Summary
This policy covers all MIT Libraries staff who want to participate in professional development activities.
Contact Jennifer Zaslow, Director of Administration and Finance, at fiscal-lib@mit.edu with questions regarding the Professional Development Policy.
Effective Date: July 23, 2025
Professional Development Policy
Purpose
The professional development policy (PDP) at MIT Libraries aims to support ongoing conversation between staff and supervisors to reach both organizational and personal goals that support the Libraries. The policy gives clear guidance on how to use Libraries’ resources in ways that are equitable, sustainable, fiscally responsible and in support of organizational and operational advancements.
MIT Libraries is committed to being a learning organization. To meet the ongoing needs of the Institute, the Libraries invests in staff development to build skills and knowledge. This policy describes the eligibility, process, and decision criteria used when making decisions about professional development opportunities.
Eligibility
- All Libraries staff are eligible for professional development opportunities.
- Professional development activities advance an individual’s performance in their current role and/or their impact towards the Libraries’ strategic priorities or operational improvements. Eligible activities covered by this policy include those offered by MIT (e.g., MIT Learning, MIT Worklife) and by external organizations, such as:
- Conference attendance
- Coursework or class-based learning
- Professional service (such as: participation with a professional organization as an elected officer, committee member, or appointee/volunteer for a working group. All staff are eligible to participate in professional service.)
- Training workshops
- Webinars
Funding
- Funding for professional development is contingent upon MIT Libraries budget; funds are allocated at the Department level.
- Department Heads are responsible for maintaining their departments’ budgets.
Process
This policy is designed with the expectation that staff and supervisors regularly talk about personal goals, team goals, priorities, and professional development.
Staff should read the policy and understand the criteria before making a request. Then the requester should complete the PD Request Form. The form branches depending on the resource intensity of the request.
- PD activities that do not need funding go through an expedited process.
- Exempt staff may proceed with free activities without submitting a formal request. Documentation of use of work time for professional development is not required for exempt staff. In accordance with MIT Employment Policy Manual 4.7.1.5, exempt employees “are expected to take professional interest in the work under their supervision or in the projects in which they are engaged and, when necessary, to fulfill the requirements of their positions without regard to the number of hours worked.”
- Non-exempt staff should complete the expedited request form. This provides consistent documentation for supervisor approval of paid time and will enable us to capture decisions about paid time and program costs for non-exempt staff PD activity. Supervisors review these requests and decide whether to approve them or not. If a request is not approved, supervisors must explain their decision in writing to the requesting staff.
- Requests that need funding will first be evaluated by the supervisor. Supervisors must explain their decision, of approval or denial, in writing. Requests that the supervisor approves are then sent to the Department Head for budget authorization (requestor can add the supervisor’s manager to be copied for notification). If budget is not approved, department heads must articulate their decision in writing.
- Requests costing $1,500+ or with international travel require approval from the Libraries Director. After Department Head budget authorization, the request will go to the AD for the Directorate and to Finance leadership for their input, and then to the Libraries Director for a final decision.
Evaluation Criteria
In February 2025, the Libraries senior leadership team defined guiding principles for budget decisions, which included:
We will continue to support staff training, professional development, and morale, with a tight focus on opportunities that will explicitly improve core services and operations and/or that closely align with our strategic priorities.
To help apply this guiding principle, the Libraries has established nine criteria to help requesters identify suitable requests and guide the supervisor’s decision making. Supervisors must review the nine statements when evaluating a professional development request and provide a written response to this question with their decision to approve, decline or request more information: How will participating in this activity help improve core services and operations and/or how does the activity align with our strategic priorities?
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Statement
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Time: It is worth setting aside existing work and deadlines to make time for this opportunity.
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Fiscal Responsibility: The total cost (including salary paid during the time of the opportunity) is appropriate relative to the expected development outcomes for the individual.
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Organizational Alignment: The opportunity directly supports the Libraries’ strategic and/or operational improvement goals.
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Team Priorities: This opportunity aligns with the team’s goals.
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Capacity: There is capacity to provide coverage during this opportunity.
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Workload: This opportunity is important for the individual to reach their goals and work more effectively.
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Impact: This opportunity is important to the success of this individual in their current role and sets them up for future success.
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Sustainable: There has been a review to find the best experience with a low cost and minimal travel.
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Equity: This opportunity, and the decision process to approve it, reflect equitable access to professional development across the department.
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Out of Scope
- Other MIT benefits outside the scope of this policy may be better suited to support certain professional and/or career development and personal growth activities. These benefits include:
- There are some activities that may be a better fit for the Libraries’ Funding Request Process, such as:
- Required team, whole staff, or student trainings, as assigned by a manager or department head
- Exceptional requests (longer time commitments, exceeding the PD budget, etc.)
- Exempt staff activities that use no MIT Libraries funds are outside the scope of this policy and do not need to go through the PD approval workflow. Individuals pursuing such activities should inform their managers by email about the time commitment.
- NOTE: If an external organization will reimburse MIT for purchases made on a MIT Travel Card, the traveler should use this approval workflow to document the activity and prepare the Finance team to support processing the travel report and reimbursement.
Additional Note
- Before initiating a professional development request involving travel, please consult the Travel guidance on StaffWeb to ensure you have an active Travel Card and are following all Libraries and MIT travel policies.
Example Requests and Approval Workflow
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Example Request
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Supervisor
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Department Head
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Directorate AD
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Director Admin & Finance
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Libraries Director
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Time for non-exempt staff to attend a MIT-run course ($0)
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X
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Registration for online course ($150)
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X
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X
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In-person conference attendance including registration, travel, lodging, meals ($2500)
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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Note: Travel-lib@mit.edu is copied on all requests and the approval workflow to support travel report preparation and financial review and control.
