»Request for Travel and Development – Faculty and Staff

 

The Fowler School of Engineering offers support for faculty and staff development including funding for sharing scholarly work at a conference and travel to professional meetings and conferences.

2025/26 Travel Restrictions (applies to faculty, staff, and students) 

For events that take place from June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026, Chapman University will be limiting university-sponsored travel to essential business or revenue generating activities. Please note that on December 11, 2024, Provost Bouchard sent a message similar to the guidelines listed below.  
 
All travel requests from Fowler School of Engineering faculty, staff and students require approval from the Dean to ensure alignment with the University’s budget priorities. Fowler School of Engineering (FSE) faculty and staff are required to complete this request form for all business travel and development purposes, regardless of funding source. Students are required to complete the Student Travel Grant Request Form. 

Examples of “essential travel”: University-sponsored travel may be approved if it fulfills one or more of the following criteria: 

  • Essential University Business: Travel critical to the university's core operations or strategic mission that cannot be conducted effectively through virtual means. 
  • Revenue-Generating Activities: Travel supporting efforts to increase university revenues, such as admissions recruitment, donor engagement, or partnerships that contribute to the university’s financial health. 
  • Research-Required Faculty: Travel necessary to advance the research, scholarly work and/or the creative endeavors of faculty for whom research is a contractual requirement, especially pre-tenure faculty. This includes: 
    • Presenting research findings or creative work at major professional conferences. 
    • Collaborating on projects requiring in-person interaction to advance research objectives. 
    • Conducting essential fieldwork or data collection supporting academic and scholarly excellence. 
    • Engaging in other scholarly activities that are essential to professional development and discipline-specific advancements. 
  • Student Research and Course-Required Travel: Travel necessary for undergraduate and graduate students’ research projects or directly tied to academic coursework requirements. 
  • Externally Contracted Visitors: Travel involving external parties contracted by the University to fulfill obligations such as program reviews.  
  • Mandatory Accreditation and Professional Development: Travel essential for maintaining accreditation or meeting accreditation-related professional development requirements. 

Examples of non-essential travel that will not receive University funding:  

  • Professional Development: Travel for staff or faculty professional development not directly related to the university’s mission-critical goals, essential operations, or accreditation requirements.  
  • Networking Conferences/Events: Attendance at conferences or events where the primary purpose is networking without presenting research or advancing revenue-generating activities.  
  • Non-Mandatory Training: Participation in workshops, certifications, or training programs not required for maintaining accreditation, licensure, or critical job performance.  
  • Optional Committee Meetings: Travel to serve on external professional or academic committees unless explicitly tied to revenue generation or essential research activities.  
  • Regional or General Interest Events: Travel to regional conferences, expos, or gatherings not directly aligned with permitted travel criteria.  
  • Recreational or Team-Building Activities: Team-building retreats or social engagements.

Note: Grants, IDC funds, endowment earnings, and unrestricted gifts are exempt from these restrictions. 
 

Faculty and staff of the Fowler School of Engineering (FSE) are required to complete this request form for all business travel and development purposes, regardless of funding source. Travel and development requests are accepted on a rolling basis. However, FSE faculty and staff are encouraged to apply immediately upon acceptance to present their scholarly work or invitation to attend a conference and a minimum of four (4) weeks prior to the travel date.  

Faculty and staff must seek approval prior to the dates of travel and with enough advance notice to allow the request to be processed. Please allow a minimum of 14 business days for the request to be reviewed. Expenses incurred prior to approval may not be reimbursed, especially if the request is denied. Faculty and staff should not pay any costs before receiving approval.  

The FSE Dean's Office will contact you once the request has been reviewed. 

Incomplete applications will not be accepted and must include the following supporting documentation: 

  • Link to training, conference or event organization website 
  • Proof of acceptance by conference or event organization, if applicable 

Please review the policies below before submitting a Request for Travel and Development. Chapman University's complete Fiscal Policy is available online. 

Do not include student travel requests on this form. The Student Travel Grant form can be found here.


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Faculty Absence Policy

In the case a faculty member is not able to attend a scheduled class session, they must notify Program Director Elizabeth Stevens for undergraduate classes, Program Director Mohamed Allali for graduate classes, and Administrative Coordinator Nicole Olguin. Faculty should reschedule all missed session(s) to ensure the student contact hours for the class are sufficient to meet the requirement. The faculty member should give students sufficient advanced notice of the rescheduled session(s). Class absences of longer than two (2) weeks must be approved by the Dean.