Faculty Travel Policy for College of BSS

(Adopted January 30, 1996)

This policy was approved by the BSS College Council on December 12, 1995. It is a revision of earlier BSS travel policies approved on October 23, 1990, September 15, 1981, and April 9, 1975. The purpose of the school travel policy is (1) to provide funding that will encourage faculty members to take part in the meetings of their professional associations through delivering papers, serving on panels, and serving on committees, (2) to encourage appropriate representation of the college in CSU activities, (3) to insure availability of travel funds throughout the academic year, and (4) to establish equitable priorities in the support of professionally required travel.

I. General Policies and Procedures

The following policies and procedures apply to all travel for professional development.

A. The following schedule shall be maintained for the commitment of funds:
July 1st - October 15th..........................50% of total
October 16th - December 31st.............25% of total
January 1st - June 30th........................25% of total.

The purpose of this deadline is to reserve some travel funds for those faculty members who do not have sufficient information to file an early application.

B. The deadlines for submitting applications (as indicated above) will be publicized early enough so that all faculty members can be apprised of the deadlines for submitting applications.

C. Although there are three deadlines for the above periods, applicants are urged to apply as soon as they know that they are likely to be participating in a professional meeting. For example, if a faculty member knows prior to July 1st that she/he will be presenting a paper in December, the applicant should apply at that time rather than wait until the deadline closet to the time of travel.

D. However, prior to the payment of college funds, the faculty member shall submit to the school office a letter indicating that the paper has been accepted or other appropriate demonstration of the proposed activity. Faculty members must often apply for travel funds before their papers are accepted. In these instances, a provisional allocation may be made when acceptance is pending.

E. Faculty members whose proposals are accepted will receive payment only for transportation and only at the lowest cost airfare available for their destination at the time reservations are made, provided that reservations are made at least 21 days in advance of travel. Less than full payment may be made to faculty who submit proposals in the Spring semester in order to maximize the breadth of distribution of BSS travel funds. If staying an extra day would result in a substantially lower airfare, faculty are encouraged to do this; in such cases, the faculty member shall receive a per diem reimbursement for the extra day.

F. Priority for acceptance is as follows:

1. Persons presenting research papers or major addresses.
2. Discussants, officers of an association, and committee members.
3. Chair or moderator of a panel or sessions whose duties involve nothing more than introducing other panel members.

Exceptions are to be considered in consultation between the Dean's Office and the Department Chair or Program Director on a case-by-case basis.

G. Since the availability of funds will be publicized and the deadlines will be announced in advance, the distribution of funds will generally be on a first-come, first-funded basis.

H. Eligibility: Generally, funding priority is given to tenured and tenure-track faculty. Exceptions are to be considered in consultation between the Dean's Office and the Department/Program Chair/Director on a case-by-case basis.

I. Any honorarium or other compensation received shall be deducted from the faculty member's allocation.

J. In order to extend travel support to the largest number of faculty members, the college ordinarily shall not pay registration fees, per diem expenses (except as in section E above), or ground transportation costs. Departments are encouraged to consider developing policies for payment of such costs, especially for junior faculty.

K. The Travel Committee shall meet annually to review this policy.

II. Types of Travel Eligible for Funding:

A. Travel by Dean's and department chairs/program directors to CSU-wide meetings, provided that all such meetings are directly related to their administrative representatives to CSU-wide advisory groups such as the Social Science Research and Instructional Council.

B. Fieldwork travel undertaken in connection with supervision courses.

C. Professional Development and Services.

1. Travel to deliver papers reporting on research, deliver other addresses, participate in panels discussing professional issues and concerns, or participate in the governance of professional associations by serving on committees.

2. The purpose of funding such travel is to encourage scholarly activity as described in the University's retention and tenure and promotions policies. Ordinarily, such travel will be to the annual meetings of the major associations for each discipline (- e.g., American Anthropology Association, American Economics Association, Association, University and College Labor Education Association, American Political Science Association, American Psychological Association, American Society for Public Administration, American Sociological Association); specialized societies that meet separately from the disciplinary association (e.g., International Congress of Americanists, Medieval Academy of the Pacific, Organization of American Historians, Society for Research in Child Development); regional associations (e.g., Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, American Historical Association - Pacific Coast Branch, Western Political Science Association, Pacific Sociological Association); interdisciplinary associations (e.g., Southwest Labor Studies Association, American Studies Association, National Women Studies Association); and similar bodies (e.g., Western Association of Women Historians, National Association of Black Psychologists) that exist for the purpose of promoting scholarship. The list of particular associations and societies in this section is not intended to be limiting but only illustrative of the types of professional meetings intended in this category of travel.

3. In the event that a faculty member seeks travel funds to attend a meeting that does not fit into one of these categories, the faculty member should provide a description of the meeting (the sponsors, the purpose, etc.) so that the dean's in consultation with the appropriate chairs/program directors may make an informed decision on the application.

4. Professional development also includes travel to meetings or symposia intended to provide professional training. Faculty members proposing such travel must indicate clearly the purpose of the development activity and its direct and significant relation to the faculty member's teaching responsibilities. Whenever possible, faculty members should first seek to fund such activities through other sources, e.g., the Research and Professional Development Allocation Committee.

5. For travel related to research rather than the presentation of research findings or professional service. Faculty members should seek funding elsewhere, either on campus from the Research and Professional Development Allocation Committee or from outside funding agencies such as the American Council of Learned Societies or the Social Science Research Council.

III. Policies Specific to Out-of State Travel

A. Faculty are ordinarily limited to one out-of State travel grant per academic year from the College of BSS; if additional funds are available after all faculty proposals have been reviewed. Faculty may be considered for a second out-of-state travel grant in the same academic year.

B. School funds may be used for international travel only for the presentation of a paper at a significant conference; it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide full information regarding the significance of the conference, the process by which papers were selected for inclusion on the program, and the relevance of conference participation for his/her teaching scholarship. Full funding of international travel cost will not usually be provided; in most cases, funding will be limited to the equivalent of airfare to New York City. Exceptions are to be considered in consultation between the Dean's Office and the Department/Director on a case-by-case basis.

IV. Procedure

A. The College shall develop a revised travel application form, and shall make it available on-line as well as in hard-copy form.

B. Faculty members shall fill out the application and, as necessary, attaches supporting documentation.

C. Department chair/program directors shall carefully review each application for compliance with this policy, and shall return that not in compliance to the faculty member for revision.

D. Deans shall consult with the appropriate department chair/program director in the event that an application does not include sufficient documentation or is out of compliance with this policy.