Spring schedule leads to heated discussion in the Faculty Senate
September 18, 2020
STATESBORO — The latest Faculty Senate meeting saw an active discussion between members and Provost Carl Reiber over preparations being made for the upcoming spring semester.
The plan for next semester is to have more classes outside of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in order to spread out the student density on campus across a larger time span. Courses must also maintain 85 percent of classes in the face-to-face format and allow the students to see the format prior to registering for them.
This drew negative feedback from the attending Faculty who cited that the choice was made because of those who spoke out. This would lead to a choice made on the opinions of the vocal few instead of data compiled by listening to the whole.
There was also a heated discussion about a series of miscommunications regarding which information that was sent out to the professors was a suggestion and which were required.
Before that, TaJaun Wilson, Ed.D., chief diversity officer, presented the points of his Inclusive Excellence Action Plan. You can learn more about the plan here.
Similarly, the student government association presented their initiative to diversify university hires to more closely resemble the diverse population of the student body.
This plan would include additional funding from the office of the provost for hiring and standardizing giving students more input when it comes to departmental search committees. Reiber confirmed that the Provost Office is working to create the budget to support this plan.
Due to the time extensions earlier, parts of the agenda were postponed for other meetings including President Kyle Marrero’s report, provost’s report, and a discussion led by Professor Lisa Abbott. The discussion for an extension on waitlist response has also been tabled for the next meeting while the provost and president’s updates will be given tomorrow with the Senate Executive Committee.
Connor Melton • Dec 29, 2020 at 9:02 pm
Hoping someone in the administration reads this: it should be a choice. Between those of us who either have health concerns or have a lot going on outside course work and therefore benefit from online format….the amount of students on campus will remain lower on it’s own. Instead of complicating the issue students should just be given a choice and online instruction should be left as an option….and having select asynchronous classes does not satisfy that since few asynchronous classes were given and most of them filled up extremely quickly….
Mykalia Brown • Sep 18, 2020 at 1:35 pm
If they were to extend class hours outside of 8am to 2pm, they will be losing a lot of students, personally speaking. As a doggy mom and as a student I have to balance time and activities, taking care of my dog, doing homework and working. I without a doubt will transfer to USC Columbia and won’t regret it. Shouldn’t this be the students choice? If the school can’t handle the amount of students on campus well maybe have they thought about doing what other school did, move online?! Or is it all about money???