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The Faculty Professional Growth (FPG) team continues to work to inform faculty about benefits and streamline the application process. The FPG team has two components: the FPG Committee and the FPG Policy Review Committee. The FPG Committee is comprised of two representatives from each college. One representative serves on the sabbatical sub-committee and reviews sabbatical proposals and salary advancement applications. The other representative serves on the fees sub-committee and reviews summer project proposals and applications for registration fee reimbursement. The FPG Committee usually meets twice a month for two hours, although during sabbatical and summer project review periods, they frequently meet more often. The other part of the FPG team, the Policy Review Committee, meets twice a month to refine the FPG policies, maintain the web site, and discuss new policies.
Following is a brief overview of this year’s accomplishments.
Sabbatical Application Myths
Myth 1
The thicker the better.
No!
The thickness of your proposal has no effect on increasing your chances
of receiving a sabbatical award. Concise and precise is preferable.
Myth 2
Presentation is everything.
Not true!
Spending a lot of money on expensive paper, binding, or notebooks does not
increase your chances of receiving a sabbatical award. Just staple it in the upper left corner.
Myth 3
Higher Ed degrees always get funded.
No, not always.
All applications are considered on the merit of the proposal.
They are evaluated using the scoring rubric.
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Sabbaticals
Last fall the FPG team implemented a new process for submitting, evaluating, and awarding sabbaticals. The proposal form was streamlined and the grading rubric was refined. Last fall there was a 26% increase in the number of sabbatical proposals submitted. With this increase in proposals, the team worked to stretch sabbatical dollars as far as possible. We ended up funding 26 of 38 proposals for the 2004/2005 academic year.
If you are thinking of submitting a sabbatical proposal next year, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Start early. Don't wait for August or September to start preparing.
- Share your ideas and thoughts with your FPG Sabbatical Representative; he/she may have ideas to enhance your proposal.
- Go to the FPG website and download copies of the necessary forms. There are four forms that you need to download or print out. Pay special attention to the FPG Sabbatical Evaluation Form. As you draft your sabbatical proposal, compare the information you are providing with the Evaluation Form. Ask yourself questions about each section. Are my Goals/Objectives clear and organized? Do they make sense? Did I clearly list my personal qualifications to indicate that I have the ability to complete the application requested? Did I show all the planning that has gone into this application? Is my timeline clear and understandable?
- Plan and compile your documentation. Don't wait for the last minute to get supporting documentation; it may be hard to find.
- Be aware of and meet ALL the deadlines.
- Have your representative review your draft proposal; he/she can provide valuable feedback that will help in your preparation.
Summer Projects
A Summer Project can include attending conferences or classes, working on tutorials, reading or researching a specific topic, gaining job experience, or visiting historic sites. Summer Projects pay hourly wages and registration fees. The Fees sub-committee scores Summer Projects using the rubric at the FPG website and then funds them in ranked order.
This spring a new online application was created for submission of Summer Project proposals. The electronic form had a built in timeline that could be modified, calculated salaries, and totaled the proposal cost. Faculty were required to submit paper copies, but as the details are worked out, we hope to move toward a more fully on-line proposal process.
Policy Review
The process of developing new policy starts with the FPG Policy Review Committee. The Policy Review Committee drafts a policy, discussing in-depth the pros and cons and details of implementation. When the policy is refined, it goes to the FPG Committee for discussion and comments. These ideas and comments are taken back to the Policy Review Committee and the policy is further refined. When the policy is ready, it is forwarded to the Faculty Executive Council (FEC) for approval. Once approved by the FEC, the policy is active and posted on the FPG website.
This year a new FPG policy was developed, refined, and approved. This new policy provides the process for faculty who are using technology-based learning. When this training is offered through an organization that certifies hours needed to complete the training, we can now offer salary advancement for these hours.
Social Security Numbers on Forms
Another change in FPG is that you may now use your employee id number on all professional growth forms instead of your Social Security number. Your employee id number is located on every pay stub that you receive from District.
 Anne Dudley, Glendale Community College
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