CAA approves all 3 action items in Thursday meeting

Adam Tumino, Editor-in-Chief

The Eastern Council on Academic Affairs met virtually Thursday to vote on three items that were on the agenda.

All three items were approved by the council.

The first was a proposal to change the definitions for online synchronous and online asynchronous courses to better distinguish between the two.

The rationale for the proposal stated:

“In light of the distance education practices applied in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CAA reviewed EIU’s delivery mode definitions and looked into current developments in online and hybrid delivery during the fall 2020. The discussion identified a need to distinguish online synchronous and online asynchronous delivery because they rely on different teaching methods and place different scheduling demands on students. Students voiced that they were often unsure whether their online class required regular meeting times or not. Thus, clarity on the nature of an online class as either asynchronous or synchronous will enhance transparency and make it easier for students to plan their semesters.”

The second item was a proposal that would restructure the grade appeals committees into a university-wide committee.

The rational stated: “This would significantly reduce the number of faculty needed for grade appeals committees. It would also cultivate expertise in the grade appeal process among those that serve, since a single campus-wide committee would now see more appeals. This could make for a more fair and consistent assessment of appeals.”

The final item was a proposal to allow students to take a capstone course offered in their department which would fulfill their senior seminar requirement.

The course would be optional to take as a senior seminar and no department would be required to create or modify a capstone course to make it an eligible as a senior seminar.

The next CAA meeting will be held April 8 at 2 p.m.

 

Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].