Student Government (SG) was presented with proposed updates to the Student Appeals Policy, reviewed an SG Academics and Co-Ops presentation that will be given to Faculty Senate and appointed new SG members at their Feb. 27 meeting.
Proposed Student Appeals Process Updates
Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and SG advisor Nicole Boulais presented SG with proposed changes to Policy D18.2, which addresses the Student Appeals Process.
The biggest change regards Academic Integrity cases. Policy D08.0, which addresses Academic Integrity cases, is currently under review by Faculty Senate. According to Faculty Senate, when changes to D08.0 are finalized, students will no longer be able to appeal Academic Integrity cases through the Student Appeal Process and will instead need to appeal through the University Appeal Process.
Other edits to D18.2 aim to improve clarity. Currently, there are differences in the grounds for appeal depending on whether the case falls under D18.0, D19.0, or C27.0. Proposed revisions will “[consolidate] these into one consistent set of grounds for appeal that apply equally for all cases.”
Current time restrictions for appeal are 3 business days for D.18 and D.19 cases and 10 business days for C.27 cases. Proposed time restrictions are 5 business days for D.18 cases and 10 business days for D.19 and C.27 cases.
SG voted to endorse the proposed updates.
Academics and Co-Ops Presentation
Katie Beck, Academic and Co-Ops Committee Chair, intends to outline PawPrints charged to her committee at a future Faculty Senate meeting. Beck rehearsed her presentation for SG to review before taking it to Faculty Senate. She will be outlining the following PawPrints:
–“Make Syllabi Available before enrollment”
–“Allow second-hand textbooks, prevent antitrust abuse against students”
–“It’s not a “debate” – Change your policies about generative AI,”
–“Notify Faculty of Career Days/Ban Exams during career fair,”
–“2-Week Homework Return Policy,”
–“Fall Break.”
Pawprints
A petition for Ritchie’s Game Room to have open hours was closed with a response from the Housing and Dining Committee announcing that open hours have been officially established. The space will now be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
A PawPrint advocating for improvements to vegan labels at campus dining locations was closed with a response from Housing and Dining explaining that “the items referenced [as being mislabeled in the petition] are foods that traditionally contain ingredients such as dairy or eggs, but the versions currently being served on campus use dairy-free or egg-free alternatives.”
A petition to change the automatic Student Health Center STI test result message from “During a recent visit to the Student Health Center you had HIV, syphilis, GC and Chlamydia tests done,” as this message can be alarming at a glance, was closed. The attached response from the Wellbeing Committee announced that the message will be rephrased.
The beginning of the new message reads, “Your recent tests were negative for STIs. Specifically at present, there is no indication of an HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea or chlamydia infection.”
Appointments
SG voted to appoint fourth year Marketing student Tira Heiss as Director of Marketing.
“I want to work with my team and find the best way to connect with the RIT community,” said Heiss.
Fourth year Japanese Language and Culture student Susannah Johnson was appointed to the position of College of Liberal Arts (COLA) Senator by unanimous consent.
Johnson expressed that, as COLA Senator, she would like to see more job opportunities for COLA students at the career fair.
SG discussed the possibility of creating a formal appointment process and has not reached a consensus at this time.
The session was adjourned after 2 hours.
