Faculty Senate address student concerns about syllabi procedures

Aimee Burch

The ISU Faculty Senate met for its February meeting Tuesday in the Sun Room at the Memorial Union.

The Senate elected to send a proposal to Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Hoffman’s office outlining the plan to reorganize the College of Design. Hoffman will now forward the recommendation to ISU President Steven Leath’s office to potentially move on to the Board of Regents.

In new business, senators were presented with a proposal creating a recommendation process outlining what faculty should include in their syllabi each year.

Faculty members already have suggestions on covering such topics as academic dishonesty and disability accommodations. This new proposal will cover topics like handling Dead Week with major and minor assignments, as well as provide students with an outlet to assert their feelings on policies.

A new website and email address will be a place for students to go to if they feel their rights are being violated. This will be handled through Associate Provost David Holger’s office.

This expanded version came from a collaborative effort with the Academic Affairs committee and the Government of the Student Body. The vote on this will be held next month.

A point of clarification was made when senators questioned whether they would have to word their syllabi in the exact way it was presented to them.

“These are topics that should be included, but don’t have to be worded in the exact way it is proposed,” said senate President Steve Freeman.

GSB President Dakota Hoben made a statement to the senate about the importance of this proposal. He asserted how this proposal is from the students and stressed to senators that this is something students want and feel is necessary.

In his remarks, Freeman said next month’s meeting will feature a special order of business in a presentation from Leath. He also said senators should be getting ready for elections to be taking place in the coming meetings.

Hoffman also briefed the senate on the search for a new College of Business dean, as well as addressing the ongoing budget discussions going on between students, Leath and state representatives.

“Everything from cuts to a substantial increase to the recommendation has been discussed,” Hoffman said. “We are working with students and state representatives to figure out a budget.”

Hoffman anticipates having more news on this in the coming months.

The Faculty Senate will meet again March 6.