Additional Education During Term of Employment
Subject: Additional Education During Term of Employment
Effective Dates: January 1, 1987 and March 3, 2026
Board Policy Reference: DEB, DK, DEC(LOCAL)
Purpose
Blinn College District employees are encouraged to continue their education so long as the time spent pursuing such additional education does not adversely affect the employee's performance of college duties.
Guideline
Any full-time employee planning to take more than six (6) credit hours during any semester shall consult with the appropriate vice chancellor before registering. Courses to be taken for pay purposes must be approved in advance, in writing, by the Chancellor.
No employee (professional, classified, hourly, full- or part-time) may take any course at Blinn College District or elsewhere during that employee's regular duty hours unless written permission and a written agreement stating conditions have been secured from the Chancellor before registering for the course. The agreement’s conditions will include salary reduction, duty hours outside the traditional 40-hour workweek, use of paid-time-off hours, or some combination of the three.
Requests to take courses during duty hours must be filed in writing with the employee's supervisor who will then forward it to the appropriate vice chancellor before submitting it to the Chancellor for final approval. Such requests should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the course’s start date.
Considerations for approval to take courses during duty hours will entail: the employee’s ability to fulfill assigned duties, the employee’s capacity to make up missed time, the course’s relevance to the employee’s role at the College, and the frequency of such requests.
An eligible faculty member requesting one (1) academic year or one-half (1/2) academic year of leave to pursue additional education shall apply for development leave as instructed in Board Policy DEC(LOCAL). To apply for development leave, a faculty member must submit a completed application, requested from Human Resources, to the Development Leave Committee for its review and recommendation. The Committee shall forward its recommendation to the Chancellor before March 1 of the academic year prior to the effective year.