The discussion about how to potentially reorganize MSU’s course scheduling could reignite today, almost three months after a university committee postponed such talks.
Today’s Executive Committee of Academic Council, or ECAC, meeting contains an agenda item to update committee members on the workings of the Academic Year Task Force, which is exploring possible changes to the university’s course scheduling.
Those changes include whether to reorganize classes typically scheduled on Mondays and Wednesdays into a Monday-Wednesday-Friday plan.
ECAC last addressed the subject in November, when it failed to come up with a process of allowing students and faculty to weigh in on proposed changes.
ECAC chairman Harold Hughes said the potential changes are aimed at providing students with more course schedule opportunities.
“We need to look at every possibility of improving the options,” Hughes said. “They’re looking at all aspects … to try and make better use of the money that people pay (and) make better use of the time that’s available.”
Hughes, who said he does not know what today’s task force report will contain, said such talks are part of the process of reorganizing MSU’s academics.
The process gained momentum with the deans of all the university’s colleges recommending program and department cuts to MSU Provost Kim Wilcox, Hughes said. He said the university now will look at how it can better manage time in terms of academics.
ECAC Vice Chairman Robert Maleczka said the fall semester’s discussions stalled because the task force had difficulty
answering all the necessary questions to make an informed decision.
“There were a whole lot of questions — logistical questions, research questions — that they just didn’t have the information to answer,” Maleczka said.
Deborah Moriarty, University Committee on Faculty Affairs chairwoman, is listed on the agenda as one of the topic’s presenters along with Senior Associate Provost June Youatt.
Moriarty said in an e-mail there is nothing to report thus far. She did not elaborate on whether the task force would present new information to ECAC.
“The (Academic Year Task Force) committee has not met since the fall and the agenda item is simply informative to see where we are,” Moriarty said in the e-mail.
Youatt was unavailable Monday for comment.
Hughes said he hopes today’s task force report covers more ground than talks last fall.
“We’ve spent an awful lot of time talking about budgets and reorganization … and we needed to do it,” he said.
Staff writer Brittany Shammas contributed to this article.
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