Common use of Retraining Leaves Clause in Contracts

Retraining Leaves. 13.10.1 Retraining leaves will be granted by the District on an as-needed basis. Qualifying needs may include the following, listed in order of priority: A. Planning to preempt reduction in force in a discontinued discipline, or one with declining enrollment (See Article 7.7.2B) B. District need to build faculty capacity in a discipline C. Professional development opportunity following an unsatisfactory faculty evaluation 13.10.2 A retraining leave may be proposed either by management or by the faculty member interested in retraining. 13.10.3 Faculty requesting a full or partial leave of absence to be retrained in one discipline while teaching in another discipline or to update currency in a discipline for which they are currently qualified shall submit a written request to the supervising Vice President. 13.10.4 A retraining leave plan shall be developed through the following process: A. The Vice President will meet with the Division Deans, the faculty member, a representative from the Association, and a representative appointed by the Academic Senate, to discuss the request and to identify or confirm the discipline for retraining. This process will take into consideration demonstrated need for additional services in the selected discipline, as determined by enrollment trends, positions ranked on the full-time faculty hiring prioritization list, etc. B. The Vice President, the Division ▇▇▇▇ / Department Manager, the faculty member, a representative from the Association, and a representative appointed by the Academic Senate (preferably from the discipline selected for re-training), shall develop a plan to include, but not be limited to: - Identification of the retraining goal (i.e. training, certificate, degree, etc. that will provide updated skills or new minimum qualifications); - Delineation of coursework or activities to be completed with the anticipated timelines; - How the released time for retraining will be used (in part) to be balanced against current load requirements - Identification of faculty member(s) in the new discipline to be observed by the faculty member, if applicable, and/or assignment of a peer mentor for the new discipline; - Timeline and dates for submitting regular progress reports to the appropriate Vice President; - Review of re-training coursework and activities, including, if applicable, documentation such as transcripts, certificates, etc., by a Senate-designated faculty representative. a. The retraining plan will include but not be limited to the faculty member’s educational preparation. Equivalence to the above-mentioned criteria shall be made in accordance with the adopted ▇▇▇▇▇▇ College Equivalency Process. b. Retraining Coursework must be taken at a regionally- accredited institution. 13.10.5 Once approved by the process outlined in 13.10.4, the plan will be implemented and confirmed in writing by the District and the faculty member without establishing a precedent. 13.10.6 If the retraining program cannot be completed, the member may request an extension of time from the District. Each request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. However, if the employee is granted an extension, he/she may be required to reimburse the District for any costs (salary and benefits costs) of the retraining as outlined in the agreement. All extensions must be in writing. 13.10.7 The faculty member will receive full health and welfare benefits during any leave taken for the purpose of retraining. 13.10.8 Upon completion of the requirements of the retraining plan, the faculty member may be assigned to the new discipline in the proportion necessary to meet institutional needs. In accordance with Article 19.5.1, as regular faculty, the re-trained member has priority rights to regular and overload assignments ahead of load assignments to adjunct faculty. 13.10.9 The member will not be required to re-interview in order to be placed in the new discipline, but may be asked to meet with discipline faculty and discuss areas of interest, approaches to teaching certain topics and other issues of interest to the new department. 13.10.10 In accordance with Article 4.2.5, a special evaluation in the new discipline will be conducted during the first semester of this new assignment. Forms and procedures for evaluation will be the same as those used in regular faculty evaluations. Results of this evaluation will be used in making future assignments in the secondary discipline. Provided the special evaluation proves satisfactory, subsequent evaluations shall revert to the cycle in progress from the initial assignment.