As you plan your calendars please remember the following guidelines:
- When traveling off campus, provide your department chair and the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs with a schedule of away dates and contact information.
- The total number of days away from campus for any given semester should not exceed three weeks total. Absences from teaching that exceed two consecutive weeks’ worth of teaching days should be discussed in advance with the department chair and the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs.
- All lessons missed for professional reasons must be made up by the professor before the end of the semester.
- Performance faculty members are expected to be present for all audition days. All permissions for audition day absences must be obtained from the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs before June 1 of the previous academic year. Once approval is received, faculty members are responsible for communicating these absences in writing to Colby Carson, Director of Admissions, before June 30 (to meet application print deadlines).
- If you are traveling internationally, or you are sponsoring a class, ensemble, or program involving international travel please visit the Online Travel Registry to complete the proper forms.
ALL requests by faculty to use the following streams of funding should be reviewed BEFORE the expense/event occurs. Please see below for details on each of these specific types of funding.
If you have questions about travel or reimbursement processes, please reference the Business Expense and Travel Reimbursements (BETR) policy or reach out to the ESM Finance office for assistance.
Full-time faculty are allocated $1,300 each in support of experiences that will enhance their emerging careers and support their continuing status in the profession. All expenses require approval BEFORE any funding is utilized. Expenses that occur prior to approval being obtained may not be approved for reimbursement.
These expenses may include, but are not limited to:
- Registration, travel, and lodging expenses for conferences and performances
- Books and materials to be used for research and professional development
- Advanced travel for conferences and performances
Expenses related to services performed by another person/company, guest artists, technology/office supplies, or others not included on the above list will require additional information to obtain approval.
Approval requests must be sent to academicaffairs@esm.rochester.edu BEFORE any expense is incurred. To avoid delays, please do NOT send requests directly to the Associate Dean. Plan in advance, allowing at least 1-week for review of requests.
Requests need to include all the following information:
- Faculty Name
- Description of expense, including purpose/justification
- Expected Cost (as precise as possible)
- Anticipated Date of Purchase/Payment
- Date of Event/Travel, if applicable
- Method of Purchase: Personal payment (credit card, cash, etc.), Department PCard, SPA/F2 Advance travel, University payment to individual/company
Please remember that whenever possible, expenses should be paid via University mechanisms directly (PCard, SIR, Requisition, travel agency) instead of individuals outlaying payment themselves. This is for the benefit of both University and employee. Personal reimbursement is to be considered a last resort and reserved primarily for travel: particularly for hotels, meals, and ground transportation. Travel by air is to be reserved via University travel agencies as detailed on the BETR webpage. All travel, regardless of mode of transportation, is recommended to have pre-approval. As a reminder, Eastman practice is to provide reimbursement with itemized receipt, not per diem allotments, for accommodations and meals. Consult the BETR policy for further information on University finance rules.
For faculty with supplementary funding outlined in their contract, this process will also be followed. If you have funding specifically budgeted for guest artists, we encourage you to ensure that the guest is eligible be paid before a commitment is made and to obtain pre-approval. The payment of honorariums and arranging and/or reimbursement of travel for department guests (non-employees) is performed by the department coordinator in consultation with our office and Finance.
Professional Development Committee
The Professional Development Committee was designed to provide both full-time and part-time faculty with access to support for professional development that is related to their teaching at Eastman. For full-time faculty, the PDC funding will be supplemental to individual funds, and you must first provide evidence that you have previously spent (or committed) those individual funds within the same academic year to be considered for this additional money. For part-time faculty, the PDC is a primary source of support, and these faculty should clarify in the application how the requested funding connects to their assignment at Eastman. The Professional Development committee also reviews requests from students for funding in two categories of individual support and funding for chamber music groups.
For 2022-23, the PDC funds are available to faculty at a maximum request of $1,000. Student requests will be funded at a maximum of $400 per student. Applications for the PDC must include an endorsement or support statement from a department chair (for faculty) or an advisor, teacher, or coach (for student requests). A department chair making a request does not require an endorsement statement. The complete application form is available on the Academic Affairs webpage.
The PDC usually meets several times each semester to review applications. For 2022-23, the fall cycle deadlines will be November 1 and December 1. Spring deadlines will be monthly: February 1, March 1, April 1, May 1, and June 1. Those who submitted proposals will be notified of the decisions within one week after the committee meets.
When an event/experience is concluded, the University requires that the reimbursement process be completed within 60 days. It is vital that receipts are submitted immediately following the event/expense to meet this deadline. Faculty and students will submit expenses through Workday.
Departmental Funds
- Use of departmental funds should be planned in conjunction with the department chair.
- If travel is involved, the above guidelines must still be followed.
Prior to making a purchase, a faculty member should check to see if it is possible to purchase the items, services, or travel with ESM funds directly (via Requisition, SIR, PCard, travel agency, etc.). Direct payment is preferred to personal reimbursement, for the benefit of both school and employee.
For instance, airline tickets may be purchased in advance of your travel by using a SPA or F-2 form and booking your travel through the University-sponsored travel agency:
Town & Country Travel, Inc.
732 Pittsford-Victor Road, Pittsford, NY 14534, (585-381-2850)
Should a faculty member need to utilize personal funds for an expense, faculty must provide an Workday Expense Report substantiating the amount, time, and business purpose of expenses within 60 days after the expense was paid or incurred in order to receive reimbursement. For assistance with the Workday expense process, please reach out to the ESM Finance office.
To meet these requirements, individuals must properly complete a Workday Expense Report and provide documentation to substantiate the expenditures. Please note that ESM travel reimbursements are currently receipt-based (per diem is not supported by our school). The documentation must provide:
- Detailed documentation of the purchase
- If the expense involves multiple persons (example: a group meal), names for all participants need to be provided.
- Documentation of the business purpose of the purchase
- Proof of payment
Please be aware that payments to individuals or companies for services rendered are not reimbursable to faculty members. Faculty should submit invoices for direct payment to the supplier through the University finance process.
If your Eastman position entails frequent travel, please reach out to ESM Finance to discuss most efficient ways to manage expenses and reimbursements.
Revised, January 2023