Though the semester is almost over, the LSU Faculty Senate has passed a litany of academic and administrative policies that will continue to affect students in the future.
The Senate began the semester with regulatory action. Graham Bodie, communication studies assistant professor, sponsored a resolution in the Faculty Senate called “Advertising Within Academic buildings.”
In other action, the Senate saw a year-long project to design new commencement gown come to fruition.
“We have attempted to add more gravitas to the commencement regalia,” Senate President Kevin Cope, said in September.
The University’s transition from a generic gown to a custom designed one will add more color to the commencement while benefiting the environment, as the gowns are fashioned from recycled plastic bottles, according to University Registrar Robert Doolos.
The Senate made another procedural change at its November meeting by adopting a resolution to change class start times. Fereydoun Aghazadeh, former senator and industrial engineering professor, sponsored the resolution that will shift all class times in the spring and fall semesters up by 10 minutes.
But the length of future classes will not be affected, as classes will also get out 10 minutes earlier. According to Aghazadeh, the resolution was passed to make classes start on the hour and half hour so that they may be better coordinated with meetings and appointments.
“This will cut through the confusion and provide the University a system that is uniform with most others,” Aghazadeh said.
The Senate may bring the semester to a close by taking another step toward conformity. A resolution discussed at the Senate’s November meeting that would, if passed, implement the use of pluses and minuses in determining class grades and grade point averages.
“There’s a big difference in performance between the highest B and the lowest B,” Don Chance, professor of finance and business administration senator, said in November.
Chance said the new grading system would better reward students’ hard work and give professors more control and discretion when assigning grades.
The Senate will vote on the passage of the resolution at its next meeting on Dec. 7.
 
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Contact Josh Naquin at [email protected]