Since 2015, The Civil Service Advisory Council (CSAC) has partnered with the Chancellor to provide  professional development funding for civil service employees at UIS. Each status CS employee employed at least 50% time may apply for funds to use toward any aspect of professional development during the award year. A call for applications is typically sent via email to all CS employees early in the fall semester. The Professional Development Applications will be reviewed and granted by members of your elected Civil Service Advisory Council.

The Civil Service Advisory Council (CSAC) is pleased to announce that FY2024 funding has been made available to assist Civil Service Employees (CS) at UIS with professional development. Each status CS employee employed at least 50% time may apply for up to $1,200 to use toward any aspect of past or future professional development occurring during the 2024 fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024). Examples include subscriptions to journals, conference and meeting registration, conference travel, workshops, and online training materials. To apply for funding please complete and submit the UIS Civil Service Application for Funding for Professional Development.

Applications should be submitted through the online application form, which can be accessed at: https://go.uis.edu/CSACProfessionalDevelopment. Applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 30, 2023.  If you have questions, please contact Aaron Stewart at csac@uis.edu. 

Prior to submitting your application, please carefully read the guidelines and instructions below.  Applications must be submitted and approved by supervisors by 5:00 p.m., Thursday, November 30, 2023.

Eligibility and Application Process

  • All UIS Civil Service status employees, employed at least 50%, are eligible for funding.
  • Only one request will be granted per person per fiscal year.
  • Award recipients will be required to submit a brief report about their activity and how it was of value to their position, department, and the University as a whole. Employees who fail to provide a report by July 30, 2024 will be ineligible for funding in future years.
  • In most cases, maximum funding is $1,000 per person. However, if you apply for travel to a conference for which the registration fee is $600 or greater (but ONLY if the registration fee is $600 or greater), you may request up to $1,200 from this program. It is anticipated funding will be awarded in various amounts.
  • A supervisor and unit financial manager must sign off, through the online application, on the relevance of the proposed activity to an employee’s professional responsibilities and development.  Supervisors are welcome to submit a support statement for documentation within the application.
  • Cost sharing is not required. However, if a unit is able to provide any level of funding toward the activity, it should be indicated on the application.
  • Professional development activities may be eligible for retroactive funding. The professional development must occur after July 1, 2023.  If applying for retroactive funding, please provide the total cost of the professional development, the date of the expense incurred, and the amount you are seeking to have CSAC fund, which may be less than the total cost. 

Completing the Application

  • The UIS Civil Service Application for Funding for Professional Development can be accessed at: https://go.uis.edu/CSACProfessionalDevelopment.
  • One application is allowed per person.
  • Applications must be fully completed and submitted electronically.
  • Applications requesting a travel award must contain a detailed budget. 
  • All applications must be submitted online by the applicant. 
  • An applicant’s supervisor must also approve the online application.
  • If applicable, your supervisor may add a brief statement regarding the relevance of the proposed activity to your profession and your unit.

Submitting the Application

Evaluation of the Application

  • In general, applications will be evaluated based on the description of the activity and the statement of relevance. Please keep in mind that the Professional Development Committee can only base funding decisions on the information provided in your application. Statements are required to be a minimum of 1600 characters to provide the committee with enough information to make an informed decision.
  • We anticipate making a combination of awards at various levels of funding.
  • Should members of the Professional Development committee apply for funding, they will not be allowed to evaluate, review, be witness to the consideration of, or vote on their application.

Award Recipients

  • Funding decisions should be announced no later than Friday, December 8, 2023.
  • Reimbursements or charges should occur no later than June 1, 2024.
  • Individuals receiving awards will be given instructions on collecting their funding.
  • Funding will be reimbursed to a state account in the individual’s unit. Detailed instructions will be included with the award announcements.
  • Award recipients are required to submit a brief (one-page maximum) report about their activity. The report must be submitted to the csac@uis.edu within two weeks after the activity has been completed. This report is crucial for CSAC to justify future requests for professional development funds. Failure to do so will result in the employee being ineligible for future funding.
  • Award recipients that use their funds for a subscription must provide a report on how the subscription has impacted their ability to better the mission of the University no later than July 30, 2024.
  • For various reasons, individuals occasionally need to decline an award once it is made. If an awardee must decline an award, he or she should contact the CSAC Professional Development Committee, at csac@uis.edu as soon as possible so the award can be reallocated. Failure to do so will result in the employee being ineligible for future funding. Awards will be reallocated only among the applicants in the initial pool. No new applications will be considered beyond the initial deadline date unless a secondary application window is opened by the Committee.

Deadline for Supervisors to approve the applications is 5:00 p.m., Thursday, November 30, 2023.