College Travel Policies and Procedures

CENV Faculty Professional Development and Travel Policy and Procedure

(Approved by College vote 6/13/2024) Policy

The UFWW-WWU-CBA (COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN Western

Washington University and United Faculty of Western Washington University, (SEPTEMBER 16, 2023 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 15, 2027) specifies that each college will fund a faculty development and professional travel pool with an annual amount equal to $1,250 per tenured/tenure-track faculty, and $625 per FTE non-tenure-track faculty member (CBA 22.10). The funds will be allocated and administered by deans of colleges and the Library in accordance with criteria and procedures in guidelines developed within the faculty governance bodies of each college and the Library.

 

Full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty will be eligible to apply to the Faculty Development and Professional Travel Pool one or more times for up to a total of $3,000 on a two-year basis, with fiscal year 2025 (FY25) and FY26 constituting the first two-year cycle. Faculty hired mid-way through this two-year cycle will be eligible to apply for a fractional amount based on date of hire. Part-time tenured and tenure-track faculty will be eligible to apply for a fractional amount based on their FTE appointment. Tenured and tenure-track faculty with release time are also eligible for the same terms above.

 

Non-tenure-track faculty with annual contracts of 1.0 FTE workload within CENV will be eligible to apply for up to $625 per FY. NTT with contracts under 1.0 FTE will be eligible to apply for a fractional amount based on their CENV FTE appointment. The award can only be used within their contract dates.

 

Any award of pool funds will require expenditure of legacy professional development and travel funds first. Expenditure of legacy professional development and travel funds can be concurrent with use of award pool funds within one award. Upon termination, retirement, permanent departure from College of the Environment or September 15, 2026 any remaining legacy professional development and travel funds will be redistributed into the college faculty development pool.

 

Department chairs will review requests to ensure that proposals support faculty development and professional travel are compliant with relevant policies. CENV Dean or Dean’s designee will make final decisions. All review, approval and use of these funds must follow university policies, university and state budget guidelines, and this College policy and procedure.


 

Expenditures allowable for consideration include the following:

  1. Conference travel and related expenses for the purpose of presenting scholarship results.
  2. Other forms of travel and related expenses for professional development, including:
    1. Travel expenses in support of duties as an officer in a professional organization;
    2. Travel expenses to visit a research site;
    3. Travel expenses to attend trainings and workshops, including proposal workshops and pre-award negotiations;
    4. Travel expenses to confer with colleagues on a shared research project;
    5. Conference travel and related expenses for professional development, without presentation of scholarship results.

     3. Supplies, materials, equipment, and conference and training expenses that contribute directly to professional development.

 

Non-allowable expenditures include:

  1. Office furniture, including desks, chairs, etc
  2. Technology equipment, including computers, monitors, printers, etc
  3. Mobile hotspots or other internet connectivity devices
  4. Specialized Instruments or headphones

 

Procedure

  1. Applications may be submitted on a rolling basis, although processing will occur September 16th through June 15th.
  2. Applicants will use the College Faculty Development and Professional Travel Application (FDPT) e-form to apply for funding. An applicant will route the FDPT e-form to the department chair for review.
  3. The department chair will route approved FDPT e-forms to the CENV Dean’s Office, and return denied requests to the applicant with rationale.
  4. CENV Dean’s Office will utilize the FDPT e-form to assess and communicate approval or denial with rationale to applicants.