duties.  Permanent,

              probationary and temporary employees may participate in such

              programs.

         4.  Project requests for credit courses required as a condition of

              employment for College employees (permanent, probationary, or

              temporary) may be necessary to help employees improve their

              performance in their present position or to acquire skills necessary to

              meet specific College needs.  When an employee is directed to take

              such courses at an institution approved by the College, all costs will be

              paid for the employee, including tuition, fees, and books.  Whenever

              possible, assignment of such courses should be made in compliance

              with College plans for faculty and staff development.  Courses

              must be taken at a regionally accredited university.

         5.  Project requests for return to business, industry, or professional

              enhancement, provide opportunities for permanent employees to

              enter business and industry, as well and enhance their professional

              expertise in current technical trends, changes, and work skill

              requirements relating to their teaching or functional areas.

              Compensation of Employees:

1.  The participating employee will remain in employment   status of  the College and will:

 

a) Receive normal salary and benefits.

b) Retain eligibility for any normal salary adjustments.

c) Not be subsidized in any way by the business, industry, or outside professional enhancement organization.

 2.  The outside organization may reimburse the College for the services of the employee.

 

 3.  Employees who are on summer break and not working for the College may be employed directly by an outside organization and will not come under this policy and procedure.

    D.  Checksheet for Supervisors

         1.  Supervisors should review carefully all projects that they recommend

              to the Professional Development Council for funding.

         2.  A "No" response for items 1 - 6 listed on the checksheet indicates that

             further  work on the project application is needed.  The application

             should be returned to the originator for clarification before

             recommending the project for funding to the Professional Development

             Council.

         3.  Supervisors should carefully review project applications to verify that

              the requested development activities are directly related to specific job

              responsibilities and support objectives for professional development as

              stated in the current FPMS or EPMS.