To accommodate monthly meetings for interdisciplinary groups and faculty department chairs, several tentative changes were made to the existing Wednesday afternoon meeting schedule by the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Calendars and Scheduling.
The changes, discussed at two separate forums open to the public last week, will soon be under review by the Committee on Planning and Priorities (CPP).
Ad Hoc chair Oscar Ochoa said the changes should not be considered final, as the drafted schedule must still pass approval by the CPP.
If it does, chair and interdisciplinary group meetings will take place on the fourth Wednesday of every month.
"This time, we want to be sure not to forget anyone," Ochoa said. "The new schedule is not yet comprehensive and is still open for changes."
While drafting the new schedule, Ochoa and Ad Hoc had to move several groups' meetings to different time slots to make room for the new meetings.
Faculty Senate and Staff Senate meetings were moved to the third Wednesday of each month, while department meetings were moved to Wednesday mornings at the faculty's request.
The fact that administrative persons must be in both committees and councils, preventing committee and council meetings from being held at the same time, presented CPP with another scheduling issue.
More concerns dealt with incorporating the smaller campus groups into the schedule.
"Unfortunately, we are not able to set aside a block for five or six people," Ochoa said.
During one of the forums to discuss the schedule, it was suggested that each department review the draft before it is sent to CPP for evaluation.
As per the suggestion, any discrepancies would be identified before it is too late to change them.
It was also recommended that the draft be sent to cabinet members for their opinions.
Another scheduling issue that remains unsettled involves timing of the 2006 Senior Week, which conflicts with the reading period and final exams at the end of the Spring 2006 semester.
Dan Crofts, professor of history, said he is against reconfiguring the academic schedule to accommodate Senior Week.
"Why is Senior Week considered more important than the new reading period and final exam system that are designed to support the enhanced curriculum?" Crofts asked.
"I think CSCC (Committee on Student and Campus Community) needs to look at this one," he said.
