Date: September 19, 2008
To:
AFT Full-time Bargaining Unit Members (faculty, librarians, and
professional staff)
From:
Ralph Edelbach, Career Development Committee
Chair
Subject: Career Development Proposals for Fall
2008 and Spring 2009
Introduction:
The Career Development (CD) program is contractually-based and designed to aid full-time unit members in the development of a positive program of professional growth and career development. The State-Union Agreement (Appendix II - page 100) states that the two primary objectives of this program are: 1) to improve instruction; and 2) to meet the expressed direction/mission and needs of the college.
Additionally, the Agreement states that the Career Development program "… is structured to aid employees in the development of a positive program of professional growth and career development." In reviewing proposals, the Career Development Committee looks for evidence that the activity will support these goals.
Proposal Development:
Please keep these guidelines in mind when developing a proposal:
- The Career Development Committee encourages applications for activities which:
- develop the applicant's abilities in an appropriate and agreed upon new career area, and/or
- enable the applicant to contribute to the college in new and enhanced ways, and/or
- enable the applicant to have a broad impact on a department, group, or the college.
- Proposals may be submitted by either individuals or departments. Examples of possible proposals include:
- attending a focused seminar in one's professional area.
- developing expertise in new or related areas and to incorporate that knowledge into instruction.
- developing competencies in new technologies and methodologies which improve instruction and to assist in integrating those techniques into the curriculum.
- to hire an expert in a discipline to help a department develop new competencies.
3. Career Development awards are possible for travel and registration costs of workshops concentrating on specialized areas that meet the previously stated criteria. Workshops/courses should have significant educational content and be appropriate for the individual's TCNJ career. Requests to travel to general professional conferences lacking appropriate training or development components should be directed to departments or schools and not to the CDC. CD awards are not given for making presentations.
4. Requests for graduate course work funding should be submitted to the Office of Human Resources, as indicated on the Tuition Reimbursement Form.
5. Requests for various aspects of research support should be sent to the Committee for the Support for Scholarly Activity (SOSA).
Proposal Submission - Proposals are to be submitted electronically
1. The Career Development Proposal Summary Sheet (PSS) must be the first page of your proposal. Information concerning reimbursement rates for meals, lodging, mileage, etc. needed for completing the PSS can be obtained from the TCNJ travel web page.
2. Question 12 on the Proposal Summary Sheet asks whether the "… application (is) based upon areas of improvement identified through formal assessment?" This question should be answered in the affirmative only if your most recent 5-year assessment recommended that you undertake upgrading or retraining.
3. There is provision for your dean’s signature on the Proposal Summary Sheet. This reflects the current State–Union Agreement which defines the Career Development process. The dean’s signature indicates that your proposal either is or is not "consistent with the expressed direction/mission and needs of the college." The PSS with the dean's signature should be scanned as a PDF and included as an attachment when you submit your proposal by email.
4. Using MS Word, complete a proposal following the Career Development Proposal Format. Since only a few disciplines are represented on the Career Development Committee, it is important that all information included in a proposal be as clear and pertinent as possible.
5. A current brochure or flyer containing specific information about the proposed activity should be provided as a link on your proposal or scanned and attached as a PDF file. If information is not yet available, a brochure for a past event of the same type should be submitted.
6. Your proposal should be submitted by email to cardev@tcnj.edu with “CD Proposal - Fall 2008/Spring 2009” in the subject line. Your email should have the following attachments:
a. A Proposal Summary Sheet (signed by your dean/director) in PDF format
b. A proposal (following the Proposal Format) in MS Word
c. A brochure or flyer for the activity for which Career Development funding is requested, scanned in PDF format. If a paper version of the brochure is not available to be scanned, a link to a website describing the activity should be included as part of the proposal.
Proposals must be submitted in electronic form to cardev@tcnj.edu on or before Wednesay, October 8 at noon.
Proposals received after the deadline cannot be considered. Receipt of your proposal will be acknowledged by email.
Proposal Review and Approval Process:
1. Based on the nature of a proposal and/or the number of proposals qualifying for support, either full or partial funding may be recommended by the CDC, or a proposal may not be recommended for any funding based on the criteria described above.
2. The CD committee will meet shortly after the RFP due-date to review proposals and make funding recommendations to the Provost. You will receive notification from the committee concerning its recommendation about your proposal, but official approval is made by the college President. You will receive written notification of the President’s decision from the Office of Academic Affairs.
3. Applicants should not make any commitments relative to their proposal until officially notified in writing by the Office of Academic Affairs. The Career Development Committee's recommendation is not official approval of the activity.
Future Funding Cycles:
Typically, RFPs are circulated three times a year: in September, covering the fall and spring periods, January, covering the spring and summer periods, and April, covering the summer and fall periods. Distribution of the RFP is via e-mail to all AFT unit members.
Retroactive Funding:
If the committee feels an activity completed since the last funding cycle is consonant with the career development guidelines and money is available, either partial or full funding will be recommended to the Provost. To request retroactive funding, please submit a Career Development proposal when the RFP is issued for the next funding cycle after the activity and indicate that the funding is for an already-completed activity.
Additional Information:
More information pertaining to the Career Development process including material form the Agreement are contained on the Career Development web page at: http://www.tcnj.edu/~cardev
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me edelbach@tcnj.edu or X 2783
Revised - 09.18.2008 11:00