Understanding your rights and options under the professional learning or “FLEX” requirement specified in our CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement or “Contract”) is an important part of empowering you as a faculty member at Pasadena City College (PCC).

The Fall 2024 FLEX Day for Faculty Professional Development will be held on Friday, August 23, 2024.  

This event marks the start of the Pasadena City College academic year and represents an opportunity to engage in professional development. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to meet new colleagues and to catch up with returning colleagues to strategize and to engage with one another about issues important to our academic community members.

As a result of past contract negotiations and also conversations with the District, the Faculty Professional Development Day at PCC or “Flex Day” now includes options for both in-person and online participation in workshops and events. However, if you aren’t able to attend Faculty Flex Day, you should be aware of “Flexible FLEX,” a contractual right already available to all
Faculty.  

The district provides a great opportunity to attend all or some of the Flex Day events in the Fall and Spring on Faculty Flex days. Additionally, faculty have the option of customizing their professional development by submitting “External Training” through the PCC Online Vision Resource Center and completing their professional development obligations with other approved professional development activities.   

Article 5.12.2 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement covers the specifics of FLEX obligations for both full-time and part-time faculty, the highlights of which are below:  

Full-Time Faculty Flex Obligations

• The annual FLEX obligation for full-time faculty is 12 hours (2 days) of FLEX. For full-time faculty on reduced workloads, the annual FLEX obligation is reduced proportionally. (See Article 5.12.2 in the CBA on the PCCFA Website for more details).
• Full-time faculty may fulfill their annual FLEX obligation by one of two methods:
  • 1) Attending the scheduled on-campus FLEX Days OR
  • 2) Completing flexible, in-lieu FLEX hours equivalent activities to the annual FLEX obligation

Part-Time Faculty Flex Obligations

• Part-time faculty may or may not have a FLEX obligation for a particular semester that they are teaching; this depends upon the specific days they teach. Only part-time faculty scheduled to teach at PCC on the same day of the week that FLEX Day is scheduled have a FLEX obligation that semester.
• Part-time faculty with a FLEX obligation may fulfill this obligation by one of two methods:
  • 1) Attending FLEX Day for the same number of hours they are scheduled to teach on that day OR
  • 2) Completing flexible, in-lieu FLEX hours equivalent to the hours they are scheduled to teach on any scheduled FLEX Day

What counts toward Flexible FLEX? 
Relevant conferences, on-campus trainings, workshops, webinars, etc. usually count toward Flexible FLEX. Review pages 15-19 of the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Flexible Calendar Program for more details. To be on the safe side, confirm with the FLEX Faculty Coordinator in advance and in writing that a particular professional development activity will count toward your FLEX obligation. 

Do Summer Conferences Count?
Summer Conferences absolutely count towards your Flexible FLEX. Any Conferences, training, workshops, webinars etc. that take place prior to July 1 st count towards that same academic year.
For example, a conference that takes place in June 2025 can be counted toward any FLEX obligation for the 2024-2025 academic year. On the other hand, FLEX activities that take place
after July 1 st are applied to the subsequent academic year. For example, a conference that takes place in July 2025 can be counted toward the 2025-26 academic year.

Faculty Have a Responsibility to Track their FLEX Hours

Please note that faculty are responsible for tracking and reporting FLEX participation whether they choose to attend the scheduled FLEX Day or complete flexible, in-lieu FLEX hours. Currently, the College uses the Vision Resource Center to track such participation. Each time you plan and then complete a FLEX activity, log in to the Vision Resource Center to fill out a “Submit External Training” ticket.

For more information, be sure to read all about FLEX in your Contract, and of course, reach out to FacultyAssociation@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.