Frequently Asked Questions

"District Flex Day" (or "District Opening Day") takes place before the beginning of each semester, and its location rotates between the three campuses.  It is planned by the District Professional Development Coordinator and provides opportunities for district-wide collaboration and professional learning.  

"College Flex Days” take place the day after District Opening Day ("College Opening Day") and in the middle of each semester.  College Flex Days are planned by CSM's All-Campus Professional Development Committee and coordinated by the Professional Development Faculty Coordinator.  In most cases, district-wide sessions cannot be accommodated on College Flex Days.  Attendance at College Opening Day (the first College Flex Day in the semester) is mandatory in SMCCCD.

We try to provide a variety of modalities on Flex Day to accommodate employees who are unable to attend in person, while also ensuring a critical mass of people in-person.  If a session is not available on Zoom, there are a number of possible reasons:   

• The session presenter chose in-person only, to facilitate in-person interaction.
• We don't currently have the budget to make the session available on Zoom.  (In Bayview Dining, for example, it can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars to set up the Zoom option.) 
• The speaker included a clause in their contract prohibiting a Zoom option, often for intellectual property reasons. 
• Based on the content or format, the benefits of having the session in-person-only was determined to outweigh the benefits of having a Zoom option.   

From the District Academic Senate's Faculty Flex Obligation Form page: "While part-time faculty are not required to attend Flex days, all part-time faculty may attend and be compensated for the six scheduled College and District Flex Days listed above. 

Compensation for attendance is always at the special rate except when a Flex Day(s) is/are held on a day of the week that a faculty member has their regular teaching or other non-instructional assignment. In these cases, compensation is paid at their lecture or lab rate for the number of student contact hours usually worked that day of the week. This total number may include part-time faculty’s assignments at more than one college in the District but excludes office hours. 

A part-time faculty member whose assignment falls on the same day of the week as one of the College or District Flex Days may participate in an alternative professional development activity/activities of their choosing any day during the Fall or Spring term, for up to the number of hours they are assigned to work on that day of the week. ... If you are confused about your options, consult with your AFT chapter representative." 

To receive the compensation outlined above, hourly (adjunct or retired) faculty must submit the District Academic Senate's Faculty Flex Obligation Form and a timesheet to their Dean by the end of the semester in which the activity was completed. See also How and when do I submit Flex Activities? And What counts as Flex activities on alternative days? 

From the District Academic Senate's Faculty Flex Obligation Form page: "The purpose of Flex days, according to Title 5, Division 6, §55724, is to provide time for faculty to participate in “development activities related to staff, student, and instructional improvement.” 

Accordingly, activities that can count toward flex time may include, but need not be limited to: 

• Course instruction and evaluation
• Staff development, in-service training and instructional improvement
• Program and course curriculum or learning resource development and evaluation
• Student personnel services
• Learning resource services
• Related activities, such as student advising, guidance, orientation, matriculation services, and student, faculty & staff diversity
• Departmental or division meetings, conferences and workshops, and institutional research
• Other duties as assigned by the district
• The necessary supporting activities for the above" 

See also Where can I go with questions about the faculty Flex Reporting process? 

From the District Academic Senate's Faculty Flex Obligation Form page: "If you have any questions about the Flex Reporting process, please reach out to any of the following: 

• District Academic Senate President: Todd Windisch
• District Professional Development Coordinator: Christopher Collins
• AFT Chapter Chairs for 2025-2026
  • Cañada College: Camille Kaslan
  • College of San Mateo: Gil Perez
  • Skyline College: Mick Song" 

Full-time faculty must submit the latest District Academic Senate's Faculty Flex Obligation Form with their Flex activities to their Dean by June 15.  See also As a full-time faculty member, what are my Flex Day obligations? And What counts as Flex activities on alternative days? 

In order to get compensation, hourly (adjunct or retired) faculty must submit the latest District Academic Senate's Faculty Flex Obligation Form with their Flex activities to their Dean, plus a timesheet, by the end of the semester in which the activity was completed (see the form for the specific dates). Please note the following guidelines for filling out your timesheet:

• List each activity you attended separately, and only for the amount of time specified for that activity on the Flex Day schedule (and as indicated by the "Flex credit hours" on the Flex Day schedule).  Hours are calculated in 15-minute increments.  
• It is your responsibility to make sure that your attendance is recorded using the sign-in sheet provided during the session. Registration will not be accepted as evidence of attendance.  
• Breakfast and lunch cannot be included on your timesheet unless an information session or workshop is held during breakfast or lunch (as indicated by the "Flex credit hours" on the Flex schedule).  
• Division meetings cannot be included as a Flex activity on your timesheet if you will already be paid by your division for attending the meeting.  

See also As an hourly (adjunct or retired) faculty member, what Flex Day opportunities do I have?  And What counts as Flex activities on alternative days?

The All-Campus Professional Development Committee approves Flex Day sessions and vets speakers, in collaboration with the President's Office.  Sessions are approved (and speakers selected) on the basis of the following criteria:  

• Potential for campus-wide impact
• Alignment with theme 
• Student-centered focus
• Diversity of topics, delivery formats, and intended audiences
• Scheduling availability 

See also How can I recommend a speaker or session for Flex Day? 

Please feel free to reach out to Susan Khan, the Professional Development Faculty Coordinator or to the All-Campus PD Committee for feedback or support with your session ideas.  Once your session is accepted, you will be provided with the following support:

• advertising as part of the Flex Day schedule and messaging.  
• creation of a registration link in the VRC registration system, allowing you to view your roster and message registrants if you wish.
• a Zoom link (if your session has a Zoom option), with you as a co-host, and with settings established to ensure security and to record to a centralized location.
• 2-3 weeks before your session, confirmation of the time and location.
• 1 week before your session, a QR code for getting feedback at the end of the session and instructions about collecting attendance.
• if possible, a representative from ITS available at the beginning of every session to ensure projectors and multi-modal equipment are working correctly.  This is not always possible, so we strongly recommend checking the equipment in the room in advance and letting us know if you are unfamiliar with the room technology.  If you need technical assistance during the session, you will need to contact ITS helpdesk for support.  We also strongly recommend asking a colleague to support with the Zoom chat, if you plan to have a Zoom option.   
• if possible, a representative of the All-Campus PD (APD) Committee, to support with in-person support (e.g., collecting sign-ins, reminding participants to submit feedback, etc.)

If you have been entered into the Vision Resource Center registration system as an "Instructor” for the session, you can see who has signed up for your session so far and also email them, if you choose.  To do so: 

• Click on the registration button for your session on the Flex Day schedule, which will take you to the VRC registration page. 
• Once there, click on the down arrow on the right side of the "Request" button, and you should see an option for "View Roster."
• When you click on "View Roster," you should see the list of attendees (as well as the option to "email registered users," which you can access by clicking on the three white dots in the blue square).
• Let the Professional Development Faculty Coordinator know if you have trouble