Practical Matters: How to Stay Current in Your Field Without Breaking the Bank, Part II: Faculty Retraining and Development Fund

by Sarah Kain Gutowski, Chair, New Member Program

Greetings, new members! I hope you managed to survive the snowfall of last week without any traffic accidents or lack of electricity, and that this week your classes and meetings and daily tasks are comfortably back on schedule. 

Remember our last blog post, when I wrote about Conference Reimbursement? I just want to emphasize how fortunate we are to have a faculty union that negotiated, and continues to protect, our right to funding for professional development. $1700 per person, particularly when multiplied by our membership, seems like a lot of money, doesn't it? And, of course, it is -- but we have to remember that $1700 is intended to stretch across two years. If you're familiar with the rising cost of airfare -- and/or the astronomical costs of staying in "the" conference hotel for the duration of a conference -- you'll know that this $1700 is not going to last beyond, well, one or two conferences (depending, of course, on how long you stay and how far away the conference is located). 

Conferences (and the books you purchase at them) are expensive.

In your first years as a tenure-track faculty member, you'll be expected to stay current in your field by attending relevant local and/or regional conferences. There's no magic number -- although I'd suggest that a minimum of one per year demonstrates a comfortable commitment to one's professional development. With each subsequent promotion, however, and as with most aspects of your career, the stakes are raised the higher you climb toward full Professor or PA 2 or Specialist 2. You'll be expected to attend -- and eventually present at -- larger, more widely-recognized events on a national scale.

This, of course, will take money. My trip to LA in March of last year, for instance, to attend the annual conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), cost well over $1700. Such is life -- it's the premier conference in my field and I was presenting on a panel, so I said "bye-bye" pretty swiftly to my conference allowance.

SO. When I attended AWP last week in Washington, D.C., I had to pay out of pocket with no chance of reimbursement for my expenses, right?

Not necessarily. Because, well, I'm a planner by nature, I knew I'd want to attend the conference this year. Additionally, I knew that the Faculty Association has ALSO negotiated with the college and county for additional funds for faculty development and retraining: $30,000 per year, to be exact. Assistance for the next academic period is awarded to faculty who apply by April 15 of each year. The committee that oversees these applications awards funds first and foremost to faculty who require retraining. Then, after retraining needs have been met, those faculty who have applied for assistance for faculty development (like my attendance at the summer writers' conference) are awarded based on the strength of a faculty member's application and the amount of money still available in the fund.

So if you anticipate attending a conference or two next year -- and if you suspect you'll use your entire $1800 conference allowance pretty early, like yours truly (remember, the amount increases in September) -- you should consider applying for Faculty Retraining and Development assistance this spring. One way to make sure you understand the process and follow it correctly is to attend a Faculty Retraining and Development workshop one of our three campuses this semester, held by new FA Secretary Cynthia Eaton.

The Ammerman Campus workshop was last week -- but that doesn't mean you can't attend on a different campus if you're interested in learning more. The dates for the remaining workshops, held during common hour (11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.) are as follows:

Wednesday, February 15 (tomorrow!) on the Grant Campus in Captree 104.

Wednesday, February 22 (next week!) on the Eastern Campus in Corchaug 18.

Of course, if you can't make either of these workshops, simply email Cynthia Eaton with your concerns at cynthia [at] fascc.org. She'll be happy to help. Or ask your mentor, who may be able to answer your questions after having gone through the process him or herself. 

(And if you are interested in attending one of these workshops, give Cynthia a heads up by registering here.)

Practical Matters: How to Stay Current in Your Field Without Breaking the Bank, Part II: Faculty Retraining and Development Fund

by Sarah Kain Gutowski, Chair, New Member Program

Greetings, new members! I hope you managed to survive the snowfall of this weekend without any traffic accidents or lack of electricity, and that today your classes and meetings and daily tasks are comfortably back on schedule. 

Remember our last blog post, when I wrote about Conference Reimbursement? I just want to emphasize how fortunate we are to have a faculty union that negotiated, and continues to protect, our right to funding for professional development. $1700 per person, particularly when multiplied by our membership, seems like a lot of money, doesn't it? And, of course, it is -- but we have to remember that $1700 is intended to stretch across two years. If you're familiar with the rising cost of airfare -- and/or the astronomical costs of staying in "the" conference hotel for the duration of a conference -- you'll know that this $1700 is not going to last beyond, well, one or two conferences (depending, of course, on how long you stay and how far away the conference is located). 

Winter sun. It likes to hide.

In your first years as a tenure-track faculty member, you'll be expected to stay current in your field by attending relevant local and/or regional conferences. There's no magic number -- although I'd suggest that a minimum of one per year demonstrates a comfortable commitment to one's professional development. With each subsequent promotion, however, and as with most aspects of your career, the stakes are raised the higher you climb toward full Professor or PA 2 or Specialist 2. You'll be expected to attend -- and eventually present at -- larger, more widely-recognized events on a national scale.

This, of course, will take money. My trip to LA in March, for instance, to attend the annual conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, will cost well over $1700. Such is life -- it's the premier conference in my field and I'm presenting on a panel, so I've said "bye-bye" pretty swiftly to my conference allowance, haven't I? (Yes. Yes I have.)

SO: if I want to attend the annual Southampton Writers' Conference this summer I'm out of luck, then, right? And I shouldn't even dream about AWP in 2017!

Not necessarily. Because, well, I'm a planner by nature, I anticipated having all of my conference money sucked away by this AWP visit in March. ALSO, I anticipated wanting to attend the Southampton Writers' Conference and finally (FINALLY) finishing the play I've been tooling away at for almost ten years. And yes, I'll probably be attending AWP next year.

The catch is that I had to anticipate most of this almost a year ago -- in April of 2015 to be precise. You see, the Faculty Association has ALSO negotiated an additional amount of money for faculty development and retraining: $30,000 per year, to be exact. Assistance for the next academic period is awarded to faculty who apply by April 15 of each year. The committee that oversees these applications will award funds first and foremost to faculty who require retraining. Then, after retraining needs have been met, those faculty who have applied for assistance for faculty development (like my attendance at the summer writers' conference) are awarded based on the strength of a faculty member's application and the amount of money still available in the fund.

So if you anticipate attending a conference or two next year -- and if you suspect you'll use your entire $1700 conference allowance pretty early, like yours truly -- you should consider applying for Faculty Retraining and Development assistance this spring. One way to make sure you understand the process and follow it correctly is to attend a Faculty Retraining and Development workshop one of our three campuses this semester, held by FA Secretary Marie Hanna (who is also a member of the Faculty Retraining and Development Committee -- so she knows what she's talking about).

The Ammerman Campus workshop was last week -- but that doesn't mean you can't attend on a different campus if you're interested in learning more. The dates for the remaining workshops, held during common hour (11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.) are as follows:

Wednesday, February 10 (tomorrow!) on the Grant Campus in Sagtikos 221.

Wednesday, February 17 (next week!) on the Eastern Campus in Corchaug 18.

Of course, if you can't make either of these workshops, simply email Marie Hanna with your concerns at marie [at] fascc.org. She'll be happy to help. Or ask your mentor, who may be able to answer your questions after having gone through the process him or herself. 

(And if you are interested in attending one of these workshops, give Marie a heads up by registering here.)

p.s. Want to learn more about how to balance professional development and scholarship with your regular job duties? Make sure you attend next Friday's New Member Discussion Series Event:

Friday, February 19: “Taking Your Show on the Road: How to Participate in Scholarship while Teaching at a Two-Year School” Faculty from various departments and disciplines re­flect on finding time for writing, research, and other forms of scholarship at an institution where teaching is the focus. While describing their own personal paths to publication and conference presentations, panelists will offer advice and share resources for new hires looking to balance their day to day duties with professional and scholarly concerns. Mildred Green Room, BSC, Ammerman Campus, 11:00-12:15 p.m.

Practical Matters: How to Stay Current in Your Field Without Breaking the Bank, Part I: Conference Attendance & Reimbursement

by Sarah Kain Gutowski, Chair, New Member Mentoring Program

By now, hopefully you've settled into your second semester as a full-time faculty member quite nicely. You're fully prepped for classes or you resumed your duties shortly after the holiday -- and now you feel comfortable enough with your regular job duties to venture out to some conferences or seminars for a little professional development.

Maybe you feel like engaging in some pretty major professional development. In fact, maybe the  professional development opportunity takes place in another state. Maybe that state is far away, like, say, California. Maybe the city in California is a fairly expensive city, like, oh, Los Angeles. Maybe you need to stay for three or four days just to attend all of the panel discussions and workshops and poster sessions that would make a trip like that worth the trouble and expense. 

And maybe your bank account will be flat-out busted by the time you're done paying for expenses like registration fees, air fare, lodging, and meals.

Who's going to Los Angeles in March? This girl!

Or wait -- maybe it won't be! 

One of the most beneficial parts of the contract negotiated by our Faculty Association is the part that provides for 1) "T" days that you make take (instead of sick days or personal leave days) for conference attendance and 2) reimbursement for expenses such as the ones listed above. According to our most recent Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), each faculty member is allotted a total of $1700 to attend conferences over the next two years -- from September 2015 to September 2017. In September 2017, the amount allotted increases to $1800. 

How do I access this money? you ask. Great question! The answer is, like at most institutions, slowly and sometimes painfully and through the careful application to the college's administration via forms -- a necessary evil, and one that shouldn't prove too cumbersome or unwieldy provided that you download the right forms and follow the proper steps. 

1. First, you need to submit a request at least six weeks prior to the date of the conference or professional obligation. The request form requires you to estimate the cost of travel, hotel, registration, meals, etc. and support it with documents that prove your intention to attend the event (like a conference registration receipt, or the letter that confirms your participation as a reader or panelist). You can find this form here, as well as the Travel Expense Voucher (see below) on the front page of the college's governance web site. (Wait -- you didn't know we even had a college governance web site? This post is chock full of information, isn't it? More on college governance later -- that's a story for a later blog!)
2. You'll need to have this form signed by your academic chair -- he or she must approve your attendance first -- and then you (or the chair) needs to give the form to your department's administrative assistant. He or she will forward this on to the Executive Dean's office for your campus. 
• Note: Why can't you just forward it to the Executive Dean's office yourself? Well, the administrative assistant for your department needs to know about (i.e. actually see; become familiar with) the request because eventually, after the Executive Dean approves the request and forwards the appropriate material to the Business Office, he or she will need to enter a requisition into Banner for you, which will generate a Purchase Order Number, which will result in you being reimbursed the requested funds. If these steps aren't followed, you won't receive a payment. So long story short is: fill out the paperwork, have it signed, give it to the department administrative assistant.
3. Once the Executive Dean's office and the Central Business Office have finished doing their thing, they'll send you a nice letter in the mail notifying you that your conference attendance has been approved. Also, they'll provide you with copies of the College Business/Contractual Travel Payment Request Form & Instructions, as well as the Travel Expense Voucher. Hold on to these items until you return from your conference.
4. When you attend your conference, you have to note your absence from your campus in your faculty leave report. There's no option for "conference attendance" in that screen, so instead you should type a note to your supervisor (reminding him or her about the approved conference attendance) in the notes section of your monthly leave report.
5. Once home from your conference, you need to fill out the Travel Expense Voucher as well as the Payment Request Form. Once again your academic chair will be asked for his or her signature the Travel Expense Voucher and the Payment Request Form, and then you'll forward those forms, as well as everything listed below to the Executive Dean's office:
• The Payment Request Form
• The Travel Expense Voucher
• Your conference badge
• Your conference brochure (hang on to all of the handouts, people)
• The conference daily agenda or program
• A conference report (an account and evaluation of the meetings you attended along with comments about its usefulness to you as a faculty member)
• Relevant receipts, including those for payment of the conference fee, payment for hotel accommodations, payment for an auto rental, payment for tolls, payment for parking, payment for cab fare if a shuttle isn't available, and payment for airfare or train tickets, etc. If you drive to the conference, you can submit a mileage request form, also available on the college web site.

It's important to note two things: The first is that you should submit your travel vouchers and supporting documentation and mileage requests within two and a half months of attending the conference -- otherwise reimbursement may be denied. The second is that it generally takes a campus Executive Dean's office two weeks to process the paperwork, and sometimes longer. So while you shouldn't expect to be reimbursed instantly, if you follow the guidelines and fill out everything correctly, you'll receive a reimbursement check before too long.

Attempt at Clarification and an Update

by Sarah Gutowski, Chair, New Member Mentoring Program

My post on Faculty Development and Retraining needs some clarification, I'm afraid. The language of the letter that was sent out by our administration earlier this semester states that "Administration encourages retraining in the following areas: Chemistry, Communications (Speech), Computer Science, Culinary Arts, Geography, Mathematics (Developmental)." To be more clear, the letter should really read that retraining is permitted for certain areas only, and that this list contains some (or all) of those areas.

 

I mean, really, it would be helpful if they listed the areas in which they allow faculty members to apply for retraining (particularly if there are areas in which they do not allow retraining). Or if they specified the areas where faculty need retraining. Or if they defined retraining. As it stands, the word "encouraging" is ambiguous and a little misleading.

 

Anyway, the point of this post is to clarify, but I'm not sure if I can (see reasons in the paragraph above). Hopefully I'm not contributing to or causing greater confusion, because as Marie Hanna (our FA Secretary) pointed out, new faculty probably don't need retraining at this point anyway, so this information may or may not be useful to you.

 

So here's some information that will be more useful! It's an updated list of new members and their mentors! Yay!

(I apologize for the effusion of exclamation marks. I'm a little excited about the prospect of catching up on grading next week. I know: it's sad.)

Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 New Members and Mentors

 

Grant Campus

New Members  //  Mentors 

 

Kimberly Coluccio  //  Sue DeMasi

Kathleen Ayers-Lanzillotta  //  Alyssa Kaufman

Margaret Kennedy  //  Jeff Epstein

Jason Ramirez  //  Bruce Seger

Gregory Ryan  //  Tony Zajac

Michael Selmer  //  Al Heraghty
Sharon Gardner //  Maureen Arma
Timothy Giardina //  Ed Chropufka
Timothy Keiley  //  Larry Cavanagh
Edwin Roldan  //  Mohini Ratna

 

Central

New Members  //  Mentors

Danielle Groneman  //  Theresa Morales

Donna Krompinger //  Joan Horn

 

Ammerman Campus

New Members  //  Mentors

 

Melissa Adeyeye  //  Emily Lauer

Raymond Di Sanza II  //  William Burns

Nicholas Giordano  //  Albin Cafone

Elizabeth McCormick  //  Meridith Leo-Rowett

Hsiaofang (Sharon) Huang  //  Vera Hu-Hyneman

Mark Kenny //  Vladimir Jurukovski

Brian Koralewski  //  John Bockino

Rachel Schmidt  //  Cecilia Spellman
Lisa Behnke  //  Catherine Lipnick
Richard Lauria //  Maria Nieves-Alonso
Kim Mokarry  //  Karen Pepe
Michael Riggio  //  Andrea Dunkirk
Dawn Wing  //  Krista Gruber
 

Eastern Campus

New Members  //  Mentors

Misty Curreli  //   Justin Turner

Jamie Emmetsberger  //  Katherine Aguirre

Todd Gardner  //  Joe Napolitano

Richard Mack  // Johanna MacKay

Heather Mann  //  Paul Anderson

Aimee Mattiolo  //  Jodi Levine

Rachel Millings  //  Erikka Mendez

Meredith Starr  //  Adam Penna

Susan Wood  //  Kristen Cosentino
Adela Johnson  // Penny Bealle
Janet Tierney  //  Nic Pestieau
Yu Zhang  //  Katherine Aguirre


I hope you all have a wonderful Spring Recess.

(Yay Spring Break!!!)

Faculty Development and Retraining

by Sarah Gutowski, Chair, New Member Mentoring Program

Not sure if you remember, but back in October I wrote about Conference Attendance and Reimbursement. Hopefully, some of you applied for funding already. If you didn't, don't worry -- you have until September of 2015 to spend your $1500.

 

In my defense, breakfast in Seattle
 came with a pretty cool view.

If you did apply for funds already, you may have noticed that while $1500 is a lovely and substantial amount of money, it can . . .um . . . disappear kind of quickly when one has to buy a plane ticket to say, Seattle, and one wishes to stay in the conference hotel for nearly, oh, $200 a night. 

 

*Cough*

 

Anyway, so what if you use all of your available conference money before the two year period is up -- and you have another very important conference to apply for?

 

You apply for Faculty Development and Retraining funds, that's what!

 

Every year, the county provides up to $30,000 in funds for faculty retraining and development assistance. You may remember receiving an email about this earlier in February. You'll get a similar one every year around the same time -- but don't ignore that email! This is a good way to apply for retraining funds for the following year. Take note of the deadline for application (it's April 15), and note that all applications must be submitted, via email, to the Office of the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs -- no more paper copies!

 

It's good to note, too, that faculty retraining is given first priority. Then, if money remains in the pool, it's awarded for faculty development. And if money is still left over, faculty are allowed to apply for summer development funds -- for the current academic year, not the following.

If that's a little confusing, see this page on the FA's web site. I think it may make things more clear.

This year, the administration wants to encourage the following areas, in particular, to apply:

 

Chemistry

Communications (Speech)

Computer Science

Culinary Arts

Geography

Mathematics (Developmental)

 

 

So for those of you who still have conference attendance funds left, relax but think about where and when you might want to spend that money before September 2015 arrives. And for those of you who have blown it all on one fabulous professional development opportunity on the other side of the country (ahem), consider that you can still defray costs for future conference attendance by being diligent and filling out a Faculty/Guild Retraining Application. The worst that can happen is that your request is denied and you'll have wasted a few minutes on extra paperwork -- but if it's granted, you'll be able to hang on to a little more of your paycheck AND be super current in your field.

 

Yay!