Professional Development’s
Purpose
The Purpose of
Professional Development is to provide opportunities for our
faculty and staff to improve their knowledge and skills and,
ultimately, improve teaching, student learning and student
success. |
What is FLEX?
The flexible
calendar program was initiated by six California community
colleges in 1976 as a pilot project authorized by Assembly Bill
2232 (1975). The six pilot colleges were El Camino, Grossmont, Consumnes River, Saddleback, San Jose City, and Evergreen
Valley. These six pilot colleges were allowed to reduce the
number of required instructional days from 175 to a minimum of
160. The bill provisions allowed the colleges the opportunity to
replace up to fifteen days of regular instruction with
alternative activities such as course and program development
and revision, staff development activities, development of new
instructional materials, and other instruction-related
activities. In fall 1980, El Camino College withdrew from the
pilot program and was replaced by College of the Canyons.
Implementation of the flexible calendar program at the
pilot colleges involved reforming the instructional calendar to
accommodate instruction-free days for faculty development
activities. Legislation (AB 1149) was drafted in 1981 that
allowed all colleges the option of adopting a flexible calendar
program. In addition, the following bills relevant to the
flexible calendar were passed:
AB 1657 (1983) which provided a no-loss/no-gain in
funding and a conversion of days to hours. It also allowed
flexible calendar activities to be performed any time during the
fiscal year and added matriculation as an approved flexible
calendar activity.
AB 836 (1985) which provided technical change to the
formula to adjust ADA as a way to further assure a no-loss in
funding.
AB 1725 (1988)
which created a community colleges faculty a staff development
fund.
FLEX at COC
In 1980, a committee called Task Force 4-1-4 was
established at College of the Canyons. The committee consisted
of ten members: five faculty, two administrators, the EOPS
counselor, the instructional media specialist, and one student.
Today, the Faculty Development Committee, previously known as
the FLEX Committee, consists of representatives from each of the
seven divisions and the Professional Development Director. The
committee meets weekly and is responsible for developing
schedules of FLEX events and activities based on provisions of
the law. (Title 5, section 55730e)
Faculty Obligation
Based on the law (Title 5, section 55726b and 55728) each
faculty member is obligated to complete 41 hours of FLEX
activities per academic year. FLEX activities must not overlap
with any accountable hours during the regular academic term or
special assignments for which the faculty members are regularly
compensated. Faculty members can meet their FLEX obligation by
attending or participating in scheduled and/or unscheduled
activities. Unscheduled activities can account for a maximum of
50 percent (20.5 hours) of the FLEX obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are FLEX
days?
As allowed by
Title 5, FLEX days are days set aside in the academic calendar
(July 1-June 30) for faculty to participate in professional
development activities related to staff, student, and
instructional improvement. At COC we have an obligation of 41
FLEX hours per year.
If we didn’t
have FLEX days, would we have more days of vacation?
No, we would have additional days of class
instruction.
What kinds of
activities are considered Professional Development activities?
The term Professional Development includes activities
which increase knowledge in the discipline or which directly
enhance teaching skills, but also activities which improve
working relationships with students and staff in and out of the
classroom as well as activities which enhance an individual’s
physical and mental ability to perform his/her job.
Do all
Professional Development activities have to occur on certain
days?
No, but for accountability purposes, certain days are
labeled FLEX days on the academic calendar.
What is FLEX credit?
FLEX credit is the State’s way of ensuring that
faculty are engaging in Professional Development activities
equivalent to the amount of time that they would be spending in
class without a FLEX program. One hour of time spent on
Professional development equals one hour of FLEX credit.
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