Professional Employees Association (PEA) professional development

PEA Pro-d Program Summary

Professional development includes activities that enhance a staff member’s work performance, ability or effectiveness. The university provides funding to eligible staff through two means:

1. Personal Professional Development Expense Account (PDEA) 
  • assist eligible PEA staff in meeting their professional development needs.
  • each staff member receives annually $250 to their personal PDEA account. Access to the account is through "Online tools" on the UVic Website.
  • effective July 1st, 2024, the ability to use personal Pro-D funds to purchase equipment will be discontinued. This includes computers, laptops, keyboards, headphones, tablets, storage devices, smartphones, watches, etc. Staff will be permitted to use their Pro-D expense account to purchase equipment until December 31, 2024.

The Expense Guidelines for the PDEA is a useful document to review and has been updated to reflect the recently updates to the policy.

For more information, support and FAQ's about the PDEA, please visit the Financial Services professional development website.

And;

2. Central Professional Development Fund (Central Fund) 
  • assist PEA members with funding professional development opportunities that exceed their PDEA and departmental budgets 
  • applications are required in order to receive funds with 3 deadlines throughout the year
  • applications can be submitted for any professional development request/opportunity with a start date that falls 6 months before or 6 months after the application deadlines of: 
    • January 31st,
    • May 31st, and
    • September 30th

Please see HR6420 Policy for more details.

Applying for the Central Professional Development Fund

SPRING 2024 Update | New Online Form: Complete your application via an online form for the September 30th, 2024 deadline. Applications will only be accepted by this method. Please give yourself extra time to apply and reach out to our team if you have any questions.

1. Before Applying
Are you eligible to apply for Central Funds?

The Central Fund is open to any regular, continuing PEA members at the University of Victoria, as well as term-employees who have completed 1 consecutive year of service. Employees must pass their initial probation before applying. If you are on probation for a new PEA role you have moved into, you are still eligible to apply.

Applicants DO NOT have to deplete their personal PDEA accounts to qualify/apply for the Central Fund.

What is considered an ‘eligible expense’ for Central Funds?

Expenses eligible for reimbursement are:

  • travel (including accommodation)
  • tuition
  • course or registration fees
  • other expenses for conferences, workshops, seminars, and meetings of professional organizations
  • membership fee for one (1) professional organization required by the university as part of your employment
  • expenses (e.g. books, journals, materials) linked to work duties.
How much can you apply for?
  • Minimum request is $250. You can not combine smaller requests to reach the $250 minimum 
  • Maximum for Pro-d activities at UVIC $2,000
  • Maximum for Pro-d activities external to UVIC $1,500.
What is the timeframe for eligible expenses?

Applications can be submitted for any professional development course, request or opportunity with a start date that falls 6 months before or 6 months after the application deadlines.

We do not allow applicants to 'double dip/double apply' for semesters of tuition. For example, if we approve $1500 of tuition support for summer 2024 semester, you cannot request funding in the subsequent round to 'top up' your support for fees incurred during the summer 2024 semester. 

Have you received funding in the last 12 months?

Priority will be given to staff members who have not received funding from the Central Fund during the preceding 12 months.

2. Completing the Application Form

Applications to the Central Fund are now accepted only via online form (will re-open in July for the Sept 30 deadline). This is a new process! Allow yourself extra time to navigate it.

Prepare and collect the following pieces for uploading before you complete the form: 

  1. Course, exam or workshop information – cost, start dates, course description
  2. Supporting documents about the professional development event. This may include conference brochures, budget listings, event programs, and tuition fee printouts including reading lists. 
  3. Description of your career or personal development goals
  4. Breakdown of requested costs
  5. Supervisor approval

Applications for the September 30th, 2024 deadline are currently closed. Check back in the coming weeks for access to the online form.

3. After Applying and Reimbursement

You should hear from the committee on the status of your application no later than 3 weeks after the deadline.

Use ChromeRiver to submit your claim for reimbursement. You must submit your claim six months from the application deadline date or the funding will lapse. Detailed instructions will be included in your approval letter.

Relevant Links