Academic Affairs Committee

The Academic Affairs Committee addressed the following agenda items this year:

1. Plagiarism: The committee introduced a bill offering revisions to the University's current definition of plagiarism; the bill was voted down by the Senate.
2. Grade Inflation/Classroom Rigor: The committee developed two online surveys, one addressed to faculty and one to students, with the intent to administer the surveys during the spring semester. However, technical difficulties and other issues have delayed the survey administration until the Fall 2007 semester.
3. Notification of Student Emergencies: After meeting with the Interim Dean of Student Affairs and the Interim Director of the Learning Enrichment Center, an agreement was reached that the LEC would be a central contact point for student documentation of emergencies. Further steps were deemed impracticable.
4. Storage of Graduation with Academic Distinction Projects: Kent Library developed a satisfactory policy for storage of these projects, so no action by the committee was needed.
5. Conflict Resolution for Upper-Division UI Courses: The committee is continuing to develop a bill outlining a process for resolving conflicts regarding the offering of upper-division UI/IU courses.