Senate revises course visitor regulations, discusses student grief policy
The University Senate approved a change in academic regulations and procedures, discussed a grief absence policy for students and heard reports on the Undergraduate Honors, Studies and Success Task Force and the Conflicts of Commitment and Reportable Outside Activities draft policy at its Feb. 21 meeting.
* The Senate revised the language and procedures in University regulations regarding visitors attending a course without receiving credit. Those attending courses without earning credit now will be referred to as "auditors" instead of "visitors." Someone already enrolled at the University now will need to obtain an audit permission form from the Office of the Registrar, which is to be signed by the course instructor. Someone who is not enrolled as a student must apply for admission as a non-degree student at the Office of Admissions before following the steps for an enrolled student. The change was made to have a more accurate record of students in each course. The Educational Policy Committee presented the revisions, which are documented here.
* Andrew Luescher, chair of the Educational Policy Committee, presented a proposed grief absence policy for students. Under the policy, full- and part-time students would be excused for funeral leave, and given the opportunity to earn equivalent credit and demonstrate evidence of meeting the learning outcomes for missed assignments or assessments. The Senate is expected to vote on the policy at its March 21 meeting. A copy of the proposed policy is available here.
The Senate also discussed an adjustment to the attendance policy to accommodate the addition of a grief absence policy. The policy change may be viewed here.
* The Senate discussed a change to the academic renewal policy. The change is proposed by the Educational Policy Committee. The policy now states that all courses that make up a student's academic record prior to re-entry or readmission to Purdue will receive zero credit, not be included in the credit hour total and not be included in calculation of program GPA or cumulative GPA. Under the revised policy, only Purdue-graded courses would be dropped so that students would not lose credits they had transferred from other institutions. The revised policy is available here.
* The Senate heard a report from Dennis Savaiano, associate provost and professor of foods and nutrition, on the Undergraduate Honors, Studies and Success Task Force. The task force's charge, guiding principles and goals, activities, and other details are available here.
* Alysa Christmas Rollock, vice president for ethics and compliance, presented the draft of the Conflicts of Commitment and Reportable Outside Activities policy for discussion. The draft policy is available for review here. Comments regarding the draft may be sent to policies@purdue.edu.
