Alyssa Wejebe
“Pupil free,” “non-instructional, staff development” days mean the same thing to all students—a break. For teachers at Pierce, it could be their chance to become FLEX offenders.
The problem came up in the Academic Senate meeting on Monday.
Diane Levine, Vice President of Academic Policy, said that these staff development days were included in what “used to be called a flexible calendar.” The name FLEX was born.
Even though they do not go to school, Levine said they are “days we actually get paid for.”
Instead, teachers have to individually perform some type of activity that improves them. Kathy Oborn, Professional Growth & Development Coordinator, said that the FLEX days are meant to “enhance abilities on our own.”
These activities can include conferences, workshops, in-service training and projects planned by individuals, small groups or institutions according to the FLEX calendar guidelines by the Faculty Development Committee of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.
The guidelines also said that staff development funds can “pay for appropriate flexible calendar activities.”
Teachers have to then file paperwork confirming their work in self-improvement.
Problems arise when they fail to submit these forms.
The threat of losing their paycheck is now being used against FLEX offenders who fail to submit the proper paperwork.
Oborn said that FLEX only dealt with instructional faculty, not employees like librarians, custodians and others who do not teach a class.
Oborn said that the college district or the state Chancellor’s office decides the number of FLEX days, and that some districts do not take any part at all.
Academic Senate members also dealt with the issue of Student Learning Outcomes. According to an SLO officer, most faculty and staff are not assessing the students and their coursework, with only 10% of them being evaluated.
“Student learning outcomes are a part of accreditation, but a new part,” said Levine. She explained that accreditation is “dependent on a lot of things,” with a comprehensive evaluation “generated over a 6-year period on every aspect of the college.”
Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh, Vice President of Academic Affairs, said that they had to “notch up the progress.”
According to Adjunct History Professor Frank Chartrand, without “waiting lists,” Admissions and Records can add students until the class is full. A problem occurs when this conflicts with professors themselves adding students. With both teachers and Admissions adding students at the same time, the maximum number of students tends to be surpassed and then the teachers have to deal with overcrowding.
Sina Ghiabi, President of the International Students club, spoke as a guest at the meeting, requesting help for students who need a certain minimum number of units to stay in the country. Levine suggested they register in service learning and cooperative education courses, where they could earn units for approved volunteer or paid work outside of school.
Pierce has priority registration for veterans, EOP&S participants and people with disabilities, but none for international students or athletes.
The Academic Senate elected Mike Van Dyke, Assistant Professor of Automotive Technology, to be their representative in the Classified Hiring Committee.
Levine explained that the committee would prioritize requests from departments about hiring classified employees, like lab technicians, secretaries and gardeners. The committee will then recommend their priority list to the college president.
But the Classified Hiring Committee plays no part in the departments organizing their own committees for interviewing and hiring people.
For fall 2010, a grant writer and reading specialist will be hired, as well as new faculty and staff in the library, PE, CADD, GIS, Philosophy, the Learning Center, Speech and Psychology departments.
The Student Success Committee approved the Student Bridge program, which will have high school students attend summer classes before the school semester starts.
At the meeting it was announced that the mall would be completed by fall 2010. “We’re glad to see that the campus looks more like a university instead of a high school,” said Abu-Ghazaleh.
Amid all the construction, the Campus Center is being moved too. It will be relocated to where the faculty dining room is, while the dining room will join the new cafeteria.
The next Academic Senate meeting will be held on March 22. More information can be found at http://faculty.piercecollege.edu/senate/.