Colorado State University’s Commitment to Campus program and the Vice President for University Operations offer financial support to assist Administrative Professional and State Classified employees seeking professional development. (Faculty members are not eligible for this award program). Awards may be made to applicants based on merit as demonstrated by their application. Funding requests may be made in any dollar amount, limited to a total of $2,000 per individual per application. Requests may be partially funded, depending upon other requests received and/or available funds. Awards will be paid to the awardee’s department for purposes of reimbursing the cost of the professional development experience after all payments have been made and receipts are furnished. No payments for awards can be made from C2C/VPUO directly to the employee, outside vendor, or to a grant (53-fund) account. No late applications will be accepted.

AWARD BACKGROUND AND SELECTION CONSIDERATION:

Applicants may use this award to help meet professional development needs that cannot be met by their department. The proposed professional development must be related to the applicant’s current job function and duties. The fund is intended to enhance the individual’s ability to be successful and grow in their current position. Funds cannot be used to pursue different positions, lines of work or general education of personal interest.

Funds must be used directly for the professional development experience. Appropriate examples include, but are not limited to: conference registration, training, books, certification and/or licensure expenses, lodging, and transportation expenses such as mileage and airfare.

Applications will be reviewed by a volunteer panel comprised of Administrative Professional Council and Classified Personnel Council representatives. The committee will evaluate applications by considering (1) the relationship between the professional development activity and the applicant’s current work at CSU; (2) the overall benefit to the employee and the institution from the planned experience; (3) the cost of the activity; (4) the availability of funding from the applicant’s department for the activity, including whether the department will fund a portion of the cost if an award is not made for the full amount; and (5) the overall quality of the application. Award funds are transferred to the recipient’s department as cost reimbursement after the professional development activity costs have been paid and receipts are furnished. If the amount of the award is less than the amount needed, it is expected that the applicant’s department will fund the remaining portion. Applicants are required to discuss this with their supervisors before accepting an award to assure that the activity will be approved and funded. After notification of the award amount, the awardee must coordinate with their supervisor and/or their department fiscal officer to either begin the registration or other process, or arrange for reimbursement of an already-completed professional development activity.

AWARD ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

Applicants must meet the following criteria for consideration of funding:

• Be a current CSU Administrative Professional or State Classified employee in good standing; employed at part-time (50%) or greater; and employed as a CSU AP and/or SC employee for a minimum of one year as of the award application deadline.
• The professional development activity must be fully paid and/or completed during the same fiscal year as the award is approved. The applicant represents that their immediate supervisor and any necessary higher authority supports their request and will approve the necessary time off.
• Award recipients agree to provide a statement (one-page maximum) to the Award Panel within 30 days of the completion of the professional development activity, summarizing how the award contributed to their ability to meet their professional development goals. These statements, along with the recipient’s name and any photos provided, may be used to promote the award program and may appear in SOURCE, CSU Life, or other CSU announcements and publications.
• If the award recipient does not submit this summary statement, they will be ineligible to submit any future requests until this requirement is met.
• Only one award per person in a two-year period.