Academic Support and Student Affairs

Charges

Mandate from Policy B2.0

The Committee on Academic Support and Student Affairs shall have the responsibility to monitor and review the aspects of the university that support education and teaching. Examples of areas of academic support include the following:  academic services; computer services; cultural programs; and museum and library services of the university. The committee shall also be responsible for policy recommendations relating to the academic aspects of student life and to review questions and policies related to the quality of student life.  Faculty members from the committee shall also serve as liaison for the Senate with appropriate administrative officers, committees, and councils of the university, and, when appropriate, shall act in conjunction with the Academic Affairs Committee in the formulation of policies and proposals to be submitted to the Faculty Senate. The committee shall consist of the following: one faculty member per college, each to be elected by their collegial faculty; three members at large elected by the Faculty Senate; four student representatives, including the president of Student Government or their delegate (ex-officio, voting); the provost or their delegate (ex-officio, voting) and the vice president for Student Affairs or their delegate (ex-officio, voting).

Charges for AY2023-24

Carryover Charge

  1. Investigate what are best practices for a university of our size for providing disability accommodations for students, specifically as they relate to extended time and other accommodations for in-class exams and quizzes. Research how our peer institutions handle these situations. Research faculty needs that are met/unmet at present. Does it make sense to handle this on a college-by-college basis, or other division of labor? Develop a list of recommendations and report to the Senate.

Rationale: A large volume of anecdotal evidence suggests that RIT may be too large/DSO under-resourced to handle all of the accommodations that students have. This creates substantial logistical challenges for faculty, including submitting exams more than a week early for final exams in some cases. When DSO is unable to provide accommodations for students, or there are errors in the handling of accommodations, this creates additional work for faculty and generates unnecessarily stressful situations for students and faculty alike.

New Charges

  1. Explore ways to streamline the process of declaring a minor

Rationale: Students can easily declare an immersion online. Declaring a minor is more difficult, requiring forms, paperwork, and approval by multiple departments. Students who have completed the coursework for a minor don't always declare it. Is there some way to streamline the process of declaring a minor (surely other universities have done this) so that it can be done easily and is not a burden on students?

  1. Change the grade requirement to receive credit for transfer course from "C or better" to "C- or better" [Policy D02.0 Admission, Section I A]

Rationale: The C or better policy made sense when RIT had only A, B, C, D, and F grades. Since implementation of the +/- grading system, a number of department policies have changed to allow "C- or better" (for example, to move on to Calculus II). It would help transfer students to be able to count more of the courses they've already taken.

Membership

Andy Lawrence

Saunders College of Business

Chair AY 2024-2025

2022-2025 (1st term*)

Carlos Barrios

Kate Gleason College of Engineering

2023-2025 (1st Term)

 

Claudia Bucciferro

College of Liberal Arts

2023-2025 (2nd Term)

Hannah Davis

2023-2025 (2nd Term)

Alissa De Wit-Paul

Golisano Institute for Sustainability

2024-2026 (1st Term)

Elizabeth Dicesare

College of Science

2024-2026 (1st term)

Matthew Fluet

Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

2024-2026 (1st Term)

Neil Hair

Academic Affairs

Provost's Delegate

Open Term

Basca Jadamba

College of Science

At Large Representative

2024-2026 (1st term)

Sandra Johnson

Student Affairs

VP of Student Affairs

Open Term

Michael Kane

National Technical Institute for the Deaf

2024-2026 (2nd Term)

Joseph Lanzafame

College of Science

At-large Representative

2023 - 2025 (1st Term)

Annemarie Ross

National Technical Institute for the Deaf

At-large Representative

2023 - 2025 (1st Term)

 

Janice Shirley

College of Health Sciences and Technology

2022-2025 (1st Term*)

Melissa Warp

College of Art and Design

2024-2026  (2nd Term)

Scott Wolcott

College of Engineering Technology

2023-2025 (1st  Term)