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MnSCU-UTCE Master Agreement 1997-1999
ARTICLE 21
Professional Development
Section 1. Occupational Technology Internship. A faculty member may apply for an occupation technology internship under the following conditions:
Subd. 1. Purpose. The purpose of the internship is to give faculty members the opportunity to update and enhance the faculty member's technical background, job knowledge, or teaching skills.
Subd. 2. Internship Benefits. For occupational technology internships which are assigned as part of the faculty member's regular duty days, the faculty member shall receive his or her regular pay and benefits. For occupational technology internships which are not part of the faculty member's regular duty days, the faculty member shall be compensated at a rate of one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) per day.
Subd. 3. Reimbursement. If the faculty member is compensated by an organization other than the College for services during the leave, the faculty member shall promptly remit the compensation to the College.
Subd. 4. Selection of Applicants. Approval of applications for occupational technology internships will be determined by the selection committee established in Section 2., Subd. 4., below. The committee shall not approve internships if the cost of the internships for the fiscal year will exceed the amount allocated to the College by MnSCU for such internships, unless the College President authorizes expenditures from the College's funds in excess of those allocated by MnSCU for such internships.
Section 2. Sabbaticals. Any faculty member may apply for a sabbatical under the following conditions:
Subd. 1. Purpose. The purpose of a sabbatical is to give faculty members an opportunity to obtain additional education or training on a full-time basis, relating to his or her job assignment with the College which will support the professional development of the faculty, the development needs of programs and the planned instructional priorities of the College.
Subd. 2. Criteria. A faculty member is free to submit to the College at any time written notice that he or she would like to be considered for placement on sabbatical by the College. Sabbaticals may be granted if the following criteria are met:
(a.) The applicant must have continuously served the equivalent of six (6) or more full-time equivalent academic years in a technical college with an aggregate of eighteen (18) quarters or semester equivalent of actual service without having been granted a sabbatical. All continuous employment shall be included in the calculation of full-time equivalency. For purposes of this Section, continuous employment shall mean holding an assignment during each academic year. The total must be achieved prior to the commencement of the leave. Faculty members may have one (1) quarter in which the faculty member was on an approved unpaid leave count as one (1) of the eighteen (18) quarters. If a faculty member is on an unpaid leave for one (1) year or more, the calculation of equivalent FTE will resume the day of return.
(b.) If the program the faculty member teaches in has been suspended or closed by the College or MnSCU or the faculty member has received notice of layoff, the faculty member will not be eligible for a sabbatical. This exclusion may be waived by the selection committee as defined in Subdivision 4, below.
(c.) The faculty member has submitted a request for a sabbatical which is designed to serve the purposes set forth above in Subdivision 1.
(d.) The College President has certified that a suitable replacement can be found. In individual cases where a replacement cannot be found, a faculty member determined to meet the other eligibility requirements in the year of request, will not be denied a sabbatical in subsequent years based solely on this reason. This provision shall not be applicable to the faculty member after a sabbatical request is granted.
(e.) The number of sabbaticals approved by a College will not exceed two percent (2%) FTE, rounded to the nearest whole number, of the full-time equivalent UTCE faculty positions the College had for the academic year preceding the year in which the application is made, or one (1) FTE, whichever is greater.
(f.) If approved by a College President, additional sabbaticals may be granted. The College reserves the right to deny all sabbaticals during any academic year in which the projection for state appropriations and tuition revenue for the College falls in excess of seven percent (7%) below the actual appropriations and tuition revenue for the prior fiscal year.
Subd. 3. Application Procedure. Applications for sabbaticals shall be submitted to the College President or designee by January 1 of the year preceding the academic year the faculty member is planning to take the sabbatical. Notification of approval or rejection will be given by the College to the applicant on or before April 1.
Subd. 4. Selection of Applicants. Approval of eligible applicants will be determined by a committee jointly appointed by the Faculty Senate and the College President based on the purposes stated in Subdivision 1 above.
Subd. 5. Refusal. When a sabbatical is granted and the faculty member wishes to refuse the sabbatical, the faculty member must make a written request to the College President stating this fact within ten (10) working days of receipt of notice that the sabbatical was granted. If after the expiration of the ten (10) day period a College President permits a faculty member to withdraw his or her application for a sabbatical, a sabbatical may be granted to another faculty member as a substitute for the withdrawing faculty member.
Subd. 6. Compensation. A sabbatical may be granted to a faculty member for up to three (3) consecutive quarters or two (2) consecutive semesters in an academic year. A faculty member will receive full salary and benefits for a sabbatical of one (1) quarter duration, or sabbatical of one (1) semester duration, or two-thirds (2/3) salary and full benefits for a sabbatical of two (2) or three (3) quarters or two (2) semesters duration. Faculty members on sabbatical may accept scholarships, fellowships, or grants during the sabbatical. A substantiated report that the faculty member is failing to fulfill the education program stated in his or her application for a sabbatical will result in termination of all compensation for the duration of the sabbatical. No sick leave or personal leave shall be accumulated or credited to a faculty member during a sabbatical. Time spent on sabbatical shall be deemed to be continuous service for all purposes for which continuous service is a factor in MnSCU.
Subd. 7. Return Requirements. A faculty member who has taken a sabbatical shall be required to return to the performance of his/her duties with the College at least for a period of time enabling the faculty member to earn compensation or benefits in an amount equal to that provided to the faculty member while on sabbatical. If a faculty member does not do so,
the faculty member shall reimburse the College an amount equal to that paid in salary and provided in benefits to the faculty member during the sabbatical, unless the College chooses to waive this requirement due to special circumstances.
Subd. 8. Sabbatical Denial. The Committee's decisions on whether to grant or deny an application for a sabbatical are not subject to review through the grievance procedure.
Section 3. Changes in Licensure/Credentialing. If MnSCU modifies the licensure/credentialing standards which would require a faculty member who met licensure/credentialing requirements when hired, and is currently assigned to teach in that area, to obtain additional training or education, then all costs, including release time, will be borne by the Employer.
Section 4. Professional Development Funds. For each fiscal year of this Agreement, each College will budget professional development funds at a minimum of one hundred and seventy-five dollars ($175) per each full-time equivalent position at the College, which will be calculated at the beginning of each academic year. The appropriate committee of the campus Faculty Senate shall establish procedures and criteria for the application of these funds. Faculty members on layoff are not eligible for these funds.
Funds provided by this Section may be used to reimburse the cost of travel, housing, meals, and registration associated with participation in professional conferences, workshops, and similar meetings or memberships. The committee may carry over any portion of its allocation from the first to the second year of the biennium and from one biennium to the next, up to one hundred percent (100%) of the previous year's allocation.
Section 5. Tuition Waiver. Full-time faculty shall be entitled to enroll on a space available basis in credit courses, without payment of tuition, at any MnSCU two-year institution. Such enrollment shall not exceed sixteen (16) semester credits for a year. The year shall be defined as the start of the fall session through the end of summer session. The faculty member's spouse or dependent children may share this right within the limit established above with waiver of tuition only.