ARTICLE 18 - Load and Class Size

A. Subject to Article 20.A.3.3, and this Article, current written policy, practices, rules and regulations in effect for unit members in regard to Load and Class Size shall remain in force unless mutually agreed otherwise between the parties, except for the following clarifications:

1. In the credit program, District agrees to use the .8 small class multiplier only when there is mutual agreement between management and the unit member.

2. In the credit program, census week enrollment figures will be used to determine the size factor.

3.The size factor applied to telecommunications courses shall be:

1.5 for student enrollment of 75 to 114;
2.0 for student enrollment of 115 to 154;
2.5 for student enrollment of 155 to 194;
3.0 for student enrollment of 195 or more.

4. In the noncredit program, a full-time instructor's work load shall be 25 contact hours a week.

B. Minimum Class Size – For both credit and noncredit courses, the minimum class size shall be 20; provided, however, that the District may provide for exceptions to this requirement for:

1. 3rd or 4th semester courses in transfer or vocational sequences;
2. Classes with approved capacities below 20 students;
3. Classes where considerations of safety require a lower minimum;
4. Courses for which enrolled students have no alternative enrollment option;
5. Courses for which smaller class size is deemed a valid educational requirement, for example, basic skills and classes for the disabled.

C. Size Factor For Credit Lectures – For departments that currently utilize the 1.5 load factor, the minimum enrollment necessary for such factor shall be 60; however, the District may provide for exceptions to this requirement. Specific exceptions to this requirement shall include:

1. In its discretion, the District may provide for pre-approved exceptions for specific sections by the first day of instruction of the semester. Any faculty member with a pre-approved section with an enrollment above 50 shall receive the 1.5 load factor. The District shall consider and respond to timely requests for pre-approved exceptions prior to the end of the first week of instruction.

2. If a faculty member with anticipated enrollment above 50 in a given section requests but does not receive pre-approval for the 1.5 load factor for that section, and if the enrollment at census week is over 50 but under 60, the overage above 50 will be credited (for purposes of Paragraph 3 below) for one other section taught by the same instructor with an enrollment above 50 but under 60 during the same semester.

3. In the event that the sum of the two overages above 50 but under 60 equals or exceeds 10, the 1.5 load factor shall be granted for one such section only.

D. Professional Ancillary Activities

1. In accordance with Education Code § 87482.5(c)(1), service in professional ancillary activities by temporary, part-time employees (as defined by Education Code § 87482.5(a)) shall not be used for purposes of calculating eligibility for contract or regular status. The following assignments, in accord with the Education Code, are defined as professional ancillary activities:

1.1 Governance

1.1.1 The parties acknowledge that currently governance activities are performed without pay.

1.2 Staff Development

1.3 Grant Writing

1.4 Advising Student Organizations

2. In addition to the statutorily defined professional ancillary activities, other assignments that do not involve teaching or other comparable duties performed by full-time faculty members may be designated as ancillary and shall not be used for purposes of calculating eligibility for contract or regular status. Other assignments include, but are not limited to:

2.1 Test Coordination

2.2 Service as a representative of an employee organization when granted release time pursuant to this Agreement

2.3 Editing departmental or District newsletters

2.4 Such other activities as are approved through the process reflected in D.3, below.

3. There will be a joint committee for evaluation of other possible assignments that may be designated as ancillary. The committee will consist of at least four members and will contain equal numbers of Union and Management representatives. Department Chairs and/or administrators may submit a written request to the committee to designate an assignment as ancillary. The committee shall promptly evaluate any requests submitted and may request that the requesting Department Chair and/or administrator appear before the committee to provide additional information. Additionally, the committee may draw on other resources in evaluating the request. The committee will strive to make joint recommendations, but may also make independent recommendations to the appropriate Vice Chancellor; in either case, justifications will be included with the recommendations. The Vice Chancellor shall promptly review any recommendations submitted and determine whether an activity can be designated as ancillary. The Vice Chancellor will then notify the Chancellor’s designee and the Union of his/her decision in writing. In the event that the Chancellor’s designee and/or the Union disagree with the decision of the Vice Chancellor, the decision shall be subject to negotiations.

4. Each assignment of a temporary faculty member to a professional ancillary activity shall be authorized by the District each semester, signed by the employee and the District, and documented in an agreed-upon form.

4.1 Whether the assignment qualifies or does not qualify for contract or regular status shall be indicated on any form signed by an employee.

4.2 AFT will not pursue tenure claims on behalf of employees who accept professional ancillary activity assignments as defined herein.

5. Professional ancillary activities deemed not to count towards eligibility for contract or regular status shall be counted towards eligibility for fringe benefits under Article 21.B.

6. Notwithstanding the above, professional ancillary activities, when combined with the assignment of temporary teaching or other temporary employment under the Education Code, shall not exceed 1.2 FTE per academic year.

E. Full-Time Equivalent Definition for the Purpose of Reporting Service Credit to STRS

1. To ensure that part-time faculty of community colleges receive the appropriate service credit with STRS, the Education Code was amended on January 1, 2003. Education Code § 22138.5(a) now requires employers to (1) define the number of hours of creditable service that equals “full-time” (FTE) for STRS service credit reporting purposes; (2) state that FTE within a collective bargaining agreement that applies to instructors employed on a part-time basis; and (3) make specific reference to Education Code § 22138.5(c)(5) in the agreement.

2. Pursuant to § 22138.5(a). “Full-time” means the hours of creditable service the employer requires to be performed by a class of employees in a school year in order to earn the compensation earnable as defined in Education Code § 22115 (creditable compensation a person could earn in a school year for creditable service performed on a full-time basis, excluding service for which contributions are credited by the system to the Defined Benefit Supplement Program).

3. For purposes of this provision, reporting STRS service credit under Education Code § 22138.5. “school year” shall be 35 weeks.

4. For the purpose of crediting service under Education Code § 22138.5, the District is required to report a minimum standard of 525 instructional hours per school year. For purposes of compliance with Education Code § 22138.5 and reporting STRS service credit, the hours of creditable service the District reports for temporary, part-time faculty in a school year in order to earn the compensation earnable for creditable service performed on a full-time basis shall be as follows:

5. This provision applies only for STRS service credit reporting purposes for temporary, part-time faculty. The Parties acknowledge that the District defines full time for credit composition instruction as 420 hours, but under current law the District is unable to report 420 hours to CalSTRS. Should State Law be amended to provide for a lower minimum standard, the parties will amend this provision to reflect the change in law. Nothing in this provision may be used to determine load calculation, or for any other aspect of employment other than compliance with Education Code § 22138.5.

F. ESL Composition Classes 140, 150 and 160

1. Beginning fall semester 2006, ESL 140, 150 and 160 classes shall have a class cap of 28.

2. Beginning spring semester 2007, for ESL 150 and 160 classes, one half hour shall be added to lecture portion of each class.

G. Schedule Deviations (formerly Article 13.B.6)

1. Any cumulative deviation which exceeds three (3) units from the contractual workload of a full-time faculty member shall be adjusted within the following three (3) semesters wherever possible and not inconsistent with this contract. No employee shall be assigned more than three (3) units or its equivalent of extra-load courses in one semester without the employee’s consent. A faculty member who owes units (or hours) will be assigned sufficient extra load courses without pay until deficiencies are balanced, or, at the option of the faculty member, he/she shall have his/her salary reduced proportionately to balance part or all of the existing deficit.

2. In cases where it is necessary to teach more units than those owed or required to balance the deficit, the faculty member shall have the option of being paid for such additional hours over the deficit, or taking a reduced load within the following three (3) semesters.

3. Full-time faculty members who are granted a high enrollment multiplier for classes exceeding an enrollment of 60 students may elect to have the additional teaching units credited as regular load or may elect to receive extra pay.

H. Class Cancellation (formerly Article 13, Sections B.6.4, B.8 and B.9)

1. The District may in its sole discretion, at the beginning of any semester, wait until the end of the add/drop period; until after two (2) meetings of an evening class (whichever is later) in the credit program; or wait until the end of two (2) weeks in the noncredit program prior to canceling a class due to low enrollment where exceptional circumstances at the normal time of cancellation (first week) create a reasonable likelihood of maintaining the class due to an increase in enrollment. Any such decision shall be on an individual case by case appraisal by management. Any such decision(s) are non-precedent setting and are non-grievable.

2. Upon advance approval of the Dean/Director, a prior arrangement between the District and a faculty member may be undertaken not to cancel a probable low-enrollment specialized course, or advanced classes in sequence, required within a degree program.

3. Upon written request, the District will provide Union with the print-out provided management concerning class cancellations. Such print-out will be provided at the same time as distribution to management.

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ARTICLE 19 - Calendar

A. The instructional calendar shall be for one hundred seventy-five (175) days.

1. Effective Fall 1999, new full-time faculty hires will have two additional service days, in their first year of service only, for the purpose of attending mandatory new faculty orientation. They will receive “independent flex credit” for such attendance, but no additional pay.

B. Special calendars for Counselors, Apprenticeship Programs, and the like shall be negotiated annually, on or before February 15 of each year for the following year.

C. Negotiated instructional and special calendars shall be incorporated by reference within the existing Agreement.

D. Available instructional calendars will appear as Exhibit A.

E. All Campuses Counseling Calendar

The work year for Regular and Contract Academic, Career, Re-entry, Transfer, EOPS, and DSP&S counselors shall be 175 days and shall begin approximately two (2) weeks prior to the beginning of a Fall semester. Such work year shall be as follows:

1. Academic, Career, Re-entry, Transfer , EOPS, and DSP&S Counselors

Where feasible, management will formally consult with Counseling Department representatives at each campus before deciding on the number of counselors needed to serve prior to the beginning of Fall and Spring semesters.

1.1 Fall Semesters

1.1.1 At all Campuses, except the Ocean Campus, up to 90% of all counselors shall be assigned on an as-needed basis to serve for up to eleven (11) work days immediately preceding the commencement of a Fall semester.

1.1.2 At the Ocean Campus only, up to one-half (50%) of all counselors shall be assigned on an as-needed basis to serve for up to eleven (11) work days immediately preceding the commencement of a Fall semester.

1.1.3 The total number of hours assigned to any counselor pursuant to Sections 1.1.1 and 1.1.2, above, shall not exceed 54.

1.2 Spring Semesters

1.2.1 At all Campuses, up to 90% of all counselors shall be assigned on an as-needed basis to serve for up to five (5) work days preceding the commencement of a Spring semester, excluding the work day immediately preceding the commencement of a Spring semester.

1.2.2 At all Campuses, up to one-half (50%) of all counselors shall be assigned on an as-needed basis to serve for the work day immediately preceding the commencement of a Spring semester.

1.2.3 The total number of hours assigned to any counselor pursuant to Sections 1.2.1 and 1.2.2, above, shall not exceed 24.

1.3 Each counselor shall be allotted compensatory hours for service following 19.E.1.1 and 19.E.1.2 above.

1.3.1 These hours shall be taken in accordance with the schedule arranged by the respective counseling department under the supervision of the respective counseling department chair and shall include written approval of the appropriate dean. Where requested, the respective department chair shall consult with a counselor concerning his/her schedule of compensatory hours.

1.3.2 For a Fall semester, each counselor shall request his/her schedule for compensatory days for the entire semester no later than one week after the beginning of a Fall semester.

1.3.3 For a Spring semester, each counselor shall request his/her schedule for compensatory days for the entire semester no later than one week after the beginning of a Spring semester.

1.3.4 The respective department chair shall present the schedule of compensatory days to each counselor within two weeks after the Fall and Spring semester requests are made under Sections 1.3.2 and 1.3.3, above.

1.3.5 Compensatory time shall be calculated in hours.

1.3.6 Compensatory time earned shall be taken during the semester in which it was earned. However, where it is in the interests of the program, management will consider and may grant requests by counselors for the carryover of compensatory time from a Fall semester to a Spring semester.

1.4 The District may grant extra pay assignments at the appropriate hourly rate of pay in lieu of compensatory days off.

1.4.1 All counselors who meet the below-listed requirements shall be eligible to receive such assignments.

1.4.1.1 Such extra pay assignments in lieu of compensatory days off shall be granted only to a counselor who has actually performed service during the period preceding the commencement of a Fall or a Spring semester.

1.4.1.2 Absences – To be eligible for extra pay assignments, a counselor cannot have more than two absences total during his/her regularly assigned extra service calendar (i.e., the period preceding the commencement of a Fall or a Spring semester). Such absences must be for illness or emergency purposes only.

1.4.1.3 If a counselor exceeds two (2) absences, he/she shall be ineligible to receive extra pay assignments. However, if the absence was for good cause and verifiable as determined by the department chair, with a review by the appropriate dean, an exception may be made.

1.4.1.4 A counselor wishing to perform services on his/her compensatory days must so state in writing at the time he/she submits his/her schedule of compensatory days. Such statement must include the number of days the counselor wishes to serve for extra pay in lieu of compensatory days off.

1.4.2 Management shall determine the need for such assignments and shall inform the counselor(s) of such need no later than mid-September for a Fall semester, and no later than mid-February for a Spring semester.

1.4.3 Management shall determine on which days such assignments will be granted. These assignments may be scheduled on days other than those requested by the counselor(s).

1.4.4 Provided there is need as determined by management, such assignments may be granted for up to 50% of a counselor's earned compensatory time.

1.4.5 The duties to be performed during these specific assignments shall be determined by management.

1.4.6 If an assignment is granted, and a counselor fails to fulfill that assignment or to appear for the assignments, all subsequent assignments may be canceled for the remainder of the semester, and for the remainder of the academic year (if applicable) unless such absence is for good cause and is verifiable as determined by management.

1.5 Counselor Selection for Fall and Spring Semesters

1.5.1 Management shall first request volunteers to serve for Fall and Spring semesters. Selection from volunteers shall be based on seniority.

1.5.2 In the event there are insufficient volunteers, management shall utilize inverse seniority on a campus- and department-specific basis for selecting counselors to serve for the periods specified in 19.E.1.1 and 19.E.1.2, above.

1.5.3 Volunteers must be available for a minimum of 5 days (30 hours) to be considered for a Fall assignment and available for a minimum of 2 days (12 hours) to be considered for a Spring assignment. Management may waive these minimums for all counselors at a specific campus or in a specific department.

1.5.4 For a Fall semester, counselors selected or assigned to serve shall be notified ordinarily by the last day of the prior Spring semester and no later than June 15.

1.5.5 For a Spring semester, counselors selected or assigned to serve shall be notified by November 15.

1.6 A newly appointed First Year Contract counselor's first day of paid Contract (probationary) service shall be no earlier than the first day of the calendar for the regular academic semester pertaining to teaching faculty, except as provided for in Section A.1, above.

F. Commencement Exercises – AFT and the Board agree that it is desirable to have at least 100 faculty in caps and gowns attend commencement exercises each year. AFT and the Board agree to work cooperatively with each other and the Academic Senate to encourage faculty attendance.

G. Intersession

1. Definition: Intersession is the period between the last day of a fall semester and the first day of the following spring semester.

2. Intersession as defined herein is not a “semester,” and is not a part of the “academic year,” “school year” or “academic year” as used within the Collective Bargaining Agreement for any purpose of calculation, application or definition.

3. If the District determines to offer an instructional program during the 2005-2006 Intersession or thereafter, it shall promptly notify the Union of its intention. Thereafter, the Union may reopen negotiations.

H. Instructional Time

1. For Monday night daily census (credit) classes in spring semesters only, class time shall be increased by ten (10) minutes per session.

2. For any credit classes that meet once a week for three (3) or more hours and have 19 sessions in a semester, class time shall be reduced by ten (10) minutes per session.

I. Compressed Calendar Pilot Program (CCPP)

The parties have an interest in exploring alternative academic calendars to enhance enrollment growth while assessing the attendant impact on student services and the workload of the faculty. Therefore, the parties agreed to establish the CCPP effective with the Spring Semester 2007, and to continue it through Fall Semester 2007at a minimum. The CCPP shall be located at the Mission Campus and shall be limited in Spring and Fall Semesters 2007 to noncredit instruction in English as a Second Language. The parties will explore expansion of the CCPP to other campuses and/or disciplines based on the knowledge and experience gained and the overall evaluation of the CCPP during the initial semesters of operation.

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OPEIU248:3AFL-CIO