3000-2-9 Further Formal Education for the Purpose of Additional Salary Steps

Policy

1. A full-time or partial-load academic employee may attain additional salary steps by completing approved additional formal education.
2. The additional steps may not cause the employee's annual base salary to exceed the salary maximum described by the Collective Agreement.
3. The additional formal education must be approved by the College, prior to the commencement of the course of study, in order to qualify for additional salary steps.
4. The additional formal education must result in a formal qualification that would "constitute the norm in institutions of post-secondary education in the Province of Ontario". (Academic Employees Collective Agreement, effective October 1, 2017)
5. The additional formal education credential must be at a higher lever than the employee's current highest credential in order for the employee to qualify for additional salary steps.
6. The additional formal education must be completed through a
   1. Canadian post-secondary institution recognized by Lambton College, or
   2. a non-Canadian post-secondary institution that is an accredited, recognized post-secondary institution and a program of study that is deemed to be equivalent to a certificate, diploma or degree from an accredited, recognized post-secondary institution in Ontario as indicated by deemed equivalency by the World Education Services (WES), and accepted by Lambton College.
7. A full-time or partial-load academic employee who is pursuing a non-Canadian credential is required to provide evidence of equivalency from World Education Services (WES) at the time of application for approval and, upon completion of the education, the employee completing a non-Canadian credential must provide a World Education Services (WES) official evaluation report confirming the Canadian equivalency of the credential.
8. The academic employee must submit, in writing, a request for approval of further formal education for the purpose of gaining further salary steps prior to enrolling in the program of study.
9. The written request must include an outline of the proposed program of study and its relevance to the individual and the College.
10. Approval of the proposed further education for additional salary steps does not constitute or imply approval for Educational Assistance as described in and provided for by the Professional Development (3000-3-2) policy.
    1. Academic employees wishing to request approval for educational assistance as described in the Professional Development policy must request approval under that policy and as described by it.
11. The approval of further formal education for additional salary steps is independent of, and implies no connection with or approval for, considerations under the Collective Agreement Article 20 - Professional Development Leave, Article 21 - Leave of Absence or Article 23 - Pre-Paid Leave.
    1. Academic employees wishing to request consideration under any of the above Collective Agreement articles must request approval under the relevant article as described by it.
12. The approval process for further formal education for additional salary steps requires a request submitted by the academic employee, consideration by the immediate supervisor, review by the Senior Vice-President, Strategy & Corporate Services, approval by the Senior Vice-President, Academic & Student Success, and written notice of approval from the Human Resources department.
    1. To initiate the approval process for further formal education for additional salary steps, the academic employee will meet with the immediate supervisor to discuss the proposal and will then submit to the supervisor the completed formal written request providing all required information and rationales.
    2. The immediate supervisor will review and forward the request to the Senior Vice-President, Strategy & Corporate Services (or designate) to determine the appropriate step progression resulting from the proposed further formal education, consistent with the Classification Plan for Academic Employees in the Academic Collective Agreement and any other relevant articles in the collective agreement.
    3. The Senior Vice-President, Strategy & Corporate Services (or designate) will forward the request and the determination of the step progression and any other relevant comments to the Senior Vice-President, Academic & Student Success for consideration for approval. In considering the request, the Senior Vice-President, Academic & Student Success will consider:
       1. the comments and recommendation of the immediate supervisor;
       2. the subjects normally taught by the academic employee, or the nature of counselling normally provided by the counsellor, or the nature of services normally provided by the Librarian;
       3. the current and planned or anticipated requirements of the College; and,
       4. the financial resources and capability of the College.
    4. The Senior Vice-President, Academic & Student Success will make a determination with respect to the request and forward it to the Senior Vice-President, Strategy & Corporate Services. The Human Resources department will convey the decision along with any relevant conditions or limitations and the determined resulting step progression, in writing, to the employee and provide a copy to the respective immediate supervisor.
    5. The above written notice from the Human Resources department concerning the decision, limitations and step progression constitutes the only relevant and applicable approval by the College for the undertaking of further formal education for the purpose of additional salary steps and the number of additional steps.
13. Any step and salary adjustments resulting from the approved further formal education will become effective the date the new credential is conferred by the granting institution.
14. Any request from an academic member for adjustments to the current or maximum salary step level as a result of completing further formal education that did not receive College approval prior to the commencement of studies will be considered at the sole discretion of the College.