Faculty & Staff Development Funding Opportunities

Adopted by Faculty Senate 6/13/14
Adopted by President 7/16/14
Adopted by President’s Cabinet 7/30/14

East Georgia State College seeks to create professional development opportunities that are consistent both with the needs of the faculty and staff and with the mission of the college. The rapid expansion of knowledge across many disciplines attests to the increasing importance of lifelong learning to achieving career success. As an employer, East Georgia State College can play a vital role in assisting its employees to further develop their knowledge and skills. By promoting the development of an energized and confident team of employees, the college’s presence in the communities it serves is in turn energized.

The following objectives will provide the focus for the college’s development activities:

1. 1. Faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in those development activities that will renew their enthusiasm, vitality, and spirit of inquiry.
   2. Because East Georgia State College is an access institution, its primary mission is to deliver effective teaching to the communities it serves. Thus, the primary objective of the college’s development plan is to facilitate improvements in teaching. Faculty and staff may apply for financial support to improve teaching methods and introduce new teaching technologies to the classroom.
   3. Faculty and staff may apply for financial support to stay abreast with developments in their disciplines and to take advantage of opportunities for interdisciplinary study and research. 
   4. Faculty and staff may apply for financial support to develop expertise beyond their specific disciplines when these efforts enable East Georgia State College to respond with more flexibility to the needs of the communities in its service area.

Faculty and staff members bear the primary responsibility for their own development. This includes completing the requirements for the appropriate graduate degree in their disciplines.

Beyond this point, continued development is accomplished through a partnership between the individual faculty or staff member and East Georgia State College. The college will give priority to supporting those development activities that most directly enhance its ability to deliver educational programs appropriate to the needs of its service area and to its status as an access institution.

The college will support development efforts through state funding and through internal and external grant funds to support development. In addition, the college will assist faculty and staff in taking advantage of the University System’s programs for tuition remission and reimbursement.

The efforts of faculty and staff in participating in development activities will be an important part of the annual evaluation. In addition, professional development activities are used in the tenure, promotion, and post-tenure review process.

There are a variety of opportunities for faculty development. Appropriate vehicles for development include

1. 1. Attending off-campus addresses by guest speakers on specific topics of importance. 
   2. Participating in research projects and foreign travel.
   3. Participating in workshops, seminars, and institutes that either update technical skills or provide a fresh perspective on a topic of interest to the individual faculty member.
   4. Participating in the activities of the Center for Teaching and Learning.
   5. Completing course work that enhances the preparation of faculty members to perform their duties, but cannot be funded through the tuition remission and reimbursement program. 
   6. Pursuing additional degrees if this activity can be shown to contribute to the college’s ability to respond to the needs of the communities it serves, but cannot be funded through the tuition remission and reimbursement program.

Each unit as part of the annual budget request and approval process will request professional development funding for their unit. Faculty and staff may be asked to assist in the development of request for professional development funding.

Faculty and staff should submit their applications for professional development funding to the supervisor of their unit. Each unit will develop a process to screen requests for funding. This may involve a peer review committee and/or input from outside the unit. The result of the review process may include full, partial, or no development funding. At the completion of the unit review process, the unit head will review the request to determine if funding is available and make final determination for funding the activity. If approved, the unit head will follow the proper budget procedure to either partially or fully fund the activity. For those plans that do not secure funding, applicants should be informed as to why their activity was not funded. In some cases, in which funding is not available, faculty and staff may request time for an unfunded activity.

Depending on the duration of the development activities, faculty and staff may be required to provide progress reports to their supervisors. The development objectives achieved by the activities completed during the year should be used in completing the annual evaluation of faculty and staff.