In-Service Training Proposal Process

In-Service Training is one of the many ways in which Extension supports professional development for staff and faculty.

• Please submit a proposal for each proposed in-service training. This includes ALL online courses and Zoom sessions.
• The current online courses will be closed on June 30, 2024 and will NOT be copied over to the next fiscal year without an approved in-service training proposal.

IN-SERVICE TRAINING PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

 

Program Area

• You will be asked to enter a Core Competency Area for the topic of your in-service on the proposal form. 
• The in-service can cover more than one area. If that is the case, all that apply can be selected on the form. 
  

Scheduling/Conflicts

• In order to be sure you do not schedule an in-service at the same time as another professional development event, please look at the Internal Calendar. As in-service training proposals are received, they will be added to this calendar in order to appropriately reflect the schedule. Click the following link to view the calendar: Internal Calendar.
• If you need to add an event to the Learn calendar that is not an in-service but could be a conflict (O’Ramas, district meetings, conferences, etc), please schedule an appointment in your calendar and add learn@uada.edu as an invited attendee. 

Class Limit

• Use of in-service training funds requires a minimum of 5 enrolled learners. A reminder will be e-mailed to instructors about enrollment approximately on month prior to the in-service date if the class is at risk of not meeting the minimum enrollment.
• If your in-service does not reach a minimum of 5 participants, you can still hold the in-service but you will need to find a source of funding for the in-service expenses other than the Extension in-service training funds.

Budget

• The approved budget total for your in-service is based on the maximum capacity of the in-service that you indicate on the budget proposal. When looking at meeting space, lodging, meals, breaks and other expenses, please use per diem rates to calculate the cost of the in-service training. The proposal form will do all of the budget calculations based on the location of your in-service.
• In-service training funds can only be used for training expenses of employees/presenters attending the in-service. DO NOT include program materials that agents would use in conducting the program with Extension audiences in your budget request.
• The Extension in-service training budget cannot pay for amounts that exceed the pre-approved per person, per day.
• Information about the maximum amounts that can be included in the submitted in-service budget proposal can be found here, along with the per diem table and a breakdown per diem rate by meal.
• Please remember these per diem rates do change so be sure to reference the website for the current rates.
• NOTE: If you know what the actual lodging rates and/or meal costs for the location and food service that you will be using for the in-service and they are less than the maximum per diem (e.g., the 4-H Center), use those actual amounts when you submit your in-service budget.
• The amount set by Extension for breaks per person per day is $4.25.

Meeting Space/Supplies

• If the in-service location changes throughout the planning process, please notify Ashley Henderson immediately. This information will need to be updated in Learn.uada.edu and the in-service calendar. An announcement will need to be made by the lead instructor to all current enrolled participants notifying them of the change.
• The in-service lead instructor is responsible for reserving space and arranging payment for in-service training. Please remember rooms in the State Office fill up quickly so you should reserve your space immediately. There is a large external audience that requests use of our educational facility space so making the reservation sooner will prevent you from not having the space you need. 
• Cost of meeting space should be included in the budget. There is a cost for using meeting/training space in the Education Wing of the State Office. The pricing per room is subject to change but is currently the following:

Internal Rates	Auditorium		Classrooms (each)		Computer Laboratory
	Mon-Fri	Weekend*/ Holiday	Mon-Fri	Weekend*/ Holiday
Half Day**	$ 15.00	$ 50.00	$ 10.00	$ 25.00
Full Day	$ 30.00	$ 75.00	$ 20.00	$ 50.00	$ 75.00
* On weekend/holiday, faculty or staff are responsible for opening and closing the building. ** A half day ends or begins at noon.  An evening program is considered a half day.

• In addition to meals, breaks and lodging charges at the 4-H Center, there is also a per person daily charge for continuous beverage service and a per person daily CES facility use fee. These rates will be available on the proposal form.
• Some locations have set up direct billing with CES. If you need assistance in finding out if your location is set up for direct billing, ask your county/department administrative support person or contact Office of Finance.
• In-service training funds can only be used for training expenses of employees/presenters attending the in-service. DO NOT include program materials that agents or others would use in conducting the program with Extension audiences in your budget request.
• Supply costs are approved on a per person basis. While planning, please make sure that you do not over-spend. Extension in-service training funds cannot cover supply costs that exceed the pre-approved per person cost that was included in the budget proposal unless there are unspent funds due to overestimated costs in another area. The total budget per person must remain at or below the budgeted amount.

Meals

• The number/cost of meals approved in your budget is the maximum, per person cost that the Extension in-service training budget will pay.
• If your proposal included the cost of dinners/breakfast for participants, please make sure that they are aware prior to the in-service, whether or not meals are being provided or that they will be responsible for their own meals. If meals are provided for the in-service and participants choose to eat meals elsewhere, let them know that they will not be reimbursed for those meals.
• Dinners/breakfast can only be paid for by the Extension in-service training budget funds for those that have an overnight stay and qualify according to the Extension travel Link to CES travel policies: https://uada.edu/employees/business-office/finance/travel.aspx

Lodging

• As the in-service lead instructor, you are responsible for either:
  • reserving and arranging payment for lodging for your in-service OR
  • letting participants know that they must make their lodging arrangements within Extension per diem
• Many hotels across the state have already set up direct billing with CES. If you need assistance in finding out if the hotel you have chosen is set up for direct billing, ask your county/department administrative support person or contact Office of Finance. In the event that you are unable to arrange payment and participants will need to pay for lodging themselves, you MUST notify them in advance.
• Participants and instructors must meet the Extension travel policy requirements in order for the Extension in-service training budget to pay for lodging. The lodging cost approved in your budget is per person, per night. The Extension in-service training funds cannot be used to pay for lodging exceeding the per diem amount.
• If you anticipate that there will be participants eligible for lodging/meals the night before, estimate the number you think might need lodging and meals the night before the in-service training. Be sure to include these numbers in the night before lodging area of the budget proposal.
• Please instruct the participants to claim any lodging they pay for out of their own pockets on their travel reimbursement forms using the in-service training Workday numbers. FY25 worktags will be released on July 1, 2024

Mileage

The Extension in-service training budget does NOT reimburse mileage for participants or instructors. Mileage expenses should be paid from the individual’s unit funds or from some other source. Make sure to share this with participants.

Other Important Notes

• The budget is set on a per person basis. This per diem per person cannot be increased because there are not as many participants enrolled as were anticipated. The Extension in-service training budget will only pay per diem rates per person based on actual enrollment and participation. For example, if the budget was set to have lunches for 30 people at $8.50 per person equaling $255.00, but only 10 people are enrolled, the cost per person for lunch cannot be increased to $25 per person because only 10 are enrolled.
• The budget must be adjusted to stay within per diem limits. If it does not stay within per diem, the instructor or person proposing the budget must find other sources to pay for the expenses outside of per diem.
• Examples of supplies or other expenses that might be included in the budget proposal would be speaker cost, transportation (if leaving the training site), training tools, visual aids, etc.
• In-service training funds can only be used for training expenses of employees/presenters attending the in-service. DO NOT include program materials that agents or others would use in conducting the program with Extension audiences in your budget request.
   

What if unforeseen training needs come up during the year?

The in-service training budget will be monitored throughout the year. Extension's Leadership Team will be notified of unexpended funds available and determine how to allocate these for additional training. If you become aware of a pressing training need, please contact your department head or district director.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

Please contact the Stacey McCullough, Assistant Vice President - Community, Professional & Economic Development at smccullough@uada.edu or 501-671-2078.