Professional Development Fund Article 20
Professional Development Funds 23.1.1 Two Professional Development Funds, a Professional Development Support Fund and an Education Leave Fund, shall be established to support professional development activities as defined in 23.2. On April 1st of each year, the College will allocate an amount equal to no less than 0.9% of total faculty salary (exclusive of severance payments) to the Professional Development Support Fund, and an amount equal to no less than 0.6% of total faculty salary to the Educational Leave Fund. Any unused balances in these funds shall carry over to the next budget year. 23.1.2 The College agrees to provide the Association with the authority to administer the program on behalf of the College for those activities approved by the College in accordance with 23.2, 23.4 and 23.5. 23.1.3 Nothing in this Agreement prevents the College from funding professional development activities in addition to those activities supported through the Professional Development Funds (23.1.1) in accordance with the procedures described in this Article.
MIDDLE SCHOOLS 1. Where there are no negotiated provisions concerning the implementation or operation of a middle school program, this article shall govern the implementation or operation of a middle school program in a school district. 2. Should the employer seek to establish a middle school program in one or more schools in a district, the employer and the local shall meet, no later than ten (10) working days from a decision of the employer to implement a middle school program, in order to negotiate any alternate or additional provisions to the Collective Agreement which are necessary to accommodate the intended middle school program. 3. In the absence of any other agreement with respect to the instructional day and preparation time, the provisions of the Collective Agreement with regard to secondary schools shall apply to middle schools. 4. If the employer and the local are unable to agree on what, if any, alternate or additional provisions of the collective agreement are necessary to accommodate the intended middle school program(s), either party may refer the matter(s) in dispute to expedited arbitration for final and binding resolution pursuant to Article D.5.5 below. a. The jurisdiction of the arbitrator shall be limited to the determination of alternate or additional provisions necessary to accommodate the intended middle school program(s). b. In the event the arbitration is not concluded prior to the implementation of the middle school program, the arbitrator will have remedial authority to make appropriate retroactive modifications and adjustments to the agreement. c. The arbitration shall convene within thirty (30) working days of referral to arbitration in accordance with the following: i. Within ten (10) working days of the matter being referred to arbitration, the parties shall identify all issues in dispute; ii. Within a further five (5) working days, there shall be a complete disclosure of particulars and documents; iii. Within a further five (5) working days, the parties shall exchange initial written submissions; iv. The hearing shall commence within a further ten (10) working days; and v. The arbitrator shall render a final and binding decision within fifteen (15) working days of the arbitration concluding. 6. Where a middle school program has been established on or prior to ratification of the 2006-2011 Provincial Collective Agreement, the existing provisions shall be retained unless the parties mutually agree that they should be amended.
Professional Development Program (a) The parties agree to continue a Professional Development Program for the maintenance and development of the faculty members' professional competence and effectiveness. It is agreed that maintenance of currency of subject knowledge, the improvement of performance of faculty duties, and the maintenance and improvement of professional competence, including instructional skills, are the primary professional development activities of faculty members. (b) Information collected as part of this program shall be the sole property of the faculty member. This information or any judgments arising from this program shall not be used to determine non-renewal or termination of a faculty member's contract, suspension or dismissal of a faculty member, denial of advancement on the salary scale, nor affect any other administrative decisions pertaining to the promotion or employment status of the faculty member. (c) A joint advisory committee consisting of three regular faculty members who shall be elected by and are P.D. Committee Chairpersons and three administrators shall make recommendations for the operation, financing and management of the Professional Development Program.