The University of Memphis Faculty Senate had one of its longestmeetings of the semester Tuesday as it convened for the last timeunder Senate President David Ciscel.
The senate heard 28 recommendations and passed one that mightgive some foreign language majors hope.
The senate moved during the meeting to ask Universityadministration to reopen "discussions" about terminating theChinese and Russian language courses and to consider adding anArabic language program.
In an effort to make the course selection process less confusingfor students, the senate also passed a motion asking theadministration to clarify the difference between "required" and"recommended" courses in the undergraduate catalog.
The senate recommended The University cut course sequences forgeneral education natural science requirements and supportsupplemental instruction in courses that are historically difficultfor most students.
Senate members also approved recommendations requesting TheUniversity increase the number of course sections taught byfull-time faculty each semester and to stop requiring minors incertain departments because many degree programs do not have roomfor them within the new 120-hour limit.
In other business, a recommendation asking The University toretain requirements for integrative and writing intensive courseswas passed, while a motion asking for the elimination ofcomputational-intensive courses failed.
Will Thompson, assistant dean of the College of Arts andSciences, said in an e-mail he thinks the recommendations, ifapproved by The University provost, will cause "a great deal ofconfusion."
"Registration having already begun, many current students arenow registered for classes and have designed their schedules ...with the belief they are not required to complete W, C and Icourses," Thompson said. "To suddenly state at this point that weare now, at the end of the spring semester, going to reconsider therequirements and put in additional requirements ... negates aconsiderable amount of time-consuming work on the part of manypeople."
The senate moved to ask University officials to exercise"understanding and flexibility when a student registered for awrong course in good faith when evaluating transcripts forgraduation purposes."
While it is unclear if the administration will move forward onany of the Faculty Senate's recommendations, the administrationdoes take the senate's proposals into consideration when formingUniversity policy, officials said.
