Faculty Flex Guidelines - Professional Development
“Flex” at Ohlone College General Guidelines for Faculty Instructional Improvement Days
[Download the PDF of the Faculty Flex Guidelines, including the Addendum and Appendices (view with the free Adobe Reader software).]
The flex calendar was instituted at Ohlone in 1993-1994 to provide opportunities for the accomplishment of instructional improvement activities that cannot be successfully addressed in the regular academic year. A Flex day is a date which, prior to the adoption of the Flex calendar, would have been a regular instructional day but now represents time set aside for professional development. You are teaching four days less than you would be if we were not on the Flex Calendar.
Faculty Flex Requirements – Instructional Improvement Days!
If you are a full-time faculty member or counselor, you are obligated to 24 hours (4 days) of Flex activities. Each Flex day is six hours in length for a total of 24 hours. Each faculty member has a contractual requirement to complete all Flex hours by June 30 of each academic year. Faculty are paid for four days of flex. Flex not completed is considered an absence. For faculty with reassigned time, the number of Flex hours will be prorated on the basis of the full time load taught.
Please check the flex reports on the Professional Development website to keep track of the completion of your Flex requirements.
Any activity which promotes the improvement of instruction at the individual, the division, or the college level qualifies as desirable for Flex purposes. Flex activities which promote the Learning College model and the District’s Strategic Plan are encouraged. See Title V and United Faculty of Ohlone (UPO) guidelines in addendum. Flex time is not to be used for doing tasks that are an ongoing part of your regular teaching/counseling responsibilities such as choosing texts, reading in your discipline, revising the official course outline or syllabus.
Fixed Flex
All faculty are required to attend two fixed Flex days (12 hours) – one at the beginning of each semester.
Guidelines
- The Fixed flex days are mandatory
- Exceptions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Waivers may be granted for on-going significant projects requiring large blocks of time. To apply for an exception to attendance at a Mandatory Flex day, follow the same procedure for an Individual Flex Project.
Floating Flex
All faculty are required to attend two floating flex days (12 hours). There are many opportunities to complete the 12 hours of Floating Flex, e.g., participating in scheduled on-campus workshops, scheduled as two full days in the Fall or as shorter workshops throughout the year and/or by completing "Individual Flex Projects." The Floating Flex obligation can be met by combining these options.
Some ideas for Individual FLEX Projects might include:
- Develop and implement new active and collaborative learning methodologies
- Create or update a website
- Create and teach a short-term class
- Pursue the topic or go on the field trip that you always wanted but never found the time for
- Develop a special project for your class, e.g. DVD presentation
- Visit other colleges or universities to get ideas for your classes or for better articulation of classes
- Visit companies or agencies where your students are likely to find employment and survey their needs
- Do professional research
- Write for publication
- Participate in appropriate workshops/conferences. You can only obtain FLEX credit for the hours that occur when you would not be teaching a class or holding office hours
- Assist with student advising. (if a faculty member)
- Visit and share information with our area high schools.
Guidelines
- Before undertaking an individual Flex project, you must complete the “Individual Flex Project” form located on the Professional Development website, obtain your Division Dean’s signature, and have it approved by the Professional Development Committee. Upon project completion, submit a report assessing the outcomes to the Professional Development Coordinator.
- The District is required by provisions of the Education Code to account for the hours of “in lieu of” instruction for which ADA compensation will be claimed. To ensure that the “in lieu of” activities do meet the criteria set down in the regulations and can, therefore, be defended in an audit, it is necessary to approve those activities before they take place.
- Workshop attendance is verified through attendance sign-in sheets.
- If you would like to conduct a flex workshop, complete “Flex Activity Proposal” and submit it to the Professional Development Coordinator. If you are a workshop presenter, you will receive 2 hours of flex credit for every hours of your workshop.
- Everyone is encouraged to submit ideas for flex workshops to the Professional Development Coordinator.
- You can receive flex credit for a special class you teach in addition to your regular assignment and be paid overload.
- You can receive Flex credit for attending a conference if the expenses are paid for through Professional Development funds as long as you follow the process for an Individual Flex Project. You can only obtain Flex credit for the hours that occur when you would not be teaching a class or holding office hours.
- You can not receive Flex credit for a class you are taking for salary advancement. The intent of Flex is to allow time for instructional improvement activities that you are unable to undertake due to the demands of your teaching assignment. You are being paid to participate in Flex activities. Classes for salary advancement are undertaken on your own time at you own expense.
- Flex time is accrued only within the same school year. It cannot be banked and saved for another year.
- Serving on regular college committees, e.g. Faculty Senate, curriculum, routine department meetings, can not be counted toward flex.
Awarding of Flex Credit
- Evaluation of adjunct faculty: 2 hours (1 for observation; 1 for writing the report
- Double Credit for conducting a flex workshop
- Double Credit for helping with Welcome Day
- Hour for hour flex credit for helping with Welcome Day Tables
Learning College Activities
In Fall 2006, the college will move to a 16-week calendar. Faculty will engage in instructional improvement days as delineated in UFO Appendix V Addendum.
[Download the PDF of the Faculty Flex Guidelines, including the Addendum and Appendices (view with the free Adobe Reader software).]
Information about Faculty Fixed Flex Schedule, Individual Flex Projects Forms and Reports.
