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Professional Development Allowance

Contract academic instructors who hold a Right of First Refusal (ROFR) and contract academic librarians who hold a Multi-Year Appointment (MYA) are eligible to apply for Professional Development Allowance (PDA) funding up to a maximum of $500 per fiscal year (May 1 to April 30).  Eligible expenses must relate to pedagogy or the employee's discipline and commonly include items such as the purchase of resources, conference registration fees and related travel expenses.

Application

To apply, please complete and submit an application form located under Vice-President Fredericton (Academic) in Academic Administration (password protected) or click here.  Your Chair or Dean should also sign this form.  If you teach in Saint John, please contact the Office of the Vice-President Saint John. 

Claim

When the proposed expenditures have been approved and then purchased, either a travel expense claim form (for conference registration fees and travel expenses) or a personal reimbursement form (for all other expenses) should be completed and submitted along with all original receipts.  These forms can be found under Financial Services.  Your Chair or Dean does not need to sign.

PDA applications can only be fully approved and processed when all University policies are followed.  We recommend in particular that contract academic employees familiarize themselves with the policies of Financial Services, especially those related to travel and reimbursement.  Below are listed some common reasons why claims are delayed or cannot be processed:

• Not submitting claims within twenty business days for processing.
• Not submitting claims within the same fiscal year (May 1 to April 30) as the expenses were incurred.
• Not submitting all original receipts which clearly indicate the nature of the expenses and method of payment.
• Not submitting complete documentation when flying, including airfare itinerary, receipt, and boarding passes.
• Not submitting evidence of related travel and accommodation when claiming conference registration.

It is recommended that claimants include copies of bank statements showing the expenses being paid from an account.  This is also the easiest way of establishing exchange rates when expenses are incurred in the United States or abroad.