Professional Support

Frequently Asked Questions

General Rules for Applications​

What are the minimum requirements?

Minimum Requirements:​

  1. Faculty should academically benefit from the activity ​
  2. USF should benefit from the activity​
  3. Transparency in the application documents:
    • ​Provide proof/justification for your request. Any kind of documentation that is verifiable is okay.​

Examples: ​

  • Provide quotes (estimates are okay, too) ​
  • Provide a description of the event and include a link to the event​
  • Provide an email from the librarian ​​

 

What is the time frame for the use of funds​?

USF uses the following fiscal year for accounting and budgeting purposes​

The fiscal year for 2022-23 starts July 1st, 2022, and ends on June 30th, 2023.​

The rule of the process for events that have a specific date range:​

The application must be completed;​

  1. Before the event date, AND​
  2. Before the predetermined FPDC meeting date for that cycle so that FPDC has enough time to process and decide on the application​

Applicant can use those funds till the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30th, 2023, at this time. ​

Plan ahead!​

What are commonly allowed expenses? ​

  • Support for attending a virtual conference or travel to a conference that follows the current guidelines​
  • Research support​
  • Materials for teaching activities or course development​
  • Attending training seminars for research or teaching skills​

What are disallowed expenses & some common application mistakes?

  • Application for funding retrospective (backdated) events/activities​
  • Use of FPDC funds for another activity that is not described in the original application​
  • Stipends for students ​
  • Mechanical Turk (MTurk)​
  • Giftcards ​
  • Applications without price quotes​
  • Vague applications​
  • Research-related applications that require IRB approval but without any statement about the status of the IRB approval​
  • Applications submitted very close to the date of leaving your job at USF (Evaluation can be done to determine whether USF will benefit from this activity or not)​