Professional Development

Please note that as part of the budget restraint required to address the financial pressures the University is facing, along with the rest of the sector, there will not an application round this year (2024/2025) for staff to draw on the Individual Development Fund.

However, applicants who were successful for a course last year, which continues beyond this will continue to receive funding to help cover their commitment. In addition, there are the wide suite of courses available through Central Short Courses which may help meet your learning needs. The future of the fund will be reviewed next year in the light of progress on financial recovery.


Individual Development Fund

The Individual Development Fund is designed to financially assist all members of staff undertaking vocationally relevant courses/qualifications where no equivalent internal provision is available.

Criteria for Funding

Please read these criteria carefully, as your application for funding will be assessed against them. Your application will need to meet all of these criteria to be considered by the IDF panel.

  • Vocational relevance - the course/qualification must be related to your current role in the University.  You must demonstrate that the knowledge and skills you gain from the course/qualification will assist in helping you successfully carry out your role. The application form requires you to specifically identify these job-related gains
  • External courses - you must show that the course/qualification is not available internally
  • Level of course/qualification - as long as the course/qualification is vocationally relevant, then there is no bar on applying for funding for degrees/higher degrees
Woman filling in application form
 
  • Support from your line manager - it is important that you have support for the planned activity from your line manager who agrees that there is a job related gain and is prepared, where appropriate, to ensure that you are given the time to attend the activity - the application form requires line manager input
  • Details of proposed activity - in your application you must supply full details of the activity you are planning to attend.  This must include evidence of the cost of the course/qualification
  • Use of funding - your application should only make a claim for course fees and examination fees - claims for travel expenses study materials etc will not be considered
  • Period for funding - claims for funding can only be made in within the academic year of your studies taking place.

Exclusions

Any activity that would normally be funded by a School/Department is excluded from this funding.  It will be the judgement of the IDF panel about which applications fall into this category.

  • Applications for funding to attend conferences will normally be rejected unless they are part of a wider developmental activity.
  • Applications for funding for activities which exclusively result in only personal development will not be considered
  • Applications for funding which relate to internal charges made for IT courses and certain Professional Development (PD) accredited courses - such nominal charges should be met from School/Department budgets

Priorities for Funding where Applications Exceed Budget

In exceptional circumstances, where applications to the fund exceed available budget, grant decisions will be taken in the following order.  Any applicant, who is rejected on this basis, will be encouraged to apply to the next round of funding.

  1. Funding for staff that are already on a funded programme of study which is longer than one academic year
  2. Applications from members of staff who fall into the O&F, APM, Technical Services job families
  3. The date order in which the remaining applications were received

Funding Formula

If approved, a maximum of £500 will be contributed towards the cost of a course/qualification per academic year.

For courses longer than one academic year in duration, the full cost must be broken down into an annual cost.  HR will contact applicants on an annual basis to confirm the cost of the subsequent year and that they intend to carry on with their studies. There is no need to re-apply to the fund for continuation of funding.

Note: Any member of staff, who receives funding and leaves the University within one year of completing the funded activity, will be expected to pay back the amount of funding granted.

Process for Application

  • All members of staff may apply for a contribution towards the cost of fees on external and internal courses/qualifications (please note exclusions).
  • The support of the School/Department will be required for each applicant using the Line Manager Approval Form.
  • You must make your application using the Individual Development Fund Application Form.
  • The Individual Development Fund Panel will decide whether to fund an application.
  • The closing date for applications is normally 30 September each year. 
  • Applications which miss a closing date will be returned to the applicant and will have to be re-submitted for another panel.
  • The panel will meet one week after the closing date and you will be informed of the panel's decision within two weeks of this meeting.

How to claim funding if successful:

  • If you are studying with the University the funding will be paid directly into your student account
  • If you are studying with an external provider; you will need to pay directly and provide a copy of the receipt to br-hr-finance@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk and you will then be reimbursed via payroll
  • If you are studying with an external provider, but your School/Department are paying the costs an internal transfer will be raised to credit the School

Information and Support

For further information regarding the application process, including criteria for funding, please contact the br-hr-finance@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk.

Professional Development

B12
Kings' Meadow Campus
Lenton Lane
Nottingham, NG7 2NR

telephone: +44 (0) 115 74 84800
email: pd@nottingham.ac.uk