The Associated Student Body Senate voted unanimously Tuesday night to amend a university policy addressing class attendance guidelines.
The policy currently states that professors are to use their discretion in determining what should be considered excused and unexcused absences.
Authors of the resolution ASB President Gregory Alston, Cabinet Member Jessica Brouckaert, Cabinet Member Chad Smith and Senator Michael Howell presented the resolution stating that while faculty members will still make their own attendance policies, policies must comply with an established university attendance policy.
The university policy grants students excused absences based on a list of what is considered excusable provided in the amended resolution.
Alston said he wrote the resolution to ensure students who miss class as part of an authorized university activity would not be penalized.
“Over my time here, I’ve seen that students who are representing our university in recognized university events are being penalized for missing class,” Alston said. “By penalized I mean not being able to make up missed work and not being able to make up exams. We are trying to amend this policy because that’s what’s best for our students.”
Brouckaert said she and the other authors of the resolution determined what would qualify as an excused absence after looking at attendance policies from other universities.
“We got all the SEC schools’ attendance policies. We looked at them and based them off of a lot of schools’ (attendance policies),” Brouckaert said. “We looked through everything and came up with a list that we thought fit our student body the best and that other schools followed.”
Alston said he plans on presenting the resolution to the faculty senate in the near future.
“It doesn’t have to go through faculty senate. We just want their support,” Alston said. “Then it will have to go through the Undergraduate Council and Council of Academic Administrators.”
The senate also passed a constitutional amendment that will move the spring election day for ASB offices from the third Tuesday in February to the fourth Tuesday in March.
ASB Secretary Morgan Gregory and Senator James Parrett authored the amendment.
“We got in the Governmental Operations Committee meeting and hashed out so many options for the cycle and what would be best for every branch of government,” Gregory said.
Gregory said she thinks the Senate will benefit by pushing the elections back because new officers would not have to spend as many weeks transitioning in the spring.
“By taking away those few weeks, we’re going to gain so much more by having that big chunk of time.”
Since the change to elections is a constitutional amendment, it will have to pass through the senate a second time. If the amendment passes again, students will vote on it on Feb. 18.
