Faculty Load Banking (FLB) Primer
Article 32.07
Revised Fall 2020
Per Article 32.07, contract faculty have the right to load banking. Accrued load can be used to supplement Family/Personal leaves and Special Educational Leaves, as well as to offset the 40 percent loss of load for full-year sabbatical leaves. If you have questions that are not covered hereÑor if any of the following information needs further clarificationÑplease don't hesitate to contact the AFA office.
1. What can I use banked load for?
You can use banked load for Family/Personal Leaves, for Special Education Leaves, or to offset the 40 percent reduction in load for a two-semester Sabbatical Leave.
2. Who is eligible to use the FLB program?
All contract faculty members working at 100 percent contracts are eligible to participate in this program. Those who are on reduced load are not eligible.
3. What is the difference between load balancing and load banking?
Load balancing pertains specifically and only to one's contract load (sometimes referred to as "C-load").
When your department determines assignments for contract faculty members' contract loads, it can be difficult to hit 100 percent exactly. For example, if you teach in a department that offers only four-unit lecture courses, each course has 26.6667 percent load, and no combination of sections will give you an exact 100 percent load. However, if a contract faculty member's contract load is high one semester and low the next, over time the contract load "balances." The Contract says that a contract faculty member's C-load may be 26.6667 percent under or over 100 percent in any given semester. (Contract load may not be converted to hourly load except per 32.02.C.3.)
Load banking, on the other hand, pertains specifically to one's hourly assignments.
Load that is banked is strictly within the provisions of Article 16: Hourly Assignments and Article 32: Workload. Per Contract, any load remaining after all contract faculty loads are determined is designated as "hourly" and is available according to the provisions of Article 16. Summer assignments are also hourly assignments and may be banked. If a contract faculty member wishes to bank load, the faculty member must follow the provisions of Article 16 to get such assignments.
4. Can I load balance and load bank in the same semester?
Yes, you mayÑand you may need to. Using the above example of a faculty member whose department offers only 26.6667-percent classes, the faculty member will likely teach four classes as to fulfill the faculty memberÕs contract load obligation. The total load for these four classes is 106.6667 percent, and the faculty member must balance the 6.6667 percent. If the faculty member wishes to bank load, s/he would request a fifth class, according to the provisions of Article 16, and the 26.6667 percent load from that class may be banked.
5. Can Reassigned Time (RAT) be banked?
Reassigned time (RAT) is typically part of one's contract load. When a contract faculty member gets RAT, s/he has been reassigned from his/her regular contract duties to perform other workÑfor example, serving as department chair or coordinator. Such RAT may not be banked. However, the provisions of Article 16 give the District discretion in offering hourly assignments after the schedule of classes is permatized (published on the SRJC website). When contract faculty members receive such assignments after the schedule is permatized, they may choose to either bank the load or receive overload pay.
6. How do I request to load bank?
Once you've gotten an assignment according to the provisions of Article 16, you can choose to bank that load. Once your load has been entered into your faculty cubby, you can select the ÒBankÓ option for any eligible assignments. That selection will notify the District of your intent to bank the load.
7. How does the District keep track of banked load?
Your banked load will be entered on your load report, which now has a column for load-banking. When you add to your banked load, your balance will increase based on the percentage of the hourly assignment you're banking, and when you use banked load, the balance will decrease based on the formula described in number 9, below.
8. How do I inform the District that I wish to use banked load?
As part of the procedure for applying for Family/Personal Leaves and Special Education Leaves, you must notify the District in writing that you wish to use banked load during the leave. Exceptions may be made under extenuating circumstances.
For faculty members going on sabbatical and choosing the two-semester sabbatical pattern (described as Sabbatical Pattern B or C, ref. Article 25.03), the preferred deadline for notifying the District of your intention to use banked load is the deadline for your sabbatical proposal. Email the VP of Academic Affairs of your intent to use banked load while on sabbatical.
9. When I use my banked load, how is it credited toward my compensation when I'm on leave?
You will need to bank 1.2 times the load value of your leave for Family/Personal Leaves and Special Education Leaves. That is, a faculty member with a 100 percent load who is out for one semester on one of these leaves must have 120 percent of load banked in order to get full pay during the leave.
For faculty members on Sabbatical Leave who choose the two-semester pattern, the cost to offset the 40 percent load reduction in the first semester of the sabbatical is 1.0 (using 40 percent banked load will result in full pay for the semester), and the cost to offset the 40 percent load reduction in the second semester of the sabbatical is 1.2 (48 percent load is needed for full pay in the second semester).
10. If I am going on a two-semester Sabbatical Leave, and I do not have a total of 88 percent load banked, is it possible to use the balance of my banked load to partially offset the load reduction?
Yes. If you have less than 88 percent load banked, you may offset part of the 40 percent load reduction at a rate of 1.0 during the first semester and 1.2 during the second semester.
11. If I use banked load to bring my load to 100 percent during a leave, do I receive full STRS credit?
Yes. However, if you have some but not all of the banked load that you need to hit 100 percent, your STRS credit will be prorated accordingly.
12. What is the maximum amount of load that I can bank?
Without District approval to exceed this limit, the most that you may bank is 1.20 FTEF, or 240 percent.
13. Can I combine the FLB program with other types of leave, such as sick leave or catastrophic leave?
Yes, you may. For example, if you are out for a semester or two due to serious illness, you may use a combination of sick leave and banked load to maintain your salary. The limit when using combined leaves is two semesters, unless you get District approval to exceed this limit.
14. How long can I keep unused banked load?
If you have a FLB balance of 1.0 FTEF (200 percent) or more for twelve consecutive semesters without applying for a leave, the District may convert the banked load to contract load, hourly load, or a combination of the two. If the District exercises this option, it will notify the faculty member in writing.
15. What happens if I become ineligible for the faculty load banking programÑdue to retirement, going on reduced load, or another reasonÑwhen I have unused banked load?
To be eligible to participate in the FLB program, you must be a contract faculty member with a 100 percent contract load. If you are no longer eligible to participate in the program, the District will, at its discretion, convert any unused banked load to contract or hourly load or a combination of the two. This will occur the first semester after losing eligibility. If some of the banked load is converted to hourly load, your compensation for each banked assignment will be based on the current hourly rate of the type of assignment that was banked.