The possibility of changing the academic calendar, addressing faculty tenure and dealing with the organization of academic departments top the ISU Faculty Senate’s agenda for this year. The senate will hold its first meeting of the year Tuesday.

“These [issues] are important because they affect the fundamental way of how the university works,” said faculty senate President Jack Girton.

Girton said the faculty senate passed 43 motions last year. Some of those motions included approving the graduation list for all four semesters, adding or removing eleven majors, changing the names of certain academic departments, changing hiring policies for new faculty members and issuing a new classroom disruption policy.

This year, however, Girton said the major issue will be the possibility of changing the academic calendar.

“The question put forward was whether we should have shorter semesters that were fourteen weeks long instead of fifteen,” Girton said.

Girton said this issue is not easy to address because although the change would allow students to have a longer winter break, it would also cut back on time scheduled for specific class activities, such as labs, which are figured into a fifteen week long semester. Girton said classes would also be longer if this motion were to pass.

“It’s not a simple question,” Girton said.

Gregory Palermo, chair for the academic affairs council, said he believes a change in the academic calendar will not have a positive impact on the university.

Palermo also said he believes a fifteen week semester “enables a pace that allows [freshman] students to become accustomed to the school.”

Faculty senate member Eric Cooper said he has not made a decision about the calendar either way. He said he plans to wait to hear both sides of the issue before making a decision.

The other two major issues the senate will address this year will be the organization of certain academic departments and faculty tenure.

Girton explained all faculty must complete a certain amount of teaching and research before they are considered for tenure.

“We look at their accomplishments in these areas, but some faculty argue, ‘How do you measure a teacher’s accomplishments? What criteria do you use to evaluate professors?'” Girton said.

The faculty senate will be addressing the specific ways faculty members are reviewed for tenure.

There are no bills on Tuesday’s agenda — the senate will lay out a plan for the year and discuss the possible calendar changes.

“I want to have a serious discussion about the new calendar. I want them to understand the calendar and talk to other faculty,” Girton said. “I want to represent what the faculty feels.”