A vote on whether or not to add a sentence to the Office of the Registrar’s Procedures for Excused Absences stating that “excused absences will not be approved for the final examination period” was postponed during the Feb. 21 meeting of the General Faculty and Academic Senate.

During the meeting, Craig Tovey, chair of the Student Academic and Financial Affairs Committee, which was proposing the change, explained that although the Institute would no longer be able to grant the absences, individual faculty members would be.

The group agreed that the committee should reword the sentence to allow the Institute more flexibility when a decision needs to be made.

Separately, a decision to revise Georgia Tech’s Policy on Competitive Admissions to ensure that it is in line with current legal standards regarding discrimination, diversity and admissions was approved.

Some of the changes in the revised version include deleting a sentence stating that admission preference may be given to nonresident applicants who are legacies of the Institute and deleting a sentence that states those offered admission will be selected on the basis of “recognition of the Institute’s special responsibilities to the residents of Georgia.”

The audience did provide one stipulation to its approval; a sentence in the new policy needed to be modified. The group was uncomfortable with saying that the admissions process should be structured to require students to “provide substantial evidence” of their potential to “embrace the diverse campus community,” among other things. So, the sentence will be modified accordingly by Tovey’s committee.

In other meeting news:

• The Student Sexual Misconduct Policy was changed to include a statement saying both parties have the right to appeal a misconduct decision, and a student may change the complaint from formal to informal at any point in the process.

• Revisions to the Student Code of Conduct were approved, including one requiring that all documentation in an academic misconduct claim be submitted within 10 business days of submitting a case. Also, a statement was added that says students have a right to a written statement of the case outcome.

• Nominees are needed for open faculty governance positions in a variety of areas. If interested, contact Andrew Lyon or David White.

To view open faculty governance positions, the agenda for this meeting and the supporting documents that were provided for each meeting item, click here.