Provost and Executive Vice President Rafael L. Bras opened the April 19 meeting of the Faculty Senate with updates about Tech Square’s new Coda Building, the recent increase in applications and yield in undergraduate admission, and words of encouragement for faculty members to attend Commencement.

“I always enjoy it, and the students really appreciate your presence,” he said. 

Bonnie Ferri, professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, presented updates from the Commission on Creating the Next in Education, which she co-chairs. The group is four months into its 18-month timeline. 

Joe Hughes, chair of the Statutes Committee, presented updates to the Faculty Handbook within the sections on promotion and tenure procedures, and the review and evaluation of school chairs. The committee also recommended adding a section on adjunct and clinical appointments. All action items were approved. 

Hughes, along with Steven Girardot, associate vice provost for Undergraduate Education, also presented on the Classroom and Academic Scheduling Task Force that has been meeting to discuss course offerings and use of classroom space on campus. 

“We’re running out of space for classes in the middle of the day, so we are looking at how to manage our scarce resources of space and faculty,” Hughes said.

For the Institute Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (IUCC), Rhett Mayor, committee chair, presented the addition of courses and degree modifications for several schools and colleges. The IUCC also proposed awarding a posthumous degree for a student who was on track to graduate this semester but died earlier this month. Finally, the IUCC presented the proposed name change of the College of Architecture to the College of Design. The name was selected to better encompass the full range of academic offerings within the college. All action items were approved.   

Victor Breedveld, chair of the Institute Graduate Curriculum Committee (IGCC), also presented several course additions and degree modifications. The IGCC also presented a new Professional Master’s in Occupational Health and Safety from the School of Building Construction. The proposed College of Architecture name change was also part of IGCC, as name changes must be moved through both the undergraduate and graduate committees. All action items were approved. 

The Student Regulations Committee presented a policy language modification to clarify Final Instructional Class Days. Al Ferri, chair of the committee, also discussed policy language about when students should receive graded assignments. Language was added to clarify the expectation that faculty will return a graded assignment or other meaningful performance feedback to students prior to the withdrawal deadline. Ferri also discussed modifications to the change of major policy, which will limit freshmen from changing majors prior to the withdrawal deadline in their first semester of enrollment. Finally, the committee discussed changes to the Student Code of Conduct in response to a policy issued by the Board of Regents, which goes into effect July 1. All action items were approved. 

Minor updates were made to the Student Computer Ownership Guide. The updated guide was approved. 

View full presentations from all the committees at www.facultygovernance.gatech.edu.