Getting In
Career Incentive Program
To download the application, click here.
Application deadlines
Program Overview
The Career Incentive Program is an award program through which classified employees can be compensated for voluntarily enhancing their value to the district. Under the Career Incentive Program, full-time permanent classified employees may be eligible to receive a monthly salary increase of $100 upon verification of satisfactory completion of nine (9) units of approved coursework/activities within each five-year period. Employees who work less than full time receive a proportional increase based on the ratio of their employment to 40 hours. (For example: if an employee works 20 hours per week, they receive an increase of $50 per month [50 percent of $100].) *This increase is an addition to the base salary; it does not change the original base salary. This is part of the annual earnings when referring to benefit-eligible salary.
A. Career Incentive Award Limits
Each employee is limited to three (3) career-incentive award increases,
regardless of when he/she began participation in the program. Only one program
may be completed within each five-year period.
B. Eligibility
All permanent classified employees (employees who have passed the district’s
probation period and attained permanent employment status with the district shall
be eligible to participate in the program. Permanency must be attained before the
first day of semester/term of the beginning of the Career Incentive Program.
Classified managers (see Board of Trustees Policy VI.D) and hourly/temporary
classified employees are not eligible for participation in the Career Incentive
program.
C. Eligible Courses
Courses suitable for the Career Incentive Program must be related to the
employee’s current position or appropriate for the employee’s declared career
goal as defined below. Intended course work must be approved as meeting one
of these two categories at the time of application. A Career Incentive Program
may include both types of courses:
1. Job-related courses are those undertaken to acquire new or more advanced skills or knowledge beyond the skills or knowledge reasonably expected for entrance into the employee’s current position and which shall be clearly useful in the current position.
2. Career-development courses are those courses undertaken to meet
education requirements for another position existing or planned within the
district and which the employee can realistically expect to achieve.
Examples of eligible courses include, but are not limited to community-services
classes, college courses (credit/noncredit college courses, late-start classes,
online classes, and/or open-entry/open-exit courses). Coursework required for
or needed as preparation for the specific major and/or general education is to be
completed prior to career-incentive credit being granted for electives.
In recognition of the district’s commitment to wellness, physical-activity classes
will be allowed at the rate of one physical activity course per Career Incentive
Program (i.e., dance, physical education). Similarly, due to the district’s
commitment to maintaining currency with technology, course repeats of CIS
classes (as allowed per the college catalog) may not occur within the same
Career Incentive Program.
Career-incentive credit will be granted for workshops and seminars at a rate of
one-quarter unit per four (4) hours, one-third unit per six (6) hours, and one-half
unit per full eight (8) hours of workshop attendance, with a maximum of four (4) units for each Career Incentive program. Satisfactory completion shall mean completion of courses with a grade of C, CR, or better.
D. Ineligible Courses
Training in operating systems and software applications that are part of the
minimum qualifications for an employee’s current position is not eligible for a
Career Incentive Program. This would include upgrades such as from Windows
98 to Windows XP. Please see information regarding Administrative Procedure
IV.C-04 for the enrollment fee reimbursement program.
Conferences, workshops, seminars, and other types of in-service training (such
as PeopleSoft) for which the employee is paid or which is provided for by the
district on or off campus and work-experience education are not eligible for the
Career Incentive Program.
E. Application Process
Employees who wish to participate in the Career Incentive Program must
complete and submit an application form, with their supervisor’s signature, to
Human Resources before a course begins and according to the timeline below:
1. July 1 for fall semester course work/activities occurring August 1 to
December 31.
2. December 1 for spring semester course work/activities occurring January
1 to May 31.
3. May 1 for summer semester course work/activities occurring June 1 to
July 31.
To apply for workshop/seminar or conference credit, the completed application
must be submitted to the committee with a brochure or flyer from the
workshop/seminar. Applications must be submitted for approval three (3) weeks
prior to the date it begins. Exceptions are subject to the discretion of the
committee on a case-by-case basis.
All applications shall include the school(s), course numbers, titles, and number of
units of the courses to be taken, as well as a brief written justification of why each
course is job-related or career development, and how the completed course work
will benefit the District. With every application, participants must also submit
official transcripts of all course work taken previously to avoid any duplication.
(*Additionally, if the course(s) is/are career development, an Educational Plan of required coursework developed in consultation with a college counselor must be submitted with the application.) This plan shall explain how the employee intends to achieve the stated career goal/position’s objective. The employee may be required by the committee to submit further verification of the appropriateness of planned course work.
F. Program Guidelines
Nine (9) semester units or 14 quarter units of college course work, or 30 units of
high school coursework must be completed within a five-year period. Once a
five-year program has begun, the program’s five-year timeframe continues
whether or not the approved course(s) taken are completed or dropped by the
participant. Any changes to an existing approved program (e.g., adding or
dropping courses, changing goals) must be resubmitted to the Career Incentive
Committee for approval. If the program is completed early within the five-year
period, the participant must notify Director, Human Resources so that the Career
Incentive compensation can commence.
The five-year period shall begin on the date specified by the employee in the
application. No courses will be approved retroactively except for
workshops/seminars announced by the seminar’s institution/company after the
application deadline.
Participation in the Career Incentive Program must be on the employee’s own
time and at his/her own expense. No salary credit will be given for course work
taken on district paid time or at the direction of the district.
An employee desiring to enroll in classes/workshops/seminars during working
hours must follow these procedures:
1. Discuss with supervisor the course(s) desired and arrange for absence
from duty for the time required to attended class(es).
2. Make arrangements to have the duty station covered during the period of
absence, if necessary, and have arrangements approved by the
supervisor.
3. Arrange to make up time lost within the same work week.
4. Direct a memorandum to Human Resources setting forth the approved
changes in the work schedule and the beginning and ending dates
thereof. The supervisor’s approval shall accompany the employee’s
memorandum; both shall be placed in the employee’s personnel file.
If an employee changes positions at MiraCosta College, the employee will not
need to wait for completion of the new position’s one-year probation in order to
participate within the Career Incentive Program. Career-incentive compensation
shall remain a permanent part of any non-management employee’s salary
regardless of a change in classification resulting from change in position, Yrating,
voluntary demotion, transfer, or classification review.
Career-incentive compensation will discontinue for employees promoted to
management positions, as well as their eligibility to participate in new Career
Incentive Program.
G. Program Completion
Upon completion of the Career Incentive program, the employee shall
immediately give written notification to the Director, Human Resources and
submit an official transcript verifying satisfactory completion of each course taken
as part of the Career Incentive Program as soon as it is available. After the
workshop/seminar is completed, evidence of attendance (i.e., receipt for
registration, etc.) must be submitted within sixty (60) days.
The participating employee shall receive an increase of $100 per month. The
increase shall become effective the first pay period following the end of the five year
period or, if the employee completes the program in less than five years, the
increase will become effective on the January 1, June 1, or August 1 following
completion. This increase is an addition to the base salary; it does not change
the original base salary. This is part of the annual earnings when referring to
benefit-eligible salary. Employees who work less than full-time will receive a
proportional increase based on the ratio of their employment to forty hours.
Employees who began an approved nine-unit Career Incentive Program prior to
July 1, 1987, received a salary increase equal to five (5) percent of their monthly
salary at the time they completed the nine units of approved course work. Future
compensation associated with this Career Incentive Program will remain at the
initial dollar amount unless the employee’s working hours change. In this event,
the dollar amount will be proportionately decreased or increased. (See example
in the above paragraph.)
Employees who have completed approved nine-unit Career Incentive Programs prior to June 30, 1987, will continue to be paid the dollar amount of the careerincentive salary increase(s) applicable to their FY88 salary, or $100, whichever is greater.
Effective July 1, 2004, the amount of the stipend was increased from $75 to $100 per month. All other provisions shall remain unchanged unless indicated above.
Text from Administrative Procedure 7160: Professional Development
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