employees / Business Services / Professional Development Allowance

Professional Development Allowance

Recognizing that Delta College should encourage employees to develop professionally, an annual professional development allowance (PDA) is available for each faculty, full-time A/P and full-time support staff employee.

Examples of expenditures to be included as part of professional development include professional related travel including lodging, meals, transportation and mileage; annual professional dues, licensing fees, certifications, tests/exams; coursework tuition, fees or related expenses at Delta College or other institutions, conferences, seminars, webinars and clinic fees; or professional development materials, including books, subscriptions, DVDs, periodicals, etc.

Faculty PDA

Delta supplements the faculty member’s personal investment in their professional development with a $1,100 annual professional development allowance. Items and their PDA eligibility are indicated below.  No individual shall be reimbursed by another's PDA account.  Each individual must submit their own receipts to be reimbursed from their own PDA account.

Faculty PDA Guidelines

Item

Allowable

Comments

Annual individual professional dues, certification exams, and licensing fees (excluding MAHE, alumni, and union dues)

Yes

Paid first by individual, then submitted for reimbursement. Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by Associate Dean, and forwarded to Business Services.  PDA is not approved for Lifetime memberships.

Annual institutional professional or membership dues 

No

Annual dues that are for the institution or department are not appropriate under PDA.  If an approved college membership, the dues renewal/invoice should be submitted with a requisition for payment directly by the college.

Insurances (i.e., liability, bonds, trip insurance, etc.)

No

Insurances of any sort are not considered acceptable PDA expenditures.

Academic fees for Delta College academic courses

Yes

Paid first by individual, then submitted for reimbursement. Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by Associate Dean, and forwarded to Business Services.

Tuition and fees for non-Delta academic courses, as well as subscription based online learning modules/non-academic courses (i.e., Lorman On-Demand, Udemy, Skillshare, etc.)

Yes

Paid first by individual, then submitted for reimbursement. Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by Associate Dean, and forwarded to Business Services.

Textbooks and/or access codes for academic courses

Yes

Paid first by individual, then submitted for reimbursement. Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by Associate Dean, and forwarded to Business Services.

Professional development workshops, conferences, webinars, and non-academic courses

Yes

Option 1: Paid first by individual, then submitted for reimbursement upon conclusion of event. Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by Associate Dean, and forwarded to Business Services.  (Requirement may vary at fiscal year-end.)  Reimbursements will not be made prior to conclusion of event.

Option 2:  Paid by college.  Submit requisition signed by Associate Dean with completed registration form, to be registered and paid by the college.  Include any login information required.

Travel relating to professional development

Yes

Professional related travel, including lodging, meals, transportation and mileage, within the College’s travel guidelines, may be submitted for professional development activities.  Please follow the college’s travel procedures.  No travel will be pre-paid by the college except for travel booked directly through Egencia, the college’s online travel portal.  Conference codes may not be used with the Egencia site.  If attending a conference and staying at a hotel where a conference code is needed for a special rate, the employee is responsible to pay for the hotel directly and submit for reimbursement upon return, or, they may use Egencia and book at the Egencia rate.  Trip or flight insurance of any sort is not reimbursable.

Professional development materials such as books, DVDs, periodicals, etc.

Yes

Paid first by individual, then submitted for reimbursement. Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by Associate Dean, and forwarded to Business Services.

Software and online software resources

No

Software is not an approved expense under PDA.  Examples include Kahoot, ScreenPal, Screencastomatic, Canva, video editing software, etc.  Any software used on a college-owned computer or accessed on a college-owned computer must be purchased by and licensed directly to the college.  

Equipment (classroom and other), such as laptop computers, desktop computers, iPads, printers, flash drives, jet packs, cameras, phones, LiveScribe pens, mobile tablets, etc.

No

Equipment of any sort is not an approved expense under PDA.

Supplies (classroom and other), such as toner, paper, etc.

No

Supplies of any sort are not an approved expense under PDA.

Commencement Regalia

No

Commencement regalia is not an approved expense under PDA.

Frequently asked questions for faculty

Individuals may look up their PDA balance by logging in to Employee Self-Service and selecting the Employment option icon on the left hand side.  When that option is expanded, there is a Professional Development Allowance category.  Click on that to detail in.  The balance will be shown.  If it is a negative number, i.e. ($1,000), that indicates that you have $1,000 available to you in your PDA account.
Your PDA requests should be approved by your supervisor and the Associate Dean.  The Associate Dean should forward the approved request to Instruction & Learning Services, who will provide final approval and forward to Business Services.  If it is sent directly to Business Services, it will be forwarded back to Instruction & Learning Services for approval, and will likely delay reimbursement. 

Submit a completed requisition (or travel expense form), signed by your supervisor/Associate Dean, and the designated individual in Instruction and Learning Services.  Include employee ID#, expense description and required documentation as indicated above. The requisition should indicate that it is a PDA request.  If reimbursement is for a conference or registration fee, the reimbursement request may not be submitted or reimbursed prior to the conclusion of the event. PDA reimbursements must be submitted by June 30 of the year in which the expenses occurred.  Reimbursement requests that have appropriate approvals and supporting documents that are received in Business Services by noon Wednesday (Tuesday during Green Fridays) will generally be paid on Friday.  

Under an accountable plan, IRS guidelines require that all reimbursements be substantiated with receipts and supporting documentation in order for the reimbursement to be treated as a non-taxable benefit. Travel expenses and reimbursement requests are subject to the same reimbursement and procedural rules as College business-related travel.   Receipts must be detailed/itemized receipts and not just a copy of the credit card statement or the credit card receipt.

No.  Your PDA may only be used to reimburse directly to you.  Even though you shared a room with others at a conference, you may not be reimbursed from their PDA account.  Hotels will generally split the bill to multiple individuals and credit cards if you ask them, upon check-in.  Each person submitting for reimbursement from PDA must do so with their own receipt.

Up to 100% of your PDA, if unused, will be carried forward to the next fiscal year. A PDA account will not exceed three (3) times the current year's allocation. 

Faculty who have a definite and approved plan for direct professional development may request the use of the next year’s PDA during the current year. PDA requested in advance shall not exceed PDA approved for the current year.

Submit a requisition or travel expense form with all appropriate detailed receipts to your Associate Dean.  If approved, the Associate Dean must include the statement “approved for borrowing” with their signature, and forward to Instruction & Learning Services for approval.  Requests for reimbursement that come through where the faculty intends to borrow, but it is not noted on the form, may experience a delay in processing.

The college is currently not approving travel through January 15, except under limited circumstances with prior approval.  If faculty want a room paid directly by the college, it must be booked through Egencia, the college’s online travel portal.  Note that conference rates are not accepted in Egencia.  If desiring to use a conference rate, the faculty must pay for the room directly, and get reimbursed following the dates of travel.  Reimbursements prior to attending are not permitted.

Reimbursements should be submitted upon completion of the event.

Business Services can assist with any questions relating to the process or what is required for reimbursement; Sue Nowicki, susannowicki@delta.edu, x9230, Phyllis Meeth, phyllismeeth@delta.edu, or Greg Luczak, gpluczak@delta.edu, x9036.

Administrative/Professional and Support Staff PDA

PDA for Administrative Professionals
The college supplements the Administrative Professional staff member’s personal investment in their professional development with a $500 annual allowance.  No individual shall be reimbursed by another's PDA account.  Each individual must submit their own receipts to be reimbursed from their own PDA account.

PDA for Support Staff
The college supplements the Support Staff member’s personal investment in their professional development with a $275 annual allowance.  No individual shall be reimbursed by another's PDA account.  Each individual must submit their own receipts to be reimbursed from their own PDA account.

Administrative/Professional PDA and Support PDA Guidelines

Item

Allowable

Comments

Annual individual professional dues, licensing fees, certifications, tests, exams

Yes

Paid first by individual then submitted for reimbursement.  Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by supervisor.  PDA is not approved for lifetime memberships.

Annual institutional dues or memberships

No

Annual dues that are for the institution are not appropriate under PDA. If an approved college membership, the dues renewal/invoice should be submitted with a requisition for payment directly by the college.

Insurances (i.e., liability, bonds, trip/flight insurance, etc.)

No

Insurances of any sort are not considered acceptable PDA expenditures.

Academic fees for Delta College academic courses

Yes

Paid first by individual then submitted for reimbursement.  Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by supervisor. 

Tuition and fees for non-Delta academic courses, as well as subscription based online learning modules/non-academic courses (i.e., Lorman On-Demand, Udemy, Skillshare, etc.)

Yes

Paid first by individual then submitted for reimbursement.  Provide detailed copy of receipt and copy of grade report with requisition, signed by supervisor, upon conclusion of the class.  May not be reimbursed until after the class has finished.  

Textbooks and/or access codes for academic courses

Yes

Paid first by individual then submitted for reimbursement.  Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by supervisor. 

Professional Development workshops, conferences, webinars, and non-academic courses

Yes

Option 1: Paid first by individual, then submitted for reimbursement. Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by the supervisor. This should be submitted for reimbursement upon conclusion of the event, and will not be reimbursed prior to that. (Requirement may vary at fiscal year-end.)

Option 2:  Paid by college.  Submit requisition signed by Supervisor with completed registration form, to be registered and paid by the college.  Include any login information required.

Travel relating to professional development

Yes

Professional related travel, including lodging, meals, transportation and mileage, within the College’s travel guidelines, may be submitted for professional development activities.  Please follow the college’s travel procedures.  No travel will be pre-paid by the college except for travel booked directly through Egencia, the college’s online travel portal.  Conference codes may not be used with the Egencia site.  If attending a conference and staying at a hotel where a conference code is needed for a special rate, the employee is responsible to pay for the hotel directly and submit for reimbursement upon return, or, they may use Egencia and book at the Egencia rate.  Trip or flight insurance of any sort are not reimbursable.

Professional development materials such as books, DVDs, periodicals,

Yes

Paid first by individual then submitted for reimbursement.  Provide detailed copy of receipt with requisition, signed by supervisor.

Software and online software resources

No

Software is not an approved expense under PDA.  Examples include Kahoot, ScreenPal, Screencastomatic, Canva, video editing software, etc.  Any software or access to software from a college-owned computer must be purchased by and licensed to the college.

Equipment (classroom and other), such as laptop computers, desktop computers, iPads, printers, flash drives, jet packs, cameras, phones, LiveScribe pens, mobile tablets, etc.

No

Equipment is not an approved expense under PDA.

Supplies such as toner, paper, etc.

No

Supplies are not an approved expense under PDA.

Commencement Regalia

No

Commencement regalia is not an approved expense under PDA.

Frequently asked questions for Administrative Professionals and Support Staff

Individuals may look up their PDA balance by logging in to Employee Self-Service and selecting the Employment option icon on the left hand side.  When that option is expanded, there is a Professional Development Allowance category.  Click on that to detail in.  The balance will be shown.  If it is a negative number, i.e. ($325.00) , that indicates that you have $325.00 available to you in your PDA account.
Your PDA requests should be approved by your supervisor prior to submitting for reimbursement.
Submit a completed requisition (or travel expense form), signed by your supervisor/Associate Dean, and the designated individual in Instruction and Learning Services.  Include employee ID#, expense description and required documentation as indicated above. The requisition should indicate that it is a PDA request. If reimbursement is for a conference or registration fee, the reimbursement request may not be submitted or reimbursed prior to the conclusion of the event.  PDA reimbursements must be submitted by June 30 of the year in which the expenses occurred.  Reimbursement requests that have appropriate approvals and supporting documents that are received in Business Services by noon Wednesday (Tuesday during Green Fridays) will generally be paid on Friday.

Under an accountable plan, IRS guidelines require that all reimbursements be substantiated with receipts and supporting documentation in order for the reimbursement to be treated as a non-taxable benefit. Travel expenses and reimbursement requests are subject to the same reimbursement and procedural rules as College business-related travel.   Receipts must be detailed/itemized receipts and not just a copy of the credit card statement or the credit card receipt.

No.  Your PDA may only be used to reimburse directly to you.  Even though you shared a room with others at a conference, you may not be reimbursed from their PDA account.  Hotels will generally split the bill to multiple individuals and credit cards if you ask them, upon check-in.  Each person submitting for reimbursement from PDA must do so with their own receipt.

Up to 100% of your PDA, if unused, will be carried forward to the next fiscal year. A PDA account will not exceed two times the current year's allocation.

No. Borrowing PDA funds from the next year is not permitted.

No.  The staff member should pay for their own registration and submit with a requisition and detailed receipt to be reimbursed.

The college is currently not approving travel through January 15, 2022, except under limited circumstances with prior approval.  If faculty want a room paid directly by the college, it must be booked through Egencia, the college’s online travel portal.  Note that conference rates are not accepted in Egencia.  If desiring to use a conference rate, the faculty must pay for the room directly, and get reimbursed following the dates of travel.  Reimbursements prior to attending are not permitted.

Reimbursements should be submitted with a completed requisition and detailed payment confirmation, and signed by supervisory/budget officer. and submitted for reimbursement.  This should be submitted upon completion of the event.

Business Services can assist with any questions relating to the process or what is required for reimbursement; Sue Nowicki, susannowicki@delta.edu, x9230, Phyllis Meeth, phyllismeeth@delta.edu,  or Greg Luczak, gpluczak@delta.edu, x9036.