Academic Support and Student Affairs

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?

2. 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.

Committee on Academic Support and Student Affairs reports can be found on RIT’s Digital Media Archive

Recent reports can also be found on the Faculty Senate Google Drive