For many instructional and non-instructional faculty alike, the professional responsibilities requirement represents murky territory, and the Faculty Association has been fielding many questions about this requirement recently.  You ask; we respond!  We hope that the following FAQ helps clarify your questions:

Q:  Is the professional responsibilities requirement the same thing as FLEX?  

A:  No.  The professional responsibilities requirement is sometimes conflated with FLEX.  However, professional responsibilities and FLEX obligations are distinct contractual obligations.

Q:  How many hours of professional responsibilities am I required to complete as part-time faculty?  

A:  None.  Part-time faculty are under no obligation to participate in any shared governance or professional growth and development beyond their FLEX (should they have a FLEX obligation in the first place).  For more on Flex requirements for part-time faculty, see the previously published “Flex Your Flex Knowledge” FA article (Click here for the FLEX article).

Q:  How many hours of professional responsibilities am I required to complete as full-time faculty?  

A:  Instructional faculty (10-, 11-, and 12-month faculty) have an obligation of 5.5 hours/week of professional responsibility (See Article 5.6.1 of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement aka the faculty contract).  Click here for a copy of the current faculty contract.

Non-instructional faculty (10-, 11-, and 12-month faculty) have an obligation of 5 hours/week (see Article 5.5.1 of the CBA). 

Q:  As an instructional faculty member, do my 5.5 office hours count toward my 5.5 hours of professional growth and development, shared governance, and other professional responsibilities?

A:  No.  Instructional faculty are responsible for holding 5.5 office hours in addition to the 5.5 hours of professional responsibilities (professional growth and development, shared governance, other professional responsibilities, or some combination thereof).  

Q:  What qualifies toward this professional responsibilities requirement?  

A:  According to Article 5.4.1 of the CBA, a wide-range of activities “related to their assigned duties each Semester” apply:

• Curriculum development
• College governance, 
• If in contract status; hiring committees and other District-sanctioned committees; 
• Department meetings;
• Participation in discipline-specific organizations (e.g., boards, advisory groups, etc., both
• internal and external); 
• Grant writing 
• Research and writing of an academic nature that benefits teaching, learning, or counseling; 
• Serving on accreditation site teams; 
• Interdepartmental collaboration projects; 
• Coordination with K-12 and other institutions of higher learning; 
• Faculty mentoring; 
• Attendance at professional conferences and trainings that benefit the functions of the District or teaching, learning, or counseling; 
• Attending board meetings; 
• Advising student clubs; 
• Community outreach, 
• Student recruitment efforts, 
• Public relations events for the benefit of the District; and 
• Fundraising and soliciting donations for the benefit of the foundation or students clubs.

Q:  Can I choose how I fulfill these professional activities? I’ve been told that I have to complete 5.5 hours of actual shared governance.

A:  Absolutely!  Article 5.4.1 further specifies that “[m]embers shall have the ability to determine the above professional responsibilities in which they meet this obligation.”  How you choose to meet this obligation is up to you.  You may choose to include shared governance if you wish, but there are other means of fulfilling your professional responsibilities as outlined above. 

Q:  Can another activity not listed above count toward the professional responsibilities requirement?  

A:  Article 5.4.1 also states, “Other activities that benefit the District or college or that improve teaching, learning, or counseling shall constitute professional responsibilities by mutual agreement between the Unit Member and the immediate supervisor.”

Q:  Does SLO assessment count toward this professional responsibility requirement?

A:  No.  SLO assessment and reporting is a separate faculty obligation.  See Article 5.3.3 for more details.

Q:  I teach overload.  Does the professional responsibilities requirement apply to me?

A:  Yes — “Overload and extra duty assignments do not relieve a full-time faculty member of meeting professional responsibilities associated with their normal load as set forth in this Article” (Article 5.4.1).