With two meetings left this semester, Faculty Senate will address grading, election results and summer plans for Ohio University at the body's Monday meeting.
Numerous guests will be at the April meeting, and they will give updates to faculty about the university's budget and campus construction over the summer. The second reading of a resolution, to change the documentation of when a failing student stopped attending a particular class, will be discussed and voted on.
“We’re just trying to make a better effort to gather information about when students stopped attending (classes) with using the information that is available to people,” Faculty Senate Chair Joe McLaughlin said.
The resolution was prompted when other universities were reprimanded for not keeping track of such attendance, McLaughlin said. The federal government is concerned about sometimes giving federal financial aid out to students who do not use it. The government wants to make sure students on financial aid are attending classes.
“(We are) trying to get out ahead of this so our next audit, this won’t be something considered an issue for us,” Charles Buchanan, chair of the Educational Policy and Student Affairs Committee, said at the Faculty Senate meeting in March.
To get ahead of the next audit, the second reading will take place Monday to establish a cooperative measure with the federal government, without going in the direction of requiring every instructor to take attendance, McLaughlin said.
With regards to OU’s administrative policy, the state government in Columbus has had “a lot of stuff going on” around the governor’s budget proposal and other higher education issues. Beth Quitslund, associate professor and former Faculty Senate chair, will give a presentation about policies and plans from Ohio’s government, which could affect OU.
“Beth was recently elected the vice chair of Ohio Faculty Council, and she’s actually testified in front of the house committees in Columbus, so I have asked Beth to come in and report on what’s going on with the Ohio Faculty Council and what’s going on in Columbus,” McLaughlin said.
John Day, associate provost for Academic Budget and Planning, will present a budget process update by explaining what is to be expected with the university budget in the coming months. Because the budget planning process has been going through changes in the past few years, Day may spend some time explaining the new process.
“Over the last several years, we have been transitioning to a new kind of budgeting. The schedule and way people participate in the process is changing,” McLaughlin said. “(Day) also just may give an overview, over the way which the budget process unfolds now, and the timeline it’s on.”
Joe Lalley, senior associate vice president for Information Technologies and Administration Services, will present the summer plan for construction projects on campus. That will inform faculty of which areas on campus will be renovated and where parking will remain available.
Also in the meeting, McLaughlin will present the policy review, which will include a recap of the dates of service for faculty senators and officers because elections will take place Monday.
“As far I know right now, everyone is running unopposed,” McLaughlin said. “I am running for chair again. David Thomas is running for vice chair again.”
Katherine Hartman is stepping down from senate’s secretary position and Robin Muhammad, chair of the department of African American studies, is running for next year’s secretary position.
