University of Idaho Faculty Senate continued discussions Tuesday on emergency policies that would ease academic restrictions on students.
The senate previously debated the merits of two proposed policies to temporarily alter standards for both incoming and established students.
The first emergency policy proposed was a change to admissions standards.
After prior discussion in senate hearings, the current emergency policy could change the minimum GPA for admission to 2.6. Students below the 2.6 threshold would need to apply for admission through an appeal that will go through the Admissions Committee.
This proposal would re-implement a policy previously instituted to accommodate for challenges in standardized testing due to COVID-19.
The information available to the university’s admissions department has diminished significantly as many students remain without access to the tests.
“I think the problem we’re dealing with now, is that we have this body of students in the 2.6 to 2.9 range and the tool we normally use to help us understand which of them will succeed and which will struggle more – we just don’t have access to,” Faculty Senate Vice Chair Russell Meeuf said.
If adopted, the policy would be implemented for only 180 days. It would also apply exclusively to students within the fall 2022 class.
Whether or not this policy is implemented depends on the university’s Curriculum Committee and the Office of the Registrar.
The second emergency policy proposed in the meeting concerns the expansion of withdrawal credits. Currently, UI limits undergraduate students to 21 withdrawal credits for their career. The emergency policy would increase this number to 33.
Similar to the admissions policy, the proposed withdrawal policy would be in effect for 180 days. According to Faculty Senate Chair Barbara Kirchmeier, it would provide leeway for students struggling academically due to the pandemic.
“Virtual courses, HyFlex courses, illness and all the other things that have become major stressors for our students over the last 12 months have really started to show in the way our students are performing in class,” Kirchmeier said. “Many of these students would like to withdraw from courses they’re not doing well in, because they would like to focus their energy on the spaces where they are succeeding.”
Multiple Faculty Senate members proposed a temporary expungement of withdrawal credits in lieu of an increase in the number of allowed withdrawal credits.
According to Kirchmeier, the modified approach to withdrawal credits will be solidified next week, in addition to its method of implementation.
Royce McCandless can be reached at [email protected]