Senate OKs student grief absence policy, elects vice chair
The University Senate approved a grief absence policy for students and changes to the academic renewal policy, selected a vice chair for 2011-12, and heard a preview of findings by the Blue Ribbon Healthcare Committee at its March 21 meeting.
* The Senate approved a grief absence policy for students presented by the Educational Policy Committee. 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. A friendly amendment was proposed during discussion to take into account travel considerations for all Purdue campuses in the policy. A copy of the policy is available here.
The Senate also approved an adjustment to the attendance policy to accommodate the addition of a grief absence policy. The policy change may be viewed here.
* The Senate approved a change, proposed by the Educational Policy Committee, to the academic renewal policy. 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 discussed a proposal from the Educational Policy Committee regarding the use of excess graduate credit earned as an undergraduate toward a graduate degree. EPC chair Andrew Luescher, associate professor of veterinary clinical sciences, stated that the changes will simplify the process and better reflect other universities' practices. A vote on the changes is expected at the Senate's April 25 meeting. The proposed policy is available here.
* The Senate elected Paul Robinson, the SVM Professor of Cytomics in the School of Veterinary Medicine and a professor of biomedical engineering in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, as its vice chair for 2011-12. Robinson will become chair of the Senate in 2012-2013. Current vice chair Morris Levy, professor of biological sciences, will be chair for 2011-12.
* Pam Aaltonen, chair of the Blue Ribbon Healthcare Committee and associate professor of nursing, presented a preview of the committee's findings. The Blue Ribbon Healthcare Committee was appointed to recommend strategies for managing the University's health care budget while continuing to provide affordable quality health care for employees and their families. The presentation is available here.
