SoP Professional Development Program & Process

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Document approved July 1, 2023

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Overview

As highlighted in the school’s Strategic Plan, The School of Pharmacy supports employee learning and development for all employees. To encourage this personal growth and ensure that employees have the resources they need, the school is implementing this professional development program with dedicated budget support.

Scope

This program applies to Faculty, Academic Staff (including Limited Term), University Staff, Research Associates (Postdoctoral Fellows/Trainees) and Research Interns who are engaged in administrative, instructional and research work and .5 FTE or greater. Employees meeting these terms are eligible for these funds upon hire. The school recognizes that professional development needs vary based on an employee’s interests and role. To ensure that employees can direct their own professional growth path, the school will automatically budget $500 for all eligible employees on an annual basis (July 1 – June 30). These funds are meant to support professional development opportunities for employees and are not meant to cover trainings or travel that is a required element of an employee’s job^, or employee coursework and training assistance¹.

Campus also provides professional development support in many forms including grant programs that require school/college contributions. If you are interested in these programs in addition to the school’s annual support, you should seek approval from your supervisor and follow the appropriate campus application process. The Associate Dean for Administration & Staff can provide direction on any related School of Pharmacy processes. All supervisor approved requests for additional funding should be directed to the Dean (or their designee) for final approval.

Approval and registration process:

Eligible employees are encouraged to identify professional development opportunities and follow up with their supervisor for approval of that proposed activity. Examples might include seminars or workshops that are held on campus or in the community that have a registration fee and/or annual membership fees. Other examples include books, subscriptions, certification fees, networking reception fees, etc. Questions can be directed to the Associate Dean for Administration & Staff.

Once reviewed and approved by their supervisor, the employee should submit their request using the SOP Professional Development Request form. Employees may work with staff in their unit or in the Business Office to pay for the item or event using a University-approved purchasing process. The Business Office will track participation in the program and assess usage on an annual basis.

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¹  Supervisors should work with the Associate Dean for Administration & Staff to budget for any travel and/or training that is required for their employees. This includes conference travel. This should be done during the annual budgeting exercise every spring.