2008 Woodie Awards
Campus Council meeting addresses book policy
Samantha Sigmon
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: News
Members of the UA Campus Council addressed the events and news of each university department, including adopting a new textbook policy, at an April 2 meeting.
Jeannie Whayne, chairwoman of the faculty Senate, spoke about the new textbook policy in her report at the meeting. All professors must have the lists of textbooks being used for fall semester classes by April 1, according to the policy.
Some teachers expressed frustration at the meeting about choosing textbooks that early, but they ultimately decided it would be better for students to find out which textbooks were needed earlier so they could pay lower prices for them.
Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor of facilities management, also visited the faculty Senate to deliver his results in exploring the needs for classrooms regarding size and availability.
Johnson found the UA does not need more 500-seating auditoriums, Whayne said. While it is difficult for some teachers to find rooms big enough to hold students, the report indicated the "in-between-sized" classrooms are more needed.
Paul Bixby, staff Senate chairman, reported the staff was giving $11,000 to three scholarships and also that the Senate had been exploring tuition benefits for staff members and their dependants.
The Associated Student Government representative at the meeting was President Nate Looney, who mentioned the SafeRide and Razorback Readership programs, which have both grown over the past year, he said.
SafeRide, in particular, expanded to more than 7,700 riders last year, as compared to 2005-06, when the number of SafeRide users was 3,878.
And in the first 26 weeks of school in 2007-08, ridership has reached 9,500 people, he said.
SafeRide is "expanding benefits throughout the entire Northwest Arkansas region, not only campuswide," Looney said.
Looney also spoke about promoting higher education in Arkansas, which ASG advocates, he said. ASG created the position of director of Legislative Affairs, who serves as a liaison from ASG to the Arkansas government, making sure the state government is concerned with issues in higher education, he said.
Another issue for which ASG strongly stands, Looney said, is implementing a uniform inclement weather policy.
A consistent policy is "something that will make college easier for students" because about 80 percent of the UA student body are commuting students, he said.
Looney said he hopes the Senates can come together in the future to work on a more universal inclement weather policy.
Jeannie Whayne, chairwoman of the faculty Senate, spoke about the new textbook policy in her report at the meeting. All professors must have the lists of textbooks being used for fall semester classes by April 1, according to the policy.
Some teachers expressed frustration at the meeting about choosing textbooks that early, but they ultimately decided it would be better for students to find out which textbooks were needed earlier so they could pay lower prices for them.
Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor of facilities management, also visited the faculty Senate to deliver his results in exploring the needs for classrooms regarding size and availability.
Johnson found the UA does not need more 500-seating auditoriums, Whayne said. While it is difficult for some teachers to find rooms big enough to hold students, the report indicated the "in-between-sized" classrooms are more needed.
Paul Bixby, staff Senate chairman, reported the staff was giving $11,000 to three scholarships and also that the Senate had been exploring tuition benefits for staff members and their dependants.
The Associated Student Government representative at the meeting was President Nate Looney, who mentioned the SafeRide and Razorback Readership programs, which have both grown over the past year, he said.
SafeRide, in particular, expanded to more than 7,700 riders last year, as compared to 2005-06, when the number of SafeRide users was 3,878.
And in the first 26 weeks of school in 2007-08, ridership has reached 9,500 people, he said.
SafeRide is "expanding benefits throughout the entire Northwest Arkansas region, not only campuswide," Looney said.
Looney also spoke about promoting higher education in Arkansas, which ASG advocates, he said. ASG created the position of director of Legislative Affairs, who serves as a liaison from ASG to the Arkansas government, making sure the state government is concerned with issues in higher education, he said.
Another issue for which ASG strongly stands, Looney said, is implementing a uniform inclement weather policy.
A consistent policy is "something that will make college easier for students" because about 80 percent of the UA student body are commuting students, he said.
Looney said he hopes the Senates can come together in the future to work on a more universal inclement weather policy.
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