Southern Adventist University offers a professional growth allowance to each full-time and part-time (prorated) faculty member in order to enhance the professor’s effectiveness as a teacher and/or a researcher. Adjunct faculty members are excluded from this policy. The allowance amount varies depending on the rank of the faculty but is not to exceed the amount that appears in the yearly employment agreement. The amounts are based on the monthly wage factor per the schedule below.
Percentage of Monthly Wage Factor
Full professor 66.67%
Associate professor 53.33%
Assistant professor 40.00%
Instructor 26.67%
Approval by the faculty member’s school dean/department chair is required. If the expense report is
for a school dean/department chair, approval must be by the vice president for Academic Administration. Approval of the professional growth allowance is based on its appropriate use, as defined in the sections below, and on approval of the faculty member’s professional development plans as outlined in the professor’s Professional Portfolio (see sections pertaining to academic rank and employment status) and/or PDO or equivalent if required by the school or department.
Books, materials, or equipment purchased by the professor with his or her professional development allowance become the property of the professor at the conclusion of the contract year in which they are paid in full.
Generally acceptable uses of the professional development allowance include, but are not necessarily limited to the following expense categories:
Category 1: Professional Memberships. Membership in professional organizations or associations. Faculty members are encouraged to maintain membership in at least one
professional organization related to their field of expertise and teaching assignment.
Category 2: Professional Meetings. Costs of attendance and travel to and from meetings of professional organizations or educational and professional growth seminars related to the faculty member’s area of expertise. These costs would include transportation, registration fees, lodging, and per
Category 3: Professional Publications: Professional journals, magazine, newspaper subscriptions that are specifically related to the faculty member’s professional
Category 4: Reference Resources. Trade books, reference manuals, and other resource volumes, which specifically relate to the faculty member’s area of expertise and are necessary in order to keep current in the professor’s field of teaching and/or
Category 5: Academic Courses. Academic courses not offered on our
Category 6: Productivity Equipment/Electronics. Electronic and other devices that enhance teaching or research productivity. This includes but is not limited to notebook/laptop computers, PDAs, or other devices. Electronic devices (and some other tangible items) are considered “Mixed Use” purchases unless they are: 1) Permanently located on campus, and 2) declared property of the university. Otherwise, all electronic equipment or any other devices are the property of the employee and the value of the equipment is taxable to the employee at the time of
Category 7: Other. (A rationale is required for items that fall in this category.)
Purchases for Categories 1-5
Reimbursement requests from categories 1-5 for purchases on a corporate credit card do not require submission of an additional form. However, the category numbers as delineated in the Professional Growth Allowance policy, must be entered into the transaction summary section on the credit card website. Request for reimbursement of purchases made using a personal credit card or cash require submission of the “Professional Growth Report- Expense and Declaration” form with proof of purchase attached (i.e., copies of receipts).
Purchases for Categories 6-7
Requests for reimbursement of purchases made from Categories 6 and 7 for purchases made on a corporate credit card, personal credit card or cash, must be submitted using the “Professional Growth Report – Expense and Declaration” form and be accompanied with proof of purchase (i.e., copies of receipts).
Even if reimbursement is not required, purchases made from Categories 6 and 7 must be declared (by submitting the “Professional Growth Report – Expense and Declaration” form) in order for Accounting to appropriately track “Mixed Use” items.