Budget considerations
TLEF project budgets must be reasonable, aligned with the objectives of the project, and include a clear justification for all costs associated with the project.
- TLEF applicants and co-applicants who are UBC faculty and staff cannot be hired for a position that receives salary from a TLEF project budget. UBC students who are co-applicants on a TLEF proposal may be hired for a position that receives salary from the TLEF budget.
- TLEF funds cannot be used to purchase external consulting or other types of services where expertise and support is available within UBC at a reasonable cost and in a timely manner.
- The TLEF is not an equipment fund. Applicants will not generally receive funding to buy equipment. If there is a request for equipment it must be justified in relation to the project goals, not exceed 30% of the overall project budget, and also include significant in-kind funding from the Faculty.
- TLEF funding will not support the cost of faculty or staff travel or conference expenses or other dissemination costs such as journal publication fees. It is possible to use TLEF funding to support a student to attend a conference if the purpose is to share results from the TLEF project.
- Any catering requests should be proportionate and reasonable and clearly show how such support will maximize the benefit of the overall project goals. The TLEF Adjudication Committee will cut or reduce catering costs if they deem them excessive.
You can consult with the CTLT to develop the budget for your project either at TLEF drop-in sessions or by requesting a personal consultation to discuss your project idea. If you are interested in a consultation with CTLT please complete this Consultation Request Form.
An accurate budget is crucial component for your TLEF application. Below is a table of cost estimates for various services that can be included in TLEF proposals. These estimates represent maximum amounts supported by TLEF funding, but you should budget based on the actual cost of the people you plan to employ in the project. You should consult with your departmental HR or finance partners to confirm the hourly rates for salaries on your TLEF budget.
| Item | Estimated Rate or Cost |
| Faculty Course Release (only for Large TLEF projects) | $10,000 per course. The cost of faculty course releases is split 50/50 between the Office of the Provost and VP Academic and the Faculty. Applicants will need to ensure that you have your Faculty’s support and commitment for matching funds before you request course release in your proposal. |
| Teaching & Learning Fellow |
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| Student Wages | Students are often hired as part of TLEF project team to assist with roles such as project coordination, evaluation, website development, graphic design, media production, etc. For student roles, you should use the rates below in determining your project budget based upon CUPE 2278 rates (as of Sept. 2024).
The CUPE 2278 rates listed above include vacation pay. When budgeting for student wages, please add 10% to these rates to cover benefit costs (e.g., employer paid portion of CPP and EI) to avoid going over budget when actual costs are deducted from the funding amount. Although the above rates are described in terms TA roles, most TLEF projects hire students as Undergraduate Academic Assistants (UAA) or Graduate Academic Assistants (GAA) as there are not often TA duties involved in TLEF development work. TLEF student roles do not typically include Graduate Research Assistants (GRA) as GRA positions are typically supported through a faculty member’s research grant and the funding is considered a type of scholarship or award for duties that are part of a student’s graduate degree requirements. Please check with your departmental finance/administrative manager to ensure that you are following departmental practice for hiring students. A portion ($8.00/hr) of student rates may be subsidized under the UBC Work Learn Program. You will need to submit a separate application to the UBC Work Learn Program to apply for such funding. |
| CTLT Support | Subject to available capacity, in-kind support from the CTLT may be available to support TLEF projects for Curriculum Development, Learning Design, Evaluation and Learning Technology Support.
Applicants must consult with the CTLT before including in-kind support from the CTLT in their proposal or budget.
The CTLT cannot guarantee support to TLEF project teams who do not consult about the scope and timing of their project’s support needs in advance of submitting a proposal.
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| LT Hub Support | If you are applying to the TLEF to develop or adopt a learning technology tool, you must consult with Learning Technology Hub staff to ensure that your development plans align with the UBC learning ecosystem guidelines for Learning Technology adoption or development.
The LTHub’s Learning Technology (LT) Incubator can provide support to funded UBC learning technology projects by housing their software development within the LT Hub. Please reach out early in your planning to get input from the LT Incubator team on your proposal and to explore the possibility of collaboration. Please contact Tammy Yasrobi (tammy.yasrobi@ubc.ca) if your project relates to the development of a Learning Technology tool. |
| Common UBC staff wages in TLEF projects | The following list of roles are often ones that are defined in TLEF project teams (the list is not comprehensive) along with the maximum amount that TLEF funding will support based upon current UBC pay-scales. The actual hourly rates you use for any positions you are seeking TLEF funding to support should align with your departmental costs.
Applicants should consult with local financial managers in their department or unit to ensure that the requested funding for positions is reasonable and based upon the actual costs of the individuals who will be employed on the project. |
| Website Hosting | Hosting is available free of charge through either UBC Blogs or cms.ubc.ca for TLEF projects. If you are unsure who to contact for web-related questions please contact Tammy Yasrobi (tammy.yasrobi@ubc.ca). |
| Media Production Equipment | UBC will centrally loan media kits to TLEF projects to support basic, self-produced media content (e.g. video cameras, lighting/audio kits, and software licensing). In addition to kits, projects can make use of the DIY Recording studio and light-board studio in the UBC Studio, as well as media consultation support without charge. Please contact the UBC Studios for more information. |
| Media Production | UBC provides free consultation support through UBC Studios’ (ubcstudios.ubc.ca) Creative Development and Media Production services to help you develop a plan and budget for media in your project. To arrange for a consultation regarding your project’s media needs, please send an email to ubc.studios@ubc.ca. |