Professional Development provides all Butte College employees with learning opportunities needed to accomplish the college�s mission and strategic initiatives.
The Professional Development structure includes a participatory governance Steering Committee chaired by the Faculty Professional Development Coordinator and guided by the Professional Development Leadership Team (PDLT). Professional Development embodies the college�s six strategic initiatives as it directs key programs, develops workshops, and provides for custom professional development and ensures continuous review and evaluation of the program. Professional Development is one of the Strategic Direction Priority Themes identified by the Educational Master Planning group. The Professional Development Steering committee includes 5 faculty members, 4 classified members, 4 MSC/Administration members, and a student; this committee provides overall program and budget oversight. Flex committees for Faculty and Classified plus a team of managers direct the development of workshops and trainings focused on, but not exclusive to, their constituencies. The full-time faculty Flex obligation for 2022/2023 will be 11 days (6 in the fall semester and 5 in the spring semester). Total Flex hours required of full-time faculty number 66. The Professional Development Leadership Team (PDLT) combines Classified, MSC and Faculty Coordinators, plus an Administrative Secretary--non-instructional. The Faculty Coordinator reports to the Vice President of Instruction; the MSC and Classified Coordinators report to the Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness. In addition, the respective coordinators report and meet regularly with their constituent groups (Management Association, Academic Senate and Classified Senate). Butte College�s Professional Development programs provide the opportunity for full-time faculty, associate faculty, classified staff, and management, supervisory and confidential (MSC) staff to increase their skills and pursue professional interests, maintain currency in technology, deepen knowledge of District values, policies and processes, and network with District colleagues. Professional Development provides faculty with numerous options to fulfill their Flex obligation. The Faculty Annual Flex Plan will ensure faculty consider their professional development goals in advance and assure that they have been completed. No more than 50% of full-time faculty Flex obligation may be met through individual activity contracts/travel and conference (75% with Dean�s approval). Full-time Faculty Flex activities are tracked by Professional Development and reported to the Vice President of Instruction and Human Resources at the end of each academic year. The MSC group maintains a mentorship program whereby new MSC employees are paired with others within the group to help them transition into their new roles. Additionally, a monthly training session is held to present topics of interest to the group. Classified professional development is the focus of a week of training (often during spring break), with workshops that are also open to all faculty and MSC employees. Classified Professionals' Day, held at the end of the spring term is a day dedicated to professional development training and employee networking exclusively for classified staff. BEEP, the Butte Employee Education Program, is a regular institutional series, with each of four distinct sessions scheduled in advance. All new employees are encouraged to attend and all employees are invited to participate. Professional Development is dedicated to increasing participation by all Butte College employees and expanding professional growth opportunities for all employee groups. We use Active Data Calendar to promote workshops and activities, making it easy for all employee groups to see and schedule upcoming events from their own desktops. Additional focus has been placed on the development of online Flex activities to further expand employee access to professional development. We will continue to provide high quality constituency-focused programs and sponsor a series of social and networking events for all employees in the Center for Excellence. Professional Development will continue to enhance college vitality by providing workshops and trainings that support excellence in teaching and learning, and the District's strategic initiatives. To ensure consistency in approach and focus, the Professional Development Leadership Team strongly recommends that the District require all incoming professional development funding and activities, regardless of source, be coordinated with the established Professional Development Steering Committee. The Professional Development Leadership Team (PDLT) also recommends that the Steering Committee be consulted prior to applying for any grant funded professional development related opportunities.
Support for Cornerstone training and portal administration
Professional Development continues to maintain an active Cornerstone presence and plans to fully implement the platform in coming semesters.
The annual unit plan serves as the program review for Professional Development.
Strategy 1 - Develop & Expand Professional Development
A. Professional Development will continue to develop, expand, and refine professional development programs and activities to address the professional learning needs of all college employees. Augmentations will be requested when necessary to provide professional development workshops and training to faculty, staff, and administrators across campus.
Examples of Augmentation Requests for a Fall Semester
Examples of Augmentation Requests for a Spring Semester
B. Professional Development will communicate and enforce guidelines to ensure activities eligible for Flex credit are in compliance with Title 5 guidelines for Faculty Professional Development.
The Professional Development Steering Committee continues to support professional development opportunities for all employees. Title 5 guidelines and established policies for Professional Development activities ensure compliance and accountability with the Flex opportunities sponsored by Butte College.
Strategy 2 - Align Workshops with Butte College Strategic Initiatives
Professional Development will continue to develop workshops for all constituencies aligned with current Strategic Initiatives.
The Professional Development Steering Committee promotes partnerships between Professional Development, Administration, and Governance. Professional Development educates all constituencies regarding the District’s current Strategic Initiatives to ensure broad-based support and effective use of in-house expertise.
On-campus Professional Development opportunites for all employees are offered in areas such as Teaching & Learning, Project Management, Conflict Management, Motivation, Leadership, Technology Applications, and many more.
Strategy 3 - Manage and Improve Data Collection
Professional Development continues to assess and improve data collection. The program has sought further integrations with Colleague and SharePoint software currently makes it easier for full-time faculty to engage with the planning and tracking process of their Flex obligation and overload opportunities (if applicable). Much of the data entry work is done by a student assistant. JotForms electronic forms serve as replacements for paper forms/applications when appropriate. Paper forms will be revised and updated to reflect current contract language.
Professional Development plans to implement the Cornerstone Learning Management System as soon as possible. Cornerstone will allow all employees to track professional development activities via a learning transcript and will allow the integration of the college's professional development offerings with the Vision Resource Center.
Full-time faculty can view and track their Flex hours electronically via MyBC. Professional Development continues to collect and evaluate learning outcomes data from the Butte College Leader Development Institute, Great Teachers, Associate Faculty Flex activities, new employee orientations, and all other programs.
Electronic forms and applications make application and data collection easier both for applicants and for Professional Development staff. Paper forms are revised and updated to reflect current contract language.
Strategy 4 - Provide Additional Administrative Support
Professional Development requires its own administrative support position separate from the Academic Senate administrative support position.
In order to provide requested professional development support to campus initiatives and projects (Travel & Conference, Accreditation, Guided Pathways, Strategic Planning), the Faculty Professional Development Coordinator requires additional reassign time to manage the implementation of Cornerstone.
The Professional Development Leadership Team strongly recommends this separation due to increasing challenges which include:
Strategy 5 - Technology/Electrical Upgrades
To respond to technology/electrical needs in the Center for Excellence
Faculty and staff are encouraged to bring their own devices to training and events held in the Center for Excellence. However, there are insufficient power sources to support BYOD in the CFE.
Strategy 6 - Additional Reassign Time for Faculty Professional Development Coordinator
In order to provide requested professional development support to campus initiatives and projects the Faculty Professional Development Coordinator requires additional reassign time.
Expansion of Professional Development opportunities (for example, online workshops, the 2-day On Course Workshop, Travel & Conference, Faculty Classroom Exchange, Guided Pathways, Adult Education, Cornerstone, Diversity Days, etc.) requires additional planning, implementation, reporting and accountability.
Strategy 7 - Supporting Travel and Conference
Professional Development is seeking a funding source to support Travel and Conference requests from faculty and staff.
Innovation Award funding has been depleted and Professional Development has no other source to fund travel and conference requests.
The college should define a designated space for large-group meetings, particularly when the Center for Excellence is already booked.
Professional Development has funding available for classified staff and classified managers as part of the Chancellor's Office Vision for Success initiative.
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Professional Development | Personnel | 11.000.400.1.675000 | 55890 | $30,000.00 | $0.00 |
| To support Cornerstone, DEI, and other College Initiatives, increase reassign time for Faculty Coordinator by 25% | Additional time is necessary for the faculty coordinator due to implementation of Cornerstone, major revisions of faculty Flex programming and tracking, needed program innovations, collaboration with programs and services across campus (e.g., Guided Pathways, Student Equity, AB 705), creating new online Flex workshops, participation in statewide activities, and coordination of the overall program with Classified and MSC coordinators. Each new Professional Development endeavor has also required the work of administrative support staff, including the Professional Development student assistant. An increase of 25% reassign time for the Faculty Professional Development Coordinator would support the continuation and expansion of collaborative and innovative program development for all Butte College faculty, which would ultimately have a positive impact on student retention, achievement, and success. |
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| 2 | Professional Development | Operating Expenses | $7,500.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Increase Funding for Instructional Skills Workshop | Butte College hires large numbers of full- and part-time faculty, all of whom are encouraged to participate in the intensive, four-day ISW. The current ISW budget is not adequate to cover facilitators' stipends, associate faculty stipends, food, and supplies costs for the number of faculty who would like to participate in the ISW. Additionally, there is a need to train new ISW facilitators as experienced facilitators step down or move on to other responsibilities. Training for new facilitators is done by experienced ISW facilitator/trainers who have completed extensive training in order to provide the 40-hour training required for new facilitators. |
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| 3 | Professional Development | Operating Expenses | $5,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Increase Funding for Great Teachers Seminar | The Great Teachers Seminar is held at the Gaia Hotel and Spa in Anderson, a retreat center appropriate for a professional faculty-centered event. Due to recent increases in faculty hiring, the team would like to accept more faculty participants, and the team would also like to have a bit more flexibility with regard to catering. The current Great Teachers budget allows for only the most basic choices in catering, and healthy options such as fresh fruit, for example, are not included. |
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| 4 | Professional Development | Personnel | $5,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Maintain Student Assistant Support at 10 hours/week | Since 2016-17, Professional Development has been able to hire a student assistant (Federal Work Study) 10 hours per week. It is essential that Professional Development have a student assistant 10 hours per week to record and track faculty Flex hours in a timely manner. Our allocation of FWS hours have dropped to 5 and we need at least 10. |
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| 5 | Professional Development | Operating Expenses | 11-000-400-1-675000 | 55890 | $3,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Fund Classified Professionals Week | Classified Professional Development Coordinator is responsible for developing and scheduling the Classified Professionals Week. Currently there is no funding dedicated to this event. In order to align Classified Professionals Week to Flex Days, Professional Development would like to provide catering for the events and stipends to associate faculty for workshop presentations. |
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| 6 | Professional Development | Operating Expenses | 11-000-400-1-675000 | 55890 | $2,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Purchasing Clifton Strengths Codes | Strengths codes are $20.00 each. We are being asked to conduct more Clifton Strengths workshops for faculty, staff and managers. Each participant needs an access code to participate in the workshops. |
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| 7 | Professional Development | Operating Expenses | 11.000.400.1.675000 | 55200 | $30,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Restore Ongoing Travel and Conference Funding | The deletion of ongoing travel and conference funding for the past several years is the most notable reduction of Professional Development support and affects all constituent areas. |
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| 8 | Professional Development | Personnel | $0.00 | $50,000.00 | ||
| Provide Additional Administrative Support (Collaboration with Academic Senate) | Professional Development requires its own administrative support position separate from the Academic Senate administrative support position. The Professional Development Leadership Team strongly recommends this separation due to increasing challenges which include: MOU regarding Flex obligation requires Professional Development to have all data for full-time faculty Flex online and available for review. Academic Senate's high demands for administrative support staff overlaps and conflicts with the periods of highest demand for administrative support staff for Professional Development. Some examples include: Beginning and end of fiscal year when budgets are being created and major expenditures are being made Beginning and end of each semester when Flex and Institute Days are being actively supported. Expansion of Professional Development opportunities (online workshops, On Course workshops, Travel & Conference Innovation Award webpage/applications, Faculty Classroom Exchange) requires additional planning, implementation, reporting and accountability. Suggest CSEA 24. |
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