Expanding faculty Professional Expense Reimbursement Fund (PERF) reimbursement guidelines
* * * Sent of behalf of the Interim Provost and Vice-President, Academic * * *
To: RFA faculty members and CUPE 3904 contract lecturers
Dear colleagues,
I hope you continue to keep well. Following President Lachemi’s message of support on November 30, I would like to share the details of the financial initiatives that are being introduced to support faculty and contract lecturers with their virtual teaching responsibilities.
Expanding faculty Professional Expense Reimbursement Fund (PERF) reimbursement guidelines
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently announced that it has extended its administrative position for employee reimbursements to include home office equipment in addition to computing equipment. Due to this change in the CRA’s guidelines, Ryerson is now temporarily expanding the PERF to allow faculty to include purchases of computing and home office equipment (e.g. chairs and desks) to support teaching activities.
Previously, such reimbursements provided by an employer toward home equipment or personally retained equipment would be considered a taxable benefit. Following the CRA administration position, these reimbursements will be maxed at $500 per faculty member, as reimbursements beyond $500 would give rise to a taxable benefit.
Reimbursements will require proof of purchase (e.g. receipt) and it is expected that home equipment purchased with this temporary eligibility expansion will be used for Ryerson teaching activities. This reimbursement will be available for purchases made between March 18, 2020 and April 30, 2021.
The RFA Collective Agreement provides each member $2,000 per year in their PERF and allows up to $4,000 to be accrued. This temporary expansion in eligible expenses does not affect these amounts – it is an expansion of what may be purchased, using the funds within your PERF.
Please note that, as is normally the case, all other equipment purchased through PERF will remain the property of the university.
Supporting additional costs related to learning and teaching
The move to remote teaching has placed additional pressure on instructional faculty to be able to provide a high-quality learning environment for students. In many cases, the acquisition of additional computing equipment or electronic devices (e.g. scanner or document camera) would help to support remote teaching.
As a result, and separate from the expanded PERF flexibility set out above, Ryerson will be providing a one-time reimbursable expense allocation of up to $500 per full-time instructional faculty member to offset these additional costs.
Please submit requests for reimbursement to the office of the dean of your Faculty. Reimbursements will require proof of purchase (e.g. receipt) and an explanation that the equipment is required for remote teaching activities.
As equipment purchased is used for Ryerson remote teaching activities, it remains the property of the university. This reimbursement will be available for purchases made between March 18, 2020 and April 30, 2021. In the event that approved reimbursements for items related to remote teaching activity have already been made using PERF (since March 18, 2020), Financial Services will assist your dean’s office to manage these adjustments accordingly.
Support to CUPE Contract Lecturers
Funding to support CUPE contract lecturers who are teaching remotely will be made available to the unions to be managed by them.
Wishing you a restful holiday season
I would like to thank you for your hard work over these last several months as we’ve continued to adapt to the evolving environment. This approach to learning and teaching has been challenging in many ways, and we will continue to listen to your concerns and welcome your ideas so we can best support you over the next several months.
As the holiday season approaches, I wish you and your loved ones happiness and good health. I also hope that you are able to enjoy some well-deserved down time in the weeks ahead.
Should you have any questions about the information above, please do not hesitate to speak with your dean or to reach out to my office.
With my best regards,
Saeed Zolfaghari
Interim Provost and Vice-President, Academic