Faculty PD Requirements

Faculty Professional Development Requirements

Deadlines to Complete Professional Development Obligation for the 2025-2026 Academic Year:

Full-Time Faculty	July 1, 2025 - May 2, 2026
Part-Time Faculty	Fall 2025: July 1 - November 8, 2025 Spring 2026: Nov. 10, 2025 - May 2, 2026

Faculty may carry over hours in the same academic year, fall to spring.

Faculty Professional Development Obligations

Faculty are required to complete Professional Development (PD) hours by attending face-to-face or online activities within the Vision Resource Center, or completing Self-Designed External Training. These are paid hours, and must be included on your Vision Resource Center transcript by the above deadlines or your pay will be reduced accordingly.
Page 35, part 7.16.1 of the GCCCD AFT Guild Faculty Contract (located on the AFT Guild website) explains when PD hours must be completed:

"Adjunct faculty must submit all documents which demonstrate evidence of completion of their professional development activities no later than the last day of the twelfth (12) week of instruction each semester. Tenured/Tenure-Track faculty must submit all documents which demonstrate evidence of completion of their professional development activities no later than the last day of the twelfth (12) week of instruction the spring semester each year."

Your Professional Development Obligation is calculated by semester in the Vision Resource Center per the faculty contract.
The full-time faculty calculation takes into account release time and extra pay assignments along with the contractual 20 hours per year.
The part-time faculty calculation is by instructional hour and is described in the box below.

Adjunct Faculty and Extra Pay

Full Time Faculty

Hours Required

1 hour for each lecture unit

3 hours for each lab unit

For example, one 3-unit lecture class and one 1-unit lab would come to 6 hours of PD obligation

20 hours per year plus extra pay

Time Frame

Fall: July 1 to the 12th week of class
Spring: week 13 of fall to week 12 of spring semester, or roll over extra hour from fall
Disclaimer: If a part-time faculty member chooses to engage in professional development activities earlier than flex week, and if her/his teaching load is subsequently reduced, she/he is not entitled to be compensated for the extra hours.

July 1 and week 12 of spring semester.

To view your PD Obligation Hours, login to the Vision Resource Center and view the "My Professional Development Obligation" text box on the welcome page.
Click here to view the Google Doc on how to check your completed hours in your VRC account.

my-pd-obligations

Self-Designed External Training	Review External Training webpage. Fill out the External Training form in the VRC. When you finish your activity, return to your personal VRC transcript to mark it "complete." Faculty seeking pre-approval for a self-designed external training may contact the faculty Teaching and Learning Coordinator by email to discuss how your activity fulfills Title 5 requirements. NOTE: Completed External Training forms will be accepted and reviewed to insure Title 5 compliance.
State Guidelines	The purpose of professional development is to educate and improve the entire staff. AB1725 funds Professional Development activities in California community colleges. The Flexible (Flex) Calendar allows community colleges to set aside 1-15 days of the state-mandated teaching year (175 days) for Professional Development purposes. This time is to be used primarily by faculty for Professional Development activities related to staff, student and instructional improvement (Title 5, section 55720).
Authorized Use of PD Funds	The authorized uses of Professional Development funds as outlined in AB1725 by the State Chancellor's Office are: Improvement of teaching. Maintenance of current academic and technical knowledge and skills. In-service training for vocational education and employment preparation programs. Retraining to meet changing institutional needs. Intersegmental exchange programs. Development of innovations in instructional and administrative techniques and program effectiveness. Computer and technological proficiency programs. Courses and training which implement affirmative action and upward mobility. Other activities determined by the Board of Governors to be related to educational and professional development pursuant to criteria established by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.
Classified Staff and Administrators	Classified employees and administrators have no Professional Development requirements at this time, but are encouraged to participate in Professional Development activities with the approval of their supervisors or managers.