Proposal would allow
colleges say in appeals
By Jessica Fargen
Staffwriter
An Academic Senate proposal
would give students easier service
when they contest a late withdraw from
a class or a mistaken grading option,
faculty leaders say.
Currently, students who missed the
withdraw deadline or who want to
change the pass/no pass status of a class
after the deadline must work through
the Academic Senate Grading and
Examination Committee.
Under the proposed change, stu
dents would work within their college,
shifting most of the weight of appeals
decisions from the committee chair
man to the colleges, said Don Lee, who
has been chairman of the committee
for three of die past four years.
Lee said he proposed the change
because he and other faculty members
did not have enough support to handle
the appeals of about 180 students each
semester.
A committee chairman must
process the appeals using their own
clerical support staff. Not all instruc
tors could take the job because they
might not have secretaries and office
workers with enough time to do the
work.
Lee, a University of Nebraska
Lincoln agronomy professor, said the
Academic Senate has to approve the
change, which he may bring up at its
December meeting.
Robert Duncan, a grading commit
tee member, said the change would
make the appeals more efficient,
although larger colleges such as arts
and sciences could have more work to
do..
“It’s an attempt to streamline things
so it’s easier for the students and easier
for the faculty to determine whether the
student has a reasonable request,” said
Duncan, a UNL architecture professor.
Currently, withdrawal appeals are
sent from the college appeals officer to
Lee, who schedules a subcommittee
meeting where the appeals are decided,
Lee said. This semester’s withdrawal
deadline is Nov. 13.
A student who wants to change a
pass/no pass option on a class after the
Oct. 16 deadline must send a letter
from his or her instructor, adviser and
the course department chairperson to
Lee, who makes the appeal decision.
— Under the proposal, students would
go to their college offices for both the
late withdrawal and grade option
appeals.
The appeals officer would be in
charge of scheduling to meet with - at
minimum - the college’s Academic
Senate representative.
The Grading and Examination
Committee chairman would not have
as much responsibility and decision
making, Lee said.
The policy would relieve the chair
man of the 40 hours in appeals work
each semester and add about four hours
of work for each college, he said.
“I think it’s just not fair for those
faculty that are supported to take on all
the service for the university,” Lee said.
“If we adopt this change it will really
force the colleges to handle all the ser
vices that is required.”
Lee said the College of Agriculture
Science and Natural Resources sup
ports him adequately. Although he
enjoys die post, it is time for him to turn
over the reins.
ii someone would nave volun
teered, Lee said, he would not have
come up with the proposal.
“The reality of the climate is that
there aren’t very many well-supported
faculty members that feel that they can
handle the letter output that goes into
that job,” Lee said. “With the current
system, many faculty would not be able
to be (chairman) of this committee
because they do not have secretarial
support.”
Colleges vary in the level of clerical
support they provide to faculty mem
bers, Lee said.
Linda Shipley, appeals officer for
the College of Journalism and Mass
Communications, said although the
system would cut down on the paper
work of the committee chairman,
admissions and advising offices
already are dealing with a lot of
changes such as an upcoming new
degree audit system.
Shipley said she hopes the grading
committee solicited more faculty
members’ opinions.
Lee said he has been getting feed
back from faculty members and the
committee. He plans to have a meeting
with faculty members later in the
semester.
“I understand if there’s a lot of
paperwork for one person to handle,”
Shipley said. “I just think it needs some
more investigation before it goes
there.”
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Man arrested for firing gun
Police responding to shots fired
outside McPhee Elementary
School arrested a man with more
than an ounce of marijuana Tuesday
night.
At 10:30 p.m. the maintenance
supervisor reported several shots
fired near the school, at 820 S. 15th
St., Lincoln Police Sgt. Ann
Heermann said.
A pizza delivery man saw a
young man running with a gun in
hand, and he was able to give police
a description and tell where he ran.
Police surrounded the apart
ment building the suspect had
entered, and then officers went
inside to find him.
The suspect ran out the back
door of the building where another
officer was waiting.
Police arrested the 23-year-old
man for discharging a weapon in
the city and possession of more
than an ounce of marijuana, both
felonies.
Three cited in drug bust .
Police cited three young men
for drug violations Tuesday mom
ing at a house where drugs alleged
ly were sold.
The house on the 100 block of
North 34th Street was under sur
veillance just before noon when
police observed someone leaving
the house after a sale, Heermann
said.
Police stopped and searched the
18-year-old and found an ounce of
marijuana.
Then police cited the man and
obtained a search warrant for the
house.
Inside police found drug para
phernalia but no narcotics, and they
cited the two residents, ages 19 and
21.
Compiled by senior staff
writer Josh Funk
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