Resources for Faculty

Faculty are reviewed for advancement every 2 - 3 years depending on their rank and step.  The review consists of an assessment of academic achievement during the review period by other faculty within the department and,  depending on the action, other faculty on campus, in the areas of:

• Research and Creative Activity
• Teaching
• Professional Competence and (Clinical) Activity
• University and Public Service

Eligible faculty will be contacted a year in advance of the effective date to begin preparing materials for their file.  The Department uses Interfolio, an online collection and routing system.

From discounts on entertainment to cell phone plans, learn about the variety of benefits available to you as a UCSD employee.

Outside of Open Enrollment in November, certain life events, such as marriage or an addition to family, allow you to make changes to your benefits.  Please log into UCPath within 31 days of the life event to make your changes.   

Elections can be cancelled at any time.

Faculty must disclose all external professional activities they engage in on an annual basis.  Those that may pose a potential conflict of commitment must be approved in advance.  Reporting of outside activities and requests for approval should be completed through the Outside Activity Tracking System. 

Graduate Student Advising

• View the For Current Grads web page for the following information:
  • Graduate Student Handbook
  • Sample 2 year Course Plan
  • Tentative course offerings
• Check a graduate student's degree progress by running a Degree Audit.
  • Instructions for students to run their own Degree Audit can be found on the For Current Grads web page.
  • If anything looks incorrect, please e-mail Alycia Randol.

Undergraduate Student Advising

• Current undergraduate faculty advisor
• Tentative course offerings
• Check an undergraduate student's degree progress by running a Degree Audit.
  • If anything appears to be incorrect, please have the student contact Alycia Randol utilizing the Virtual Advising Center.

Reports to monitor your expenses and balances of your grants and start up accounts are available through Oracle.  

• To access the Faculty and Research Panorama financial dashboard:
  • 1. Navigate to the campus' Business Analytics Hub (BAH).
    2. Select Budget & Finance.
    3. Click the Faculty and Researchers tab.
    4. Click Run Report from the UCSD-DSH Faculty and Researcher Panorama tile.
      Use Company Single Sign-On to sign in, if prompted.
• A tutorial is available for first-time users. The guide navigates you through the report columns and data and answers common questions users have about the report.

UC San Diego Funding Resources

Policy on Social Sciences Divisional Special Initiatives Fund
Policy on Social Sciences Divisional Research Grants
Academic Senate Grant Funding Programs

• Research Funds
• Travel Funds (to attend scholarly meetings or collaborate on research at other UC campuses)

Office of Research Affairs Funding Opportunities
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion ( Funding Opportunities) 

External Funding

Suggested resources compiled by campus.  Contains mostly a collection of list servs and searchable databases to find external funding.

Submitting a grant? Contact Christina Knerr Frink to get started. For planning purposes, keep in mind that the the final proposal package is due 4 business days prior to the sponsor's published deadline.

The hiring process varies depending on whom you wish to employ.  Please contact Jeffrey Lau and/or Christina Frink for assistance.  Types of positions include:

• Visiting Scholars
• Volunteers
• Interns
• Interpreters
• Research or administrative staff
• Lecturers
• Student undergraduate researchers

Important note:  All requests to hire must be pre-approved by the Business Office.  Perspective employees are not permitted to work without prior authorization. 

For academic student hiring for the Language Program, please contact Rachel Pekras.

Payday falls on the first working day of the following month (e.g., July earnings are paid on August 1), unless it falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case, payday will be the last working day of the month.  The only exception: December earnings are always paid on Jan. 1. Annual earnings for tax purposes run from December - November.

Pay versus Service

Description of pay structure for academics.   

Earning Statements can be viewed in UCPath (requires Active Directory log-in).

Please familiarize yourself with the campus purchasing policies.

The Business Office maintains general department supplies.  We can also assist faculty with purchasing using funds from their start up and research accounts through campus approved vendors such as Amazon Business, Office Depot and CDW - thus avoiding the need and delay to be reimbursed.  Please contact Jeffrey Lau if you wish to place an order using your funds.

The following department guidelines cover the purchase of most other items (see computer purchases below for exception)

Reimbursement

Faculty can purchase items directly and seek reimbursement through the Business Office. Requests for reimbursement should include the following information and be submitted within 30 days of purchase:

• receipt that lists item(s) and method of payment (should list method payment and name of purchaser)
• packing slip (confirmation of delivery)
• chart of account (if purchase is to be charged to UCSD account)
• For computer purchases:  Please include completed Electronics Communications Resources Employee Acknowledgement

Please note:  Reimbursements not reconciled within 120 days are treated as taxable income to the employee per IRS requirements.

Special Note: 

Meals & Entertainment  (please review guidelines under BUS-79)

For reimbursement of meals for guests, please provide:

• a copy of receipt
• a list of attendees
• date of and business reason for the event.  There should a benefit to the University.

Note that alcohol is generally not reimburseable and should be separated from bill.

On-campus Retailers (including campus bookstore)

The recharge process (charging items directly to your chart of account) can be used to conveniently purchase items from on-campus retailers, such as the campus bookstore. Because of the low cost per transaction, recharge is the preferred method for purchasing from UCSD departments. Recharge allows for:

• Simple purchasing using your chart of account (Project/Task/Funding Source)
• Automatic posting charges to the ledger
• Quick delivery and easy returns

See a complete list of departments that offer goods and services through recharge.

Procurement Card

The Procurement card is a Visa card, designed for faculty who make frequent purchases or issue repeated payments in the case of human subjects. The card has a limit of $4,999 and charges post directly to your chart of account.

While it offers a convenient method of payment, cardholders must complete the required training and an application. Please review the Procurement Card Blink Pages in order to understand what restrictions and regulations apply to the card. As with all purchases made with University funds, receipts, packing slips and a detailed description of the UCSD business purpose of the purchase must be turned in to your department business office as soon as possible.

Purchase Order

Contact your business office for information about placing a Purchase Order with a specific vendor for products not available via campus recharge. Common examples are furniture, high-value equipment, and consultant costs.

Human Subject Payments

Human subjects can be paid several ways:

• For human subjects involved in fieldwork studies, the preferred method is payment via disbursements and charged to your chart of account.  
• For recruitment studies (one time payment or anonymous participants):
  • pre-purchased gift card
  • cash payment from a cash advance maintained by PI

Computer Purchases

It is against campus policy to purchase a computer with a personal credit card and then seek reimbursement.  All computer hardware must be purchased in one of the following ways:

• By Recharge at the Bookstore - provide Project/Task/Funding Source from chart of account.

• By Procurement Card - The cost must be less than $4,9999, including tax, shipping and handling.  You provide the Project/Task/Funding Source from chart of account.

• Departmental purchase order - The cost is more than $4,9999.  Contact your DSA for processing the order. You will need to provide a written quote for the system that you wish to purchase.

Policy References:

• APM 740 Leaves of Absence/Sabbatical Leaves
• PPM 230 Academic Leave Policy

Faculty are expected to be in residence during the academic year, including periods between quarters. Faculty are considered to be on a leave of absence (LOA) any time they are on leave from normal duties during the academic year.

Absences

Please notify the chair regarding any unexpected or anticipated absences.  Absences longer than ten (10) service days during the academic year must be approved in advanced and a formal request must be submitted via an Academic Leave of Absence Form (ALAS).  Requests should be submitted at least a month prior to leave.

Sabbatical

A sabbatical leave is an earned benefit enabling an eligible facutly member to engage in intensive programs of research and/or study for the purpose of becoming more effective teachers and scholars, thereby, enhancing their service to the University.

Faculty who have accumulated sufficient sabbatical leave credits may request sabbatical leave by completing an ALAS form accompanied by a description of what they’ll be doing during their leave.  For course planning purposes, sabbatical requests should be submitted at least one quarter in advance. 

Sabbatical Credit Accrual

Sabbatical credits are accrued at the rate of one credit for each full quarter of service at 50% time or more. Academic-year appointees can earn up to three credits in one year. Credits are not accrued during sabbatical leave, leave without pay and leave with pay for more than one quarter.

Sabbatical Leave Credit Usage

The department stocks commonly used office supplies in the AP&M 4^th floor mailroom.  The supplies are available to all departmental personnel.  Please contact Jeffrey Lau to order supplies that aren't regularly stocked or need replacement.

All business related travel, including conferences, should be preapproved by the Business Office. 

1. Please submit your request via https://goo.gl/forms/GK5ixH5wg8fQEce72. 
2. Upon approval, you will be issued a trip event ID.  With this number, you will be able to make travel arrangements through Concur.*

Become familiar with basic guidelines of University travel: 

https://blink.ucsd.edu/_files/travel-tab/policyhighlights2.pdf.

• Meal and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) rate = $79 max per day.  Meal logs are acceptable in lieu of receipts.  (Note:  Alcohol is not reimbursable on state and federal funds, including start up.)
• Max lodging rate = $275 (receipts required)
• Mileage reimbursement = $0.625 per mile
• Per diem only for International travel

*The preferred method to arrange travel is to book through Concur. If you choose to purchase your travel on your own, be sure to register your trip to ensure you’re covered by UC’s Business Travel Insurance.  This applies to any travel beyond 100 miles not arranged through Concur. (Travel booked through Concur is automatically covered.)   

Remember, international travel and any travel that occurs during service periods must be approved in advance through the appropriate channels.  If in doubt, please check with Jeffrey Lau.

Please see the section on "Funding Resources" for options to pay for or receive reimbursement for travel.

FAQ

What expenses can I claim for a local conference?:

A UCSD employee attending a conference in the San Diego area is NOT on travel status.

The employee:

• May request reimbursement for conference registration fees, mileage, and parking costs (retain itemized receipts)
• May NOT claim subsistence expenses, such as lodging, meals, and incidental expenses.

How do I pay for pre-conference expenses such as registration and hotel deposit?

If you have to pre-register for a conference or hotel stay more than 21 days in advance of your travel, you have a few options for payment.

1.    You can pay on a personal card (you will not be reimbursed until after the trip)

2.    You can put the registration or hotel deposit on your travel card. Please notify your fund manager if you do this so late fees are not incurred.

Can I pay for a visitor’s travel expenses to UCSD?

Per University policy, you are NOT allowed to personally pay for a visitor’s UC funded travel expenses; this is not reimbursable.  When you are funding a visitor’s travel expenses on a grant, start-up, or other fund source, please follow policy by requesting that airfare be booked through Concur.  For inbound travelers, UCSD  Travel and Concur now offers the ability to book local hotels and bill to UCSD, thus avoiding out-of-pocket expenses for the traveler. The traveler can, of course, opt to pay for their own travel expenses  and then be reimbursed following the trip completion.  Please complete the following:  https://forms.gle/yTuK3BVVMbnnWSjd6. Guests will be invited to complete a payment profile in the campus disbursement system Payment Works in order to receive reimbursement.

It is departmental practice for faculty to vote on all merit and appointment files. To see eligibility and department guidelines, refer to the department’s voting rights document.  For university guidelines, see PPM 230-28 VIII.