Please also refer to the current CTA Contract.

17.2.2.2 Column Advancement

17.2.2.2.1 Course Requirements

• All courses taken for column advancement on the salary schedule after a unit member is an employee of the District, must have the prior approval, in writing, of the Vice President for Academic Services or Vice President for Student Services, as appropriate. Unit members should request such approval as early as possible, but at least two weeks prior to the start of the course.
• Courses taken for advancement on the salary schedule and/or for the purpose of attaining a Bachelor's, Master's or Doctor's degree must be completed at a college or university recognized as accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
• For purpose of advancement on the salary schedule, courses taken for column advancement must be related to the unit member's primary work assignment, and/or his/her field of instruction, and shall be upper division and/or graduate level courses with the following exceptions:
  • In certain classes and programs, members of the unit could function more effectively if they had basic training in computers or a basic command of Spanish or sign language. Accordingly, in selected situations, unit members will be given credit for salary purposes when they have completed basic courses, including lower-division courses in computers, Spanish or sign language.
  • Lower division courses in Alcohol and Drug Studies shall be eligible for purposes of column advancement on the salary schedule.
• A vocational instructor may advance to Column B on the salary schedule for obtaining a Bachelor's degree plus thirty (30) approved units, or to Column C on the salary schedule for obtaining a Bachelor's degree plus forty-five (45) approved units provided that her or his teaching field is one in which a Master's degree is not offered.
• No restriction shall be placed on the number of semester units, or their equivalent that may be earned by unit members during an academic year or during winter intersession or summer session.
• Continuing education or extension units are eligible for approval for advancement provided such courses meet the other requirements of this section. No restriction shall be placed on the number of units of extension credit at upper division or graduate level that may be granted for salary schedule advancement.
• Upper division or graduate level courses in education, that teach pedagogical methods, techniques or strategies appropriate to the education or counseling of community college level students are defined as related to the primary work assignment of all unit members.
• Units of credit may be granted for work experience that is related to the teaching field. The work experience must clearly be related to the unit member's primary work assignment, and must occur during a session or semester in which the member is not rendering paid service to the district. An application for approval must be made, in writing, to the Vice President for Academic Services no later than thirty (30) days prior to the anticipated beginning of work. Units of credit for the purposes of advancement will be granted in accordance with the following provisions:
  • One (1) unit per fifty (50) clock hours of work with satisfactory performance.
  • A minimum of fifty (50) clock hours must be completed before credit is granted. Fractions in excess of fifty (50) clock hours shall not be carried forward to any subsequent application for work experience credit.
  • A maximum of six (6) units of credit for work experience will be allowed within each fifteen (15) unit increment period.

17.2.2.2.2 Notification and Verification Requirements

• Unit members whose official date of advancement occurs on July 1 or on the first day of the fall semester (as defined above in Article 17.2.2), and who desire a column advancement to commence with the member's next employment contract:
  • must make the request for column advancement in writing, to the Vice President for Academic Services or Vice President for Student Services, as appropriate, by no later than the preceding May 15, and;
  • must submit all official transcripts, diplomas, certificates, or statements of equivalency that support the unit member's request for column advancement to the Vice President for Academic Services or Vice President for Student Services, as appropriate, as soon as possible after May 15, but by no later than the first day that the unit member reports to work for the current fiscal or academic year; except that transcripts of courses completed during the summer of that year must be submitted no later than September 15. Grade cards and study lists may be accepted temporarily as verification of enrollment.
• Unit members whose official date of advancement occurs on January 1 or on the first day of the spring semester (as defined above in Article 17.2.2), and who desire a column advancement to commence with the member's next employment contract:
  • must make the request for column advancement in writing, to the Vice President for Academic Services or Vice President for Student Services, as appropriate, by no later than the preceding September 15, and;
  • must submit all official transcripts, diplomas, certificates, or statements of equivalency that support the unit member's request for column advancement to the Vice President for Academic Services or Vice President for Student Services, as appropriate, as soon as possible after September 15, but by no later than the first day that the unit member reports to work after January 1 or the first day of the spring semester, as appropriate; except that transcripts of courses completed during the fall or winter of that year must be submitted no later than March 15. Grade cards and study lists may be accepted temporarily as verification of enrollment.
• All grades of "Credit", of "CR", or "Pass", "Satisfactory" or the like – without the necessity of having such grades converted to a letter grade – where the aforementioned grade can be verified to be the equivalent of a "C" grade or better, must be earned in courses taken for advance on the salary schedule. Verification may be in such forms as, but not limited to, notations by the granting institution that appear on the transcript or a letter from an appropriate official/employee of the granting institution. Where an institution will not provide verification, the District will presume that the grade at issue is the equivalent of a "C" grade or better.
• A unit member who attains a Master's degree after his/her employment with the district, and that Master's degree required at least forty-five (45) semester units, or its equivalent, for conferral, shall advance to column C upon providing official documentation of this unit requirement, and meeting all other requirements for column advancement.
• A unit member who attains a Master's degree after his/her employment with the district, and that Master's degree required at least sixty (60) semester units, or its equivalent, for conferral, shall advance to column D upon providing official documentation of this unit requirement, and meeting all other requirements for column advancement.