Professional development reimbursement policy
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[edit] Background
The purpose of the Library and Information Science Student Association’s Professional Development Reimbursement Fund (PDRF) is to encourage students to attend conferences, workshops, and other extracurricular Library and Information Science (LIS) events, and to share
Fundable events include:
Attendance at professional or educational LIS conferences, workshops related to the field, courses related to LIS not taken at Simmons, membership fees to professional LIS societies (i.e. American Library Association, Special Library Association, etc) and other similar activities. LISSA will assist students who are interested in broadening their educational experiences but are limited by financial constraints. In many cases, students will not be able to rely solely on the PDRF to cover all of their expenses; students are thus encouraged to look for other sources of funding as well.
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[edit] How It Works
The process is broken down into three steps:
- Submit a Proposal for Professional Development Money (Form A); LISSA notifies you of your Reimbursement Amount
- Attend Your Event
- Submit Receipts from Your Event and Get Reimbursed (Form B)
Important Facts to Note:
- You are eligible for funding up to $300 per fiscal year, which runs from July 1st - June 30th (thus, not on a semesterly basis).
- You will not receive ANY money until after you attend your event and submit your Form B
- If you received the full $300 for an event in a previous semester, you are ineligible for funding for the rest of the fiscal year.
- If you only received partial funding from a previous semester (in the same fiscal year), you are eligible for the remainder of the $300. For example, in Summer 07 you received $80 for professional memberships. You notice you'd like to attend a conference in Spring 08; you would be eligible for up to $220. ($300 total - $80 summer = $220 remainder).
[edit] Submitting Form A
Each semester a call goes out to students to apply for Professional Development Reimbursement for that semester. The deadline for student submission will be announced at that time. The semesters run from the following dates:
- Fall: Sept 1 - Jan 30th
- Spring: Feb 1 - June 30th
- Summer: July 1 - Aug 30th
Unless you are asking for reimbursement from a previous semester, please do not request funds for a semester after current one. For example, in the Fall semester, students should limit their professional development requests for only events happening between Sept 1 and January 30th. Annual memberships are an obvious exception in that the "event" lasts one full year. If you would like to submit a request for an event you attended in a previous semesters, you may do so, but note that your request will be considered only after current semester requests are fulfilled.
Students are asked to fill out Form A (below) to indicate their interest in attending an event, joining a membership organization, etc. Students must do research and submit preliminary information on the amount of money to be spent on the event. This includes:
- transportation information (bus, train, plane, car)
- accomodations (hotel)
- membership fees
- event registration
Please note: If you submit a Form A without the above information, it will be sent back for further documentation. If it is past the deadline, it will not be considered. (Please act as you would if this were an on-the-job request for Professional Development). Documentation can come in the form of preliminary transportation schedules, preliminary accommodation information membership and/or registration information (and links to those pages if online). You do not need to show purchase receipts yet, but please remember not to request more money than you need, as this will result in less money to go around for everyone.
Filing your request: Please submit your requests to the current LISSA treasurer via email (lissatreasurer@simmons.edu) or you can leave them in the LISSA Treasurer folder in the filing cabinet in the Student Lounge. (Email is preferred!) The deadline for request submission for each semester is announced at the beginning of that particular semester by email'.
Now what? Waiting:After you submit Form A, the treasurer will gather all of the requests and run them by the LISSA board for approval. Afterward, the treasurer will calculate how much money each student will receive toward their request. This amount is based on the number of requests, and the amount of money available in the Professional Development Fund. In some cases, students may only receive a percentage of the amount they requested. You will be notified of the amount of money rewarded a week after all requests are due.
[edit] Attending Your Event
When you attend your event, please remember to keep all necessary receipts and documentation. If you pay by cash, get a receipt. This includes:
- receipt of accomodations
- receipt of transportation (train, plane, bus, auto)
- membership or event registration receipt
Note: This does not include food, drink, memorabilia, or non LIS-related extracurriculars.
[edit] Submitting Form B
When you return from your event, please submit Form B (below) with all original documentation. In the case of electronic receipts, just print out the confirmation email, showing a check or credit card number and deduction. If there is no confirmation email or it does not contain this information, you must submit a copy of bank statement which shows you paid for the item. Because all Form B's include original documentation, they may only be submitted in paper. In addition, students are asked to also post their experience to the LISSA message board as a way to share knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm with one another.
For those on the Boston campus, please drop them in the LISSA Treasurer folder located in the file cabinets in the student lounge. For those at GSLIS West, please mail them to:
Simmons College GSLIS
c/o LISSA Treasurer
300 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02115
Upon receiving your Form B, the LISSA treasurer double checks the numbers and makes sure all the documentation is included. If everything is in place, it is sent to GSLIS Accounts Payable and then on to Simmons Accounts Payable. This process will take at least 10 business days. If you have not received reimbursement (either via your Student Folder or by mail) after 15 business days, please contact the LISSA treasurer.
[edit] Related Files
- Prof. Development Policy -- Please read before filling out Prof. Dev. Forms
The following PDFs are editable, so you can fill in all of information directly on the form. Simply fill it in, save it, print it or email it.
If you will be emailing your Form A, please rename with your last name and the form type, and then send them to the LISSA Treasurer at lissatreasurer@simmons.edu. Example: GieddFormA.pdf. You may also print out the forms and leave them in the LISSA Treasurer Folder in the Lounge or send them to the above noted address.
In the case of Form B, please make sure you fill in the form, attach all necessary original receipts (and/or bank statement transactions) and either leave them in the LISSA Treasurer folder in the Student Lounge, or send them to the above noted address.
(Apple Users please use Adobe Reader to open these forms available at Adobe Reader)
