I. Call to Order Michael (8:03)
II. Roll Call/ Prayer Michael prayed
Present: Michael Spory, Karissa Sauder, Sarah Beck, Brent Beachy, Katie Landis, Heidi Bauman, Brendon Derstine, Hans Weaver, Peyton Erb, Darian Harnish, Brook Musselman, Gabe Brunk, James Souder, Brandon Habron, Alli Eanes, Amy Springer, Ken L. Nafziger
Absent: Giles Eanes, Sara Derstine, Vi Dutcher
III. Approval of Minutes
Motion 01272010-1 to approve the minutes: Peyton
Second: Brendon
Motion passed unanimously
IV. Old Business
a. Haiti Panel @ 9 p.m. in CG: Peyton shared that we know have 5 panel members who will be speaking at this event. Panel members include Sylvia Lorisme, Jim Lehman, Luke Shrock-Hurst, Ker Ferdinand, and Sue Cochrin. Michael also shared that he and Karissa met with a team from YPCA and they are going to try to purchase supplies for kits to send to Haiti using the money we raised at the basketball games.
b. Committee Reporting—Strategic Planning Council: Michael shared that he attended the meeting. One of the things on the agenda was talking about marketing EMU to prospective students and find out what current students think about the university. There were also talks about updating EMU’s goals and how to improve the cross-cultural experiences. Another agenda item involved an official flag statement in the event the basketball team continues to do well and the playoff games require a flag in the gymnasium.
V. New Business
a. QEP—Jim Yoder & Lisle Bertsche: Jim Yoder shared that the Quality Enhancement Plan is a 5-year program that is part of EMU’s accreditation process. It must be implemented to enhance student learning. The focus of the plan for EMU is environmental sustainability, which will now formally become part of the curriculum. The QEP planning committee was placed in charge of outlining what this plan would look like and now the implementation team is in charge of…implementation. Handouts were passed around showing learning objectives and implementation actions. While every discipline and thus, course offered will be affected by this in some way, the classes most significantly affected will be Transitions and the cross-cultural classes. It will begin integrating into the curriculum this coming fall; however, it is a gradual process and will not be fully implemented for 2 years.
Jim and Lisle also shared that there will be a SACS On-site review committee visit to evaluate the QEP at EMU from March 2 to March 4. They would like to start a campaign to inform the students on campus what the QEP is because committee members may stop students at random to ask what they think about the QEP and it would be nice if students had informed things to say about it. Part of this campaign will include t-shirts, WeatherVane articles, CG events, myEMU announcements, and flyers on campus. The campaign was detailed on the handout; one major event was the big kick-off on February 19 in Common Grounds.
After Jim and Lisle left, discussion ensued amongst the senators that during the campaign, we would have to be careful not to overload sustainability to the students and make sure all the students really do understand the purpose of the QEP and how it can be beneficial for the students. One senator expressed some concern that the QEP committee is planning on participating in Gonzo Theater, which is supposed to be free of administration. Brandon shared that the plan with Gonzo is to be free of judgment and sustainability will simply be the theme of Gonzo. Many senators also felt that this is something SGA could co-sponsor but be involved more with handing out t-shirts, attending events, etc. A general consensus was agreed that senators will help out at events as they can and help support the QEP in this process. Both Brandon and Katie volunteered to help out as student reps for the QEP implementation team.
b. Career Day Opportunity—Amy Springer: Amy shared that Student Life (Career Services) and the Undergraduate Services will be hosting a Career Day on February 17. The day will include a series of workshops (focuses on benefits, budgeting, housing, renting, networking, etc.), mock interviews, resume reviews, and speakers talking about career path and callings. There will also be a fair in the University Commons hosting employers, admissions services, EMU grad programs, etc. She would like the SGA senators to work a welcome table for students signing in and handing out door prizes. A sign-up sheet was passed around for this.
VII. Adjournment
Motion 01272010-2 to adjourn: Darian
Second: Peyton
Motion passed unanimously
smb 01/27/09