Professional Development Reimbursement

In the interest of professional development, the University provides a Professional Development Reimbursement to all tenure-track/continuing appointment track, tenured/continuing appointment, and contractually limited Member with appointments of one year or more. Each eligible Member may claim reimbursement of eligible expenses up to a value of:

For more information, consult Article 53.36 to 53.46 of the UGFA Unit 1 Collective Agreement and the MOS effective July 1, 2022-June 30, 2024. In the event of a discrepancy between this page and the Collective Agreement or relevant Plan documents, the Collective Agreement or relevant Plan documents shall be considered the final authority.

Eligible Expenditures

The pool of monies for allocation for PDR for a particular year (May 1 to April 30) will be taken as of September 15th. Reimbursement charged to this allotment must be for actual expenses incurred and must be supported by actual receipts consistent with established University reimbursement procedures. The use of these funds must relate directly to the Member’s teaching, scholarship, service, or professional practice activities under his/her general University responsibilities. Items for which reimbursement may be claimed are restricted to the following:

1. books, annual journal subscriptions only (multi-year or lifetime subscriptions are not eligible);
2. Research equipment and instruments (including computer software or maintenance, personal computers and ancillary equipment, and typewriter or computer repairs and maintenance);
3. Tuition/training fees which are related to the professional discipline of the Member;
4. Memberships in professional associations or learned societies (annual only);
5. Conference registration fees and travel;
6. Premium cost of property insurance (such as that offered by CAUT) to protect professional material and equipment;
7. The purchase of personal computers and ancillary equipment needed in the pursuit of University related professional activities;
8. Up to $100 may be used as a flexible allowance for out-of-pocket expenses associated with University recreational facilities. (If used, this reimbursement is considered a taxible benefit by Canada Revenue Agency);
9. The cost of home internet provider services as an eligible expense subject to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regulations;
10. Open Access Journal publication fees for journals that are listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals;
11. Domain hosting fees

Items purchased with these funds that have a continuing value remain the property of the University.

The exception to this is that one annual transfer to trust/research accounts will be permitted; however, the transfer must be for allowable expenses according to the current policy and a transfer must specify the items for which the funds have been expended. 

Operation

• The claim year is the fiscal year of May 1 to April 30.  Receipts should be submitted before the fiscal year end.
• Unused PDR up to a maximum of two year’s full PDR may be carried forward to the next year so that a maximum of three year’s PDR be available at any one time. At the start of any fiscal year (May 1), any unused PDR exceeding the two-year maximum will be allocated to the Library's acquisition budget.If an employee has a single purchase expense that exceeds the annual PDR, they may carry it forward for reimbursement for a maximum of two further years. Employees must maintain the associated carry forward records and receipts. Nevertheless, employees may not carry unspent PDR funds forward to future years.
• Each eligible Member may submit up to two claims for reimbursement within a fiscal year (May 1 to April 30) up to the maximum PDR, subject to the maximum carry-over provision. Such claims must be for actual University-related business expenses incurred and must be supported by actual receipts consistent with established University reimbursement procedures. Where eligible actual expenses exceed the PDR allocation in any fiscal year, individual Members may submit the residual expense amount consistent with established University reimbursement procedures in only the following fiscal year.
• Single purchase expenses (i.e., one time out-of-pocket equipment or similar large expenses that exceed the annual PDR) may be carried forward for a maximum of three years for reimbursement. (Departments will maintain appropriate carry-forward records/receipts.)
• Two or more Members may submit a combined application for reimbursement, provided the specific uses of the funds are covered by this policy. Such a submission may be up to a maximum of N x $PDR (N = the number of submitters)
• Subject to the approval of the appropriate Department Chair, Supervisor, or Director, Members may transfer to a colleague his/her entitlement for a particular year. Such a transfer must be based on the agreement that it will be reversed within a three-year period.

Prorated PDR for new, retiring or reduced workload employees

For contractually limited Members and all other Members who are on approved reduced workload NOT related to medical or human rights reasons, PDR shall be pro-rated in accordance with the Member's percentage workload.

For newly appointed Members, hired after September 15th, a pro-rated amount calculated as: (Months remaining to April 30th from Date of Hire/12) x (Annual PDR Allocation) shall be made for the initial PDR fund allotted.

Members who are retiring or resigning shall receive in their year of retirement/resignation a pro-rated amount calculated as: (Number of months worked in final PDR year/12) x Annual PDR allocation.