Faculty Professional development funding

UBC Faculty Association members can access professional development funds to support career growth at the university.

Update for the 2023-2024 funding year, beginning July 1, 2023:

Discontinuation of "Borrow Ahead" Practice for Faculty PD Funds

Effective July 1, 2023,  the University no longer allows faculty members to borrow against their future professional development entitlement amounts.

All faculty members received an email on June 30 with information about this change.

Further, if you are a faculty member who has already borrowed ahead against your future PD entitlement amounts before the implementation of this change on July 1, you received an additional email between July 10 and July 14. This second email confirmed your borrowed ahead amount and provided an explanation of the University's approach and timeline for recovering these funds from your future PD entitlements.

View further Q&A details on the HR News Page

Eligible Expenses

Faculty can claim reimbursement for professional development expenses that enhance the performance, ability, or effectiveness of a member’s work at the University. The funds are to be used for expenses associated with professional activities while holding an active position as a Faculty Association member and not any other purpose.

Please note any claims for reimbursement must be made within 12 months of the date when the expense was incurred. After 12 months, the expense is no longer eligible to submit for reimbursement. 

If you are planning to make a purchase for a piece of equipment or a service valued at over $3,500 inclusive of taxes, you must use a purchase order (PO)  and have your department or grant pay the initial cost upfront. You cannot allocate the cost directly to the Faculty PD Fund during the PO payment process. 

 As non-taxable benefits, all equipment and other goods purchased with Faculty PD Funds remains the property of the university and must be left with the university upon end of employment.

Examples of eligible expenses for Faculty 

  • travel and associated expenses related to meetings, conferences, or other similar professional activities;
  • registration fees and other expenses for meetings of learned societies, other professional organizations, workshops, seminars, and similar activities;
  • membership fees in learned societies and professional organizations;
  • fees and subscriptions for journals and books;
  • expenses directly associated with teaching responsibilities or current active research or professional programs (including equipment such as computer hardware, software, and audio-visual equipment);
  • communication and telecommunication network expenses related to scholarly activities and teaching; and current active research
  • equipment that is directly related to current active research.

Examples of ineligible expenses for faculty

  • face masks
  • furniture (examples include, desk, standing desk riser, chair, lumbar support cushion, lamp, foot rest, monitor arm, stand or riser)
  • salaries
  • academic student fees

This is not an exhaustive list.  If you have an expense that is not clearly covered here, please contact faculty.pd@ubc.ca for further clarification.

 

Funding details by employee group

Funds are available for use while an individual holds an active appointment in the Faculty Association for activities taking place while a member.  As detailed below in specific circumstances funds may be borrowed against future years.

Understanding Professional Development entitlement for faculty members

Faculty can claim reimbursement for professional development expenses that enhance the performance, ability, or effectiveness of a member’s work at the University. Refer to the information below regarding your entitlement to financial reimbursement.

How to submit your claim

Submit your PD fund claims directly through Workday. For step by step instructions, as well as general resources and help with Workday, visit the Integrated Service Centre. After logging in with your CWL, you can search the  knowledge base  for instructions on how to submit a claim. Please search for the following knowledge base articles:

Your claim will be reviewed by a PD Fund Expense Partner within 15 business days, however the processing time may take longer if you submit an incomplete claim or if information is missing. You will receive the claim back if the PD Fund Expense Partner requires additional information or if your claim is ineligible for reimbursement.  

After the PD Fund Expense Partner review, your Head or Director will check your claim as it related to your current role and career growth, and approve directly in Workday.

About your reimbursement

 Once your claim is processed you’ll receive confirmation in Workday. 

  • If you paid out of pocket, you'll be reimbursed by direct bank deposit.
  • If you paid with a UBC credit card (card in your name), your expense will be reconciled directly from your PD Funds. 
  • If your department paid on your behalf, your department will be reimbursed directly by general ledger credit. 

PD funds and taxation

The funding provided is not included as taxable income on your T4 slip. This means that  you cannot claim the value of any funds received through this program as part of a tuition tax credit or for any other credit on  your annual tax return. Please refer to Canada Revenue Agency – Eligible Tuition Fees for more information.

What managers need to know

As a manager or supervisor, you are accountable for reviewing the relevance of your faculty or staff's PD Fund claim as it relates to their current role and career growth. 

View more information on the page for managers and administrators

Questions?

If you have questions about these funds or how to submit claims, please contact Integrated Service Centre

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