The Student Senate continues to refine their plan to improve LEP 100 and 400 level classes. It was discussed at the March 5 meeting that LEP 100 courses should focus on the retention of students. Right now, LEP 100 fulfils Goal 2 of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, which is Critical Thinking. This has been a major task of the Senate for the spring semester.
Continued discussion brought about a clearer plan for this undertaking. Senators want Goal 2 to be attached to LEP 400 so the LEP 100 can focus more on retention. This might include learning about various resources on campus and connecting with a professor from a student’s desired major.
After University Affairs Chair Kayla Uphus discussed these plans with Faculty Liaison Douglas Simon, it was determined that this plan of action will not be feasible. The Senate has different plans for this project, which will be discussed in future meetings.
The March 5 meeting also had representatives from Sodexo, a competitor of current campus dining service provider Aramark, to talk about their prospective bid. These representatives were on campus to survey the current conditions of the dining facilities.
Contract bids are due in mid-June, and a provider will be chosen at the end of 2015. SMSU has employed Aramark since the beginning.
“It’s not a shoo-in for [Aramark],” said Student Senate Advisor Scott Crowell. “We’re really looking at everybody.”
Nya Buom was appointed as a new Senator at the March 5 meeting.
The March 19 meeting got to a late start when not enough members of Student Senate were present to make quorum.
At the time of the meeting, five senators were absent. This includes three senators who were away at a conference and failed to send proxies to take their place.
A certain number of students must be present in order to make any decisions. In order to start the meeting, a student was recruited to act as a senator for the night.
The search for a new Provost continues. Currently, Dr. Jan Loft serves in the position while candidates are being interviewed to take her place.
Once the position is filled, Loft will go back to being the Dean of the College of Arts, Letters and Sciences.
So far, candidates have been narrowed down to the top contenders, and will arrive at SMSU for further interviews. The new Provost is expected to assume the position as of July 1.
