Accreditation, Quality Enhancement Plan tops SGA's first session of semester
Regina Emery
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Campus News
UT Martin's next accreditation may not be coming up until 2013, but administrators are already working on a plan to make sure UTM fairs well.
During SGA's first session of the new semester, Dr. Richard Robinson, Professor of Communications, spoke to senators regarding a committee he is forming to aid UTM's accreditation process. This Quality Enhancement Plan, as it is being called, is aimed at bettering the university by addressing student issues.
To help develop a specific goal for the Quality Enhancement Plan, several faculty members and administrators were asked about what kinds of issues they were seeing. Answers included professional connections and even physical fitness, but the issue of information literacy won with 64% majority vote, said Robinson.
"Information literacy is something that hopefully all students should be concerned about, and the faculty is concerned about it as well. It means a student knows where to access information, evaluate the information and determine its validity, process it, and finally utilize it," Robinson explained.
Ultimately, Robinson's speech served two purposes: to inform SGA of what was going on around them, and to extend an invitation to help. As the democratic voice of the campus, those involved in the Plan are reaching out for a student ambassador to aid their progress and offer students' perspectives.
"This will be something that you will be doing based on faith, that helps students that come behind you, much like the students who voted on the new student Recreation Center who will never step foot inside it," said Robinson. "Everyone needs to be involved in this to make it work...We'll appreciate any and all input at this point."
Also speaking from an Administrative standpoint Thursday night was University Center Director and SGA Advisor Steve Vantrease. He casually addressed the senators, asking for their experiences thus far with recent changes such as Sodexo's removal of the cafeteria trays-a move that SGA voted to support.
Not present however was Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Margaret Toston, whose continuous lack of attendance has several senators questioning her commitment to her position as an SGA advisor.
In other SGA news, Campus Observation Committee Chair Sammie Linton reported that his group was looking into potentially installing security cameras in the parking lots. Also brought up was the possibility of posting stop signs in the parking lots. The committee plans on talking to the Department of Public Safety this week to see if the ideas may become realities.
Rachel Stevens and the Academic Affairs Committee plan on sitting in on the next Faculty Senate meeting to gain their points of view on the priority registration debate. Meanwhile Jessica Weaver's Communications Committee promises to publish at least two more SGA newsletters this semester and hold another SGA Relations Day.
During SGA's first session of the new semester, Dr. Richard Robinson, Professor of Communications, spoke to senators regarding a committee he is forming to aid UTM's accreditation process. This Quality Enhancement Plan, as it is being called, is aimed at bettering the university by addressing student issues.
To help develop a specific goal for the Quality Enhancement Plan, several faculty members and administrators were asked about what kinds of issues they were seeing. Answers included professional connections and even physical fitness, but the issue of information literacy won with 64% majority vote, said Robinson.
"Information literacy is something that hopefully all students should be concerned about, and the faculty is concerned about it as well. It means a student knows where to access information, evaluate the information and determine its validity, process it, and finally utilize it," Robinson explained.
Ultimately, Robinson's speech served two purposes: to inform SGA of what was going on around them, and to extend an invitation to help. As the democratic voice of the campus, those involved in the Plan are reaching out for a student ambassador to aid their progress and offer students' perspectives.
"This will be something that you will be doing based on faith, that helps students that come behind you, much like the students who voted on the new student Recreation Center who will never step foot inside it," said Robinson. "Everyone needs to be involved in this to make it work...We'll appreciate any and all input at this point."
Also speaking from an Administrative standpoint Thursday night was University Center Director and SGA Advisor Steve Vantrease. He casually addressed the senators, asking for their experiences thus far with recent changes such as Sodexo's removal of the cafeteria trays-a move that SGA voted to support.
Not present however was Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Margaret Toston, whose continuous lack of attendance has several senators questioning her commitment to her position as an SGA advisor.
In other SGA news, Campus Observation Committee Chair Sammie Linton reported that his group was looking into potentially installing security cameras in the parking lots. Also brought up was the possibility of posting stop signs in the parking lots. The committee plans on talking to the Department of Public Safety this week to see if the ideas may become realities.
Rachel Stevens and the Academic Affairs Committee plan on sitting in on the next Faculty Senate meeting to gain their points of view on the priority registration debate. Meanwhile Jessica Weaver's Communications Committee promises to publish at least two more SGA newsletters this semester and hold another SGA Relations Day.
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