Northern Star Monday, February 23, 2015
Volume 115, Issue 71
The Truth Shall Bear All Light
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SA gets more input in prioritization Prioritization
Augustin Zehnder Staff writer T @AZehnder
Go to bit.ly/18EAyso for more information on the program prioritization process.
DeKalb | Administrators have
agreed to allow for more student participation in program prioritization committees after pushback from the Student Association. An SA Senate resolution that had its first reading Feb. 15 stated the SA’s “diminishing faith in the shared governance system as it is currently being practiced.” SA Senate Speaker Dillon Domke said this “diminishing faith” was in response to the fact that students will not serve on the task forces determining programs that are to be merged, cut or have their funding status changed as part of the program prioritization process NIU will undergo throughout the spring and fall. Members of the SA met with the administration following the first reading of the resolution and NIU announced changes to give students more input in the prioritization process. At Sunday’s SA Senate meeting, Domke moved to have the wording of the resolution changed to say the SA thinks NIU is acting in good faith in regard to shared governance. The motion passed unanimously and the resolution now reads: “Therefore, we the students represented by this body do hereby express our appreciation that we have been included in the program prioritization process, but believe that students should be included in each phase of the prioritization process.” Student involvement Students will still not be allowed to serve on the task forces; the rationale for this is the time commitment of six to 10 hours a week would be burdensome and the sensitive information
Resource, Space and Budget Committee — have student members. The meetings, on March 16 and 23, respectively, are open.
Ryan Ocasio | Northern Star
Student Association Senator David White (center) speaks during Sunday’s SA Senate meeting in the Holmes Student Center. White had concerns about how student input will be used in program prioritization, though NIU officials announced they will add two students to the committee that coordinates the prioritization process.
the task forces will deal with could leave students open to intimidation from peers, faculty and staff. But, the program prioritization coordinating team, which oversees the prioritization process, will now have two student representatives, said Carolinda Douglass, vice provost for Academic Planning and Development. There will be one undergraduate student and one graduate student, and they will be chosen by the SA, Douglass said.
The recommendations made by the task forces will now be subject to student review and input once they are released and NIU will take student trends into account throughout the whole process of program prioritization, Douglass said. “We’ll also take into account data elements within the prioritization process, such as enrollment and student input, and these will certainly be important in how the programs are prioritized,” Douglass said.
Students will be able to nominate faculty and staff to the task forces through “websites, emails that we’ll send out,” Douglass said. When nominations will take place isn’t yet finalized, Douglass said, but it will be in the next three or four weeks. NIU has invited the SA to formally participate in the meetings where the criteria for program prioritization will be determined. The committees that will decide the criteria — the Academic Planning Council and the
Student opinion While there were no abstentions or votes against the changed resolution, some senators expressed concerns and questions about the changes made by NIU. SA Senator David White said he has concerns about what weight student perspectives would carry in the actual process of prioritization. Douglass said that would depend on what the issue was. Not all criteria will be weighted equally under the current program prioritization plan. The exact weighting system is not yet determined, and it will be decided with the actual criteria. Domke said he was satisfied overall with the changes NIU has made. While the SA would like to see students represented at all levels of the prioritization process, the reality of it is not possible, he said. “The ultimate one situation is to be part of every single part of program prioritization. That would mean having someone on the task force,” Domke said. “But, we are very happy with what we have right now.” Instead of pushing for a student representative on the task force, Domke said the SA will work to develop a process through which students can effectively give input on the recommendations made by the task force.
Barsema Express added after requests at focus group Andre Phillips Staff writer T @ Tha_Kid_Dre
DeKalb | The Student Association is preparing to unveil the Barsema Express after suggestions for the route came from a focus group. The Barsema Express would begin at the Holmes Student Center and travel to DuSable Hall and the residence halls. Instead of heading south toward businesses on Lincoln Highway, the Barsema Express will re-route to the residence halls again, picking up students at DuSable Hall, Barsema Hall, the Engineering Building and the Music Building. A start date for the Barsema Express is unknown as the bus is still in the planning stages, said Brett Williams, SA director of Mass Transit.
Junior accountancy major Brian Robinson said he understands getting to classes in a timely manner is important and most upperclassmen require extensive amounts of study time, which Barsema Hall is able to offer since it is open 24/7. “I would love if there was a bus that picked students up from Barsema late and serviced off-campus apartments as well as on-campus housing for the underclassmen,” Robinson said. A Feb. 11 focus group focused its concerns on improved access to buses for business and engineering students, especially those trying to get to Barsema Hall at night, Williams said. The focus group was a part of the SA’s plan to ask for student input
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on changes to the Huskie Bus Line Barsema Express regarding bus routes and design. The Huskie Bus Line change is a Stops on the Barsema Express include residence halls and these spots: result of the Master Plan Thesis, which includes the deconstruction of Douglas Hall and an extension of Lucinda Avenue to create a 10-min• Barsema Hall ute campus. • Engineering Sophomore engineering major Building Devonte Rodgers said the Barsema Express going to the residence halls is a great idea since the Business Careers House is located in Grant C Tower. The Business Careers House is a Living Learning Community for business majors. • Music • Holmes No further focus group dates have Building Student Center been set, but Williams said he hopes to continue having focus groups and • DuSable Hall listen to what students want for the Huskie Bus Line.
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Best of DeKalb
The voters have spoken in this year’s Best of DeKalb. Look inside this issue for your copy of the Best of DeKalb to see what businesses and student groups can claim they are No. 1 for 2015.