Professional Activities

Professional Activities Funding

Next Deadline: Tuesday, February 11th, 2025 at 11:59 PM. 

Future deadlines for the rest of the academic year are listed at the bottom of this page. 

Professional activities (short-term leave) funding assists faculty in attending and participating in professionally relevant conferences, workshops, and courses (including online courses, books, and instructional materials).

Provided that funding is available, faculty members are eligible for up to $4600 every three fiscal years to cover registration fees, transportation, lodging, meals/ incidental expenses, tuition, and/or activity materials. 

You MUST submit your application to FPD via the FPD Professional Activities Application Softdoc form prior to the date the event starts for your application to be considered. We cannot award funding for past events. *The only exception to this policy is the first deadline of the Fall term, when you may submit an application for late summer events.

Please try to keep travel costs down. FPD funds are limited and we want to be able to maximize funding to benefit as many faculty as possible. At the same time, when in doubt, slightly overestimate your expenses when you apply, as you cannot be reimbursed for more than your award amount. If your expenses are less than your award amount, you will be reimbursed for the actual amount of your expenses.

Awards are made on a first-come, first-served basis depending on the availability of funding. Applications are reviewed monthly with the exception of the Summer term.

For more information about specific guidelines, please see the Guidelines page. Click here to learn more about Softdocs.

Eligibility:

Contracted faculty members are eligible for Professional Activities funds immediately upon employment. Part-time faculty members are eligible for Professional Activities funds after one year (4 terms) of employment at LCC at a .20 average annual FTE.

To Apply:

Step One: Fill out the FPD Professional Activities Application Form on Softdocs.

  • All parts are required even if the conference or course is local and does not require travel. If you have questions about completing the first part of the application, please view the short video outlining how to complete the application through question 2.
     
  • Please spell out acronyms when applicable (e.g. American Chemical Society instead of ACS) and answer questions in your own words. Please do not copy and paste from the activity's webpage. 
  • Location is the location of the event, city, and state you will travel to, Eugene if local, or online if it's virtual. 
     
  • Airfare: FPD suggests searching several sites to find a reasonable cost estimate for your flight. Don't forget to include baggage fees!
     
  • Lodging: The federal government sets per diem rates for lodging. View the per diem rates for lodging in the 48 states here. If your lodging rate exceeds the per diem amount for the event location (common), explain why in your application (e.g. staying at the conference hotel, best rate available within walking distance, etc.). If you are traveling to Alaska, Hawaii, a US territory, or Internationally, view the per diem rates here. When entering actual lodging costs, don't forget to include taxes, fees, and parking charges. 
     
  • Meals: Meals will be reimbursed based on a per diem rate. These rates are set by the federal government and vary by location, please provide the per diem rate for the location to where you will be traveling along with the number of full days and travel days. The number of full-day meals per diem is one less than the number of nights you will stay over. The number of travel day meals per diem spent traveling to and from the activity is usually two. Questions about completing the per diem section of the application may be answered in this short video, how to determine per diems and complete the application for lodging, meals, and registration.

    View the per diem rates for meals here
    • Choose the year, city, and state in which the event is happening and click "Find Rates."
    • Scroll down to find "Meals and Incidentals Breakdown."
    • Enter the "M&IE Total" number on the line on the application for "Meals per diem- full days."
    • Next, enter the number of full days as well as the number of travel days (the day you travel from home to the event location and the day you return from the event location). The form will automatically calculate the per diem amounts for both travel and non-travel days (the per diem for a travel day is 75% of a non-travel day.)
    • For international per diem rates, please use State Department rates. The per diem meal rate is the 6th column from the left and is in U.S. Dollars.
  • Mileage (privately owned vehicles): Federal government rates are also used for private auto mileage reimbursement. View the current mileage rates here. Current privately owned automobile rates can be entered into the form along with the number of miles and the total expense will be calculated. 
     
  • Ground transportation, parking, miscellaneous expenses, etc.: Be sure to include all expenses such as parking, shuttle, taxi, Uber expenses, additional conference-related materials, etc. If you are planning on using a college car, please include the anticipated cost in your application. Note: FPD is not able to pre-pay for rental cars. However, we can reimburse you upon your return.
  • Additional comments section: please include answers to questions the committee may have, such as why the number of nights for lodging does not match the duration of the event, etc. 
     
  • Questions about the remaining parts of the application may be answered in this short video: how to complete the rest of the application from auto miles through miscellaneous.

Step Two: Include a webpage link, brochure, or other form of documentation about the activity

If a link is not available, attach a brochure/relevant information documentation about the activity for the committee's review. Do not upload receipts to the application. The application is an estimation of expenses and is reviewed by the Professional Activities Committee for approval. If approved, a Reimbursement Request form will need to be submitted with receipts attached for reimbursement.

Be sure to include all potential expenses, lodging taxes, fees, parking, baggage fees, mileage, shuttle, Uber/taxi costs. The amount requested/approved is the maximum amount that can be reimbursed so we recommend that you overestimate rather than not request enough to cover actual expenses. 

Step Three: Submit your application.

Your application will be sent to the FPD admin, Monica Hancock, for review of completeness, accuracy of per diem amounts/days, etc. If additional information or edits are needed for the committee to review and approve your request the form may be returned to you for edits.

Once the applicationis accepted and approved you will receive an email from Etrieve that the application was approved. This is not an approval of funds, but rather an acceptance of the form/application. Etrieve will store a copy of your application in the Activity tab. You can also download the application form and save it for your records.

Remember to submit your application BEFORE the conference, workshop, or course begins. The only exception to this policy is for events that take place late summer through early fall prior to the first committee meeting of the academic year.

If you have any questions or would like assistance completing an FPD form please contact Monica Hancock at x5111 or fpd@lanecc.edu.

Application status: 

After the application deadline, applications will be reviewed by the Professional Activities Committee and Brooke Taylor, FPD Coordinator. Within two weeks of the posted application deadline (see schedule at the bottom of this page) you will either receive an email from Brooke Taylor (taylorb@lanecc.edu) with additional questions, or you will receive an email from "Brooke Taylor via Smartsheet" with Professional Activities Award in the subject line with information about your application status. If you do not receive any communication from Brooke Taylor within the two-week window please contact Monica Hancock at x5111 or fpd@lacecc.edu. 

Reimbursement

Within one week after the completion of the event, you will need to submit an FPD Professional Activities Reimbursement Request form in Etrieve. Many of the expenses will be the same as those listed in your application. You can view a copy of your original application in the Activity tab of the Softdocs form.

College Finance requires that reimbursements be paid in the same fiscal year as the activity. Please do not delay the request for reimbursement, especially when the event is near the end of the fiscal year which is June 30. 

Please Note:
Email confirmations of reservations, mobile snapshots, or bank charges are not considered valid proof of payment. College Finance requires a detailed receipt, invoice, folio, or vendor email showing a zero balance (0.00) or an amount paid. Requests lacking eligible proof will be returned, which will delay reimbursement.

Receipts/proof of payment are not required for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) and mileage which are reimbursed at federal rates. Proof of payment for actual expenses listed on the request form must be uploaded to the form. If you don't have an electronic copy of a receipt, take a photo and upload the photo to the receipt. Receipts/proof of payment should include your name, the date, the amount paid, balance of $0.00, etc.

If you have any questions or would like assistance completing an FPD form please contact Monica Hancock at x5111 or fpd@lanecc.edu.

For reimbursement in advance:

Reimbursement prior to the activity is not possible if the activity/reimbursement request takes place within two weeks of the approval date. 

If your activity date is eligible and you requested reimbursement in advance on your application:

Once you receive an approval email with the subject "Professional Activities Award" from Brooke Taylor via Smartsheet you will also receive an email with the subject "Instructions for Requesting Reimbursement in Advance". You can submit an FPD Reimbursement Request form in advance of the activity for expenses such as airfare and event registration.

If you have expenses that cannot be reimbursed in advance such as meal per diem (M&IE), mileage, parking, ground transportation (Uber, Lyft, taxis), and lodging you will also need to submit a second FPD Reimbursement Request form within one week of activity completion.​​​​​​

If you have expenses to be reimbursed both before and after an activity, please submit two separate reimbursement forms.  

First Reimbursement Form (Pre-Activity):
Submit this form before the event (at your earliest convenience). It should include the following:

  • Eligible expenses for advance reimbursement (e.g., airfare, registration fees).
  • Total amount pre-approved by FPD (as indicated in your award email).
  • Total reimbursement due for actual expenses incurred pre-activity.
  • Detailed receipts from vendors, showing the vendor name, purchase date, amount paid, or a zero balance (0.00).
  • Proof of activity (e.g., registration confirmation & receipt and activity link), required for review by College Finance.

Second Reimbursement Form (Post-Activity):
Submit this form, if needed, for expenses that cannot be reimbursed in advance (e.g., lodging, parking, mileage, meals and incidental expenses, Uber/taxi). Please submit within one week of completing the activity. Include the following:

  • All activity expenses, including those already reimbursed in advance.
  • Total amount pre-approved by FPD (as indicated in your award email).
  • Amount already reimbursed 
  • Total reimbursement due (total activity expenses minus the amount already reimbursed or paid by department or FPD).
  • Detailed, itemized receipts from vendors for all unreimbursed expenses, showing the vendor name, purchase date, amount paid, or a zero balance (0.00).
  • Proof of activity (e.g., registration confirmation or activity link), required for College Finance review.

Please Note:
Email confirmations of reservations, mobile snapshots, or bank charges are not considered valid proof of payment. College Finance requires a detailed receipt, invoice, folio, or vendor email showing a zero balance (0.00) or an amount paid. Requests lacking eligible proof will be returned, which will delay reimbursement.

If you have any questions or would like assistance completing an FPD form please contact Monica Hancock at x5111 or fpd@lanecc.edu. 

Optional: A new form to check your Professional Activities account balance. 

This form provides a read-only overview of awarded professional activity funds for the current and previous two years. Please note that account balances are not updated in real-time. We recommend that you keep track of your balance. If you are approved for funds that you do not use please email Monica Hancock at fpd@lanecc.edu know so it can be returned to your balance. Professional activity balances are updated at the beginning of each term.

Please note that this is a theoretical account balance. Awards are made on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on the availability of funding.


 

Deadlines and Meeting Dates (2024-25)

Submission Deadlines: (at 11:59 pm) Approval dates/Committee Meetings:
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 week of November 4-8
Tuesday, November 26, 2024 week of December 2-6
Tuesday, January 14, 2025 week of January 20-24
Tuesday, February 11, 2025 week of February 17-21
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 week of March 17-21
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 week of April 14-18
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 week of May 12-16

Tuesday, June 3, 2025*

*Please note this is the last day to turn in applications for summer activities for advance approval.

week of June 9-13

How the Professional Activities Fund Works:

Your Professional Activities Fund doesn't replenish once every three years. Instead, it replenishes once a year on July 1 in the amount that you spent three years earlier.

If you need more guidance: You are welcome to email Monica Hancock at fpd@lanecc.edu or Brooke Taylor at taylorb@lanecc.edu for advice or instructions. You may also find the how-to videos useful: