TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0     GENERAL POLICY STATEMENT
2.0     ELIGIBILITY
3.0     ENTITLEMENT
4.0     PROCEDURES
5.0     UNIVERSITY PROPERTY AND DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET VALUE

1.0      GENERAL POLICY STATEMENT

1.1      The University encourages Employees to pursue Professional Development activities in order to remain at the forefront of their respective disciplines. The University will reimburse the Employee for allowable Professional Development expenses that are not otherwise reimbursed by the University. This reimbursement is in addition to funds normally made available by departments for Professional Development.

2.0      ELIGIBILITY

2.1      A Continuing Employee or a Temporary Employee with a minimum contract period of one (1) year hired on or after the date of ratification/approval by both parties, is eligible for reimbursement on the next January 1 following their start date.

2.2      The reimbursement available for Professional Development will be pro-rated for a Part-time Employee in a Continuing or Temporary Position.

3.0      ENTITLEMENT

3.1      The amount of reimbursement available for Professional Development is:

3.1.1      Continuing Employees:

   Effective January 2009, $700 per calendar year;

   Effective July 1, 2019 $1,100 per calendar year.

3.1.2      Temporary Employees:

   EffectIve July 1, 2019, $550 per calendar year.

3.2      The following expenses incurred by a Continuing Employee or a Temporary Employee on their own behalf are eligible to be reimbursed:

3.2.1      Professional dues, subscriptions, journals and books,

3.2.2      Equipment, including computer hardware and software, and

3.2.3      Conference fees, including travel and associated expenses.

In regards to s. 3.3.2 above, an Employee is eligible to purchase one (1) item from the following list every three (3) years: computer (with standard peripherals—monitor, keyboard, mouse); laptop; iPad; or tablet.

An Employee is also eligible to purchase one (1) of each of these items every three (3) years: headset, microphone, webcam, keyboard, mouse, ergonomic keyboard/mouse; additional monitor.

3.3      Questions of eligibility can be clarified in advance by contacting the Learning and Development Coordinator in Human Resources.

3.4      Any reimbursement for Professional Development may be subject to Canada Revenue Agency review.

4.0      PROCEDURES

4.1      Only one Professional Development expense statement for reimbursement may be submitted in each calendar year.

4.2      For Continuing Employees, unused Professional Development funds in a calendar year may be carried forward to the next calendar year but in no case will a Continuing Employee's total entitlement be greater than:

Effective January 2014: $2,800

Effective January 2016: $3,500

Effective July 1, 2019: $5,500

On termination of employment, unused Professional Development will revert to the University.

4.3      An Employee will submit a Professional Development expense statement accompanied by original receipts to Human Resources for approval.

4.4      The approved statements of expenses and accompanying receipts will be forwarded by Human Resources to Financial Services.

5.0      UNIVERSITY PROPERTY AND DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET VALUE

5.1      All tangible goods (e.g., computer, books), or portion thereof, purchased through the Professional Development expenditures account are the property of the University. At the date that fair market value equals $0, the ownership of the tangible good is deemed to transfer to the Employee.

5.2      If the Employee retires or terminates employment as an Employee prior to the fair market value equaling $0, the Employee will have the option of purchasing these item(s) from the University at fair market value or declaring the item(s) a taxable benefit at fair market value as at the date of such retirement or termination of employment. Should the Employee choose to retain any items purchased or declared a taxable benefit under this policy upon retirement or termination of employment, a market value determination will be required.

5.3      The determination of fair market value for purchase or taxable benefit purposes, shall normally be the original purchase price if equal to the value of the reimbursement received by the Employee under this policy or portion thereof, of the capital asset less the accumulated cost of depreciation calculated using the straight-line depreciation method based on the schedule provided below as per the University’s financial statements. This method depreciates the capital asset by the same amount each year over the estimated life of the asset.

5.4      Schedule:

 Computer equipment, peripherals, software and other related technology:   3 years

 Other Equipment (if deemed applicable):   8 years

 Books:   10 years

5.5      Calculation example:

 Purchase price of capital asset:   $900 (assume 100% PD reimbursement)

 Estimated life of capital asset:   3 years

 Cost of Depreciation:   $300 per year ($900 / 3 years)

 Capital Asset owned for:   2 years

 Accumulated cost of depreciation:   $600 ($300 * 2 years)

 Deemed Fair Market Value:   $300 ($900 - $600)

5.6      The University retains the right to determine fair market value in cases where the above method is deemed not appropriate. The Department of Finance will then assist in this determination.

5.7      The determination of fair market value is applicable only if the option to purchase or taxable benefit is exercised. If not, the asset remains the property of the University and shall be returned to the Employee’s department.

5.8      A retiring or terminating Employee purchasing at fair market value or declaring a taxable benefit at fair market value is required to make their determination and submit their declaration and relevant information (with an enclosed cheque if purchasing goods) to Human Resources.