CCAC to switch to four-day workweek in June, July

Community College of Allegheny County says it will close Fridays in June and July, condensing most of each workweek into four days during that period.

The move is intended to raise employee morale and reflects the fact that demand for summer instruction is much lighter on that day of the week, CCAC spokeswoman Elizabeth Johnston said Tuesday.

The four-day week will be in effect for eight weeks between June 3 and July 26 and will apply to CCAC’s four campuses, as well as satellite locations, she said. Schedules the rest of the year are not affected.

Employees will add hours to their workday Monday through Thursday, but depending on their classification, will total between 2.5 and four hours less a week, without a reduction in pay.

“This initiative is designed to enhance morale,” Ms. Johnston said in a statement. “As you may already know, Fridays are very quiet days in the summer, not only for CCAC but for many other institutions of higher learning.”

Last summer, CCAC offered 1,156 course sections, and 27, or 2.3 percent, were on Fridays.

At least four others among Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges employ some form of modified summer schedule, said Carolyn Simpson, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges in Harrisburg. They are Delaware County Community College; HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College; Pennsylvania Highlands Community College; and Community College of Philadelphia.

“Adopting a modified schedule for the summer semester is a current trend in higher education that community colleges across the Commonwealth are accessing,” Ms. Simpson said.

In addition to increased flexibility for the workforce, colleges often reduce costs by operating fewer summer hours, she said.

At CCAC, most faculty as well as other employees normally work 10 months of the year, and thus will not be affected, Ms. Johnston said.

Employees who are on campus in June and July and currently work 40 hours over five days will work 36 hours over four days; those who typically work 37½ hours over five days will work 34 hours over four days; and those who usually work 25 hours over five days will work 22½ hours during those weeks.

“We will be evaluating the initiative after the summer to see if this is something we wish to continue,” she said.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who oversees agencies within the executive branch, said the idea has not been raised in his area of jurisdiction.

“A proposal to do something like this would typically come from our human resources department,” he said. “At this time, there have been no such recommendations and so it is not something that we are currently pursuing.