Collin College values professional development for faculty to stay current in their field. To that end, the college provides funds for faculty to use for professional development. COE is responsible for managing this budget and coordinates with the business office to fund professional development for faculty.
Both Face to Face and Virtual conference travel are approved for COE funding for FY 2023-2024. Canada and Mexico are Board
Approved for regular COE funding and are treated like US travel.
The 2023-2024 travel fund limits are:
$2000- attendees
$2200- presenters
To make sure there is budget money left for conferences in summer 2024, distribution of funds will occur in two waves:
- 50% of the allotted COE funds will be available for allocation for travel that begins September 1, 2023 - February 14, 2024
- The remaining 50% of the allotted COE funds will be available for allocation for travel
that begins February 15, 2024 - August 31, 2024
(If possible, please wait until January 3rd, 2024 to submit travel requests for the spring).
IMPORTANT INFORMATION faculty must know about travel:
- Faculty MUST have an approved Spend Authorization (SA) BEFORE leaving for or beginning
a professional development event.
a. The SA must be completely approved before charging any expenses to a Collin College T-card.
b. If faculty are spending their own monies and then seeking reimbursement for the trip, the SA must be completely be approved prior to departing for travel.
c. When a SA is approved, COE encumbers those funds for that faculty member, guaranteeing funds will be available for approved expenses. - Faculty should submit their SA at least 42 days (6 weeks) prior to departing for travel.
Several people are in the approval chain and it takes time to process each one. Submitting
the SA early gives time to fix any errors that might be in the original submission
while still allowing time to book travel before the conference.
a. Workday will notifiy the faculty member when the SA is fully approved.
b. It is the faculty member's responsibility to check Workday notifications to make sure that the SA request was approved prior to travel. - The amount of money approved in the SA is the maximum amount the faculty member is approved to spend.
a. Faculty should carefully research hotel costs (including taxes and fees), airfare costs (including baggage fees), registration costs, ground transportation costs, parking fees (airport, hotel), rental care prices and fuel costs, etc. when submitting the SA.
b. If the faculty member spends more money on the trip than was approved in the SA, the faculty member is responsible for the additional costs.
c. COE does understand that prices in the SA are estimates and costs may increase between when the SA was approved and when the trip occurs. When such overages occur, COE may over up to 110% of the SA amount but only if funds are available in the budget and the request was under the COE stated maximums for the academic year. - Faculty are elgibile for presenter funds (currently an extra $200) and must request
by notification in the comment section and provide supporting documentation.
a. The best documentation would be submitting a copy of the faculty member's name and session information found in the conference agenda and upload a copy in the SA request. Faculty could also make a comment as to the page number in the attached agenda where the session is listed.
b. If the final agenda is not ready with these details when the SA is submitted, the faculty member should attach the email from the conference organizers that confirms the acceptance of the proposal for presentation. - After the trip, faculty should submit an expense report within ten (10) days.
Prior to travel:
* Faculty must submit a Spend Authorization (SA) in Workday. It must be fully approved
prior to departing for the conference (or before using a T-card).
* The Business Purpose should be listed as "Council on Excellence."
* The SA must include a completed "Justification for Travel Form" (see link, right
channel)
* The SA must also include a conference agenda and registration pricing information
as attachments.
* Faculty should list each item they want funded (registration, airfare, hotel, per
diem, etc.) and the cost of the items. Make sure the cost center code is correct for
each item and leave a comment note as to which budget is being asked to fund each
item.
* If there are errors or missing attachments in the SA, it will not be approved and
will be sent bakc to the facutly member for correction. This can delay the approval
process by several days or weeks. COE requests that SA submissions be done at least
42 days (6 weeks) prior to departure in case there are any errors or questions.
REMINDER: COE will not fund travel if a SA is not fully approved prior to departing
for the conference.
When completeing the Justification Form for Travel, consider the following questions:
- What other professional development activities exist for your field?
- Why is this the best one?
- What is the most economical form of transportation?
- Outside of the classroom, what have I been doing to demonstrate that I am an engaged faculty member?
After completing training for planning and booking travel in Workday, use Workday
(training schedule below or instruction sheet) to request COE professional development
(PD) travel funds at least 42 days (6 weeks) prior to travel.
Please review Workday training instructions before entering any information for your request (spend authorization) or reimbursement
(expense report)
Your supervisor may need to approve your conference and travel PRIOR to requesting
funds from COE. Please let them know of your plans to expedite the process and have
all required documentation included for your request.
To properly route your PD request using COE funds, please make sure to select
Council on Excellence [COE] as the Business Purpose
AND
use the correct Cost Center (expense billing) for COE/Faculty Development
Workday travel training registration schedule:
'How To' Instructions for Workday Travel
To check the status of your request, log into Workday and click the 'bell' icon.
Documentation required for spend authorizations for in person travel include:
- Agenda (conference program)
- Registration form and costs [if no registration costs, please add comment]
- COE Justification Form (filled out)
If these documents are not included, your travel request will not be approved and will be returned, which delays the process by several days to weeks.
When calculating your spend authorization, carefully research to estimate and add
the following (this will determine your travel allocation) for in person conferences:
- Registration
- Cost for lodging
- Flight cost and/or other transportation costs
- Attach Mileage information using Google maps if you are requesting reimbursement for driving
- Car Rental/Taxi-Shuttle/Parking estimates, if requesting money
- Baggage fees
- Per diem
- Any other costs you anticipation
If you are presenting at the conference, please be sure to make a notation in Workday to indicate that you are a presenter since you will be allotted more money as a result. You will also need to include proof from the conference to verify your status as a presenter as previously discussed.
Regarding memberships: COE does not pay for memberships unless the cost of the membership + registration is LESS than the nonmember registration. Please leave a note in the comment section and upload comparison costs for verification.
If you are over the COE max for your request, please indicate how the balance due will be paid. Most likely these monies will be your costs to cover. If a dean has stated they will pay, please include and upload documentation that supports the dean's coverage of monies in excess and how much will be allotted. Generally, this means the dean will give a different Cost Center code for specific item(s) in your SA.
If you are planning to attend a Virtual conference, the same processes apply.
Only the documentation that is required for justification is simplified, to include
the following:
- Conference Agenda
- Registration form
- COE Request for Professional Development/Travel Funding Justification Form (save as PDF attachment)
It is crucial for reimbursement purposes that your supervisor approves your travel request before your trip. If you are not sure the conference is appropriate, check with your supervisor. Please note: There are no-prepays.
Per Diem can be estimated using GSA rates found here.
Please use In-state Hotel Tax Form to avoid tax added to lodging within the State of Texas.
Please use In-state Car Rental Form to avoid tax added to rentals within the State of Texas.
If your request involves credentialing, certification, or license renewals, please contact your department for funding. Credential Reimbursement
If your request involves academic coursework only, HR has funds up to $2400 per fiscal
year. Tuition Reimbursement
Before you leave on your trip, be sure to enter your travel information into Workday
for Time Off Request and make arrangements for a substitute if necessary and if directed
to do so by your supervisor.
Approval in Workday for Time Off is NOT the same as the SA approval.
After travel:
Within 10 business days after returning from travel, submit your expense report in
Workday and attach a complete detailed agenda, all relevant receipts and documents
along with per diem meals (if meals are being reimbursed). No receipts are necessary
if using per diem costs. However, make sure any meals provided by the conference as
part of the registration fee are noted in the per diem section.
See Workday training or How To instructions regarding travel expense submissions.
If you have any questions or need help with Workday, please consult your division’s Administrative Assistant or Collin’s Accounts Payable Department:
If, for some reason, a faculty member is unable to complete professional travel that has already been approved, faculty should contact the CoE Accountant (Leah Beck, ltbeck@collin.edu) and their Dean within 10 working days from the scheduled travel date so the funds can be redistributed. You will also need to cancel your trip in Workday. Please contact the business office regarding the procedures.
If you have questions regarding travel, please contact the CoE Accountant, (Leah Beck, ltbeck@collin.edu)
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL: International Travel does NOT fall within the purview of CoE; however, information for international travel is available on the Collin website at this link: International Travel Request Form
Please note that Canada and Mexico have been approved for conference travel and have the same processes that apply to U.S. travel requests.