Running head: FIELD OBSERVATION: FACULTY SENATE

Field Observation Paper: Faculty Senate Meeting, June 4, 2014

Coco Roberts
Georgia Southern University

FIELD OBSERVATION: FACULTY SENATE

Faculty Senate Meeting, June 4, 2014

Overview: The faculty senate meeting was held on June 4, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. As
participants and visitors entered in the room, mostly everyone had to verify their name. The
meeting began shortly after 4:00 p.m. The officiating chair began the meeting. He mentioned that
many senators and administrators were not present at the meeting and there were a limited
amount of items that could be discuss because the lack of attendance within the meeting. The
chair also acknowledged the provost and the student government president and thanked them for
their attendance. Approval of previous minutes was discussed. A few senate members requested
that minor wording and grammatical changes be made to the minutes and then after that, the
minutes were approved. There were several reports that were supposed to be discussed but very
few people were there. Provost Jean Bartel was in attendance and she went over her report
briefly. Provost Bartel spoke of a five percent budget cut and who was being hired to head up a
new department program at the University. After Provost Bartel spoke, the senate was scheduled
to approve several submitted motions, however, this could not occur because of the lack of
attendance. The chair stated that a certain percentage has to be in attendance to approve motions
and that submitted motions would have to be voted on and approved at the next senate meeting.
Lastly, the chair mentioned that his term is up and that a new chair will be facilitating the
meetings in the upcoming academic year. Furthermore, there was not much else discussed at this
meeting because the lack of attendance. The meeting then adjourned.
Analysis: The faculty senate provides a forum for faculty and administrators to talk about
various issues related to academics and the university as a whole. The role of the faculty in
sharing academic governance was emphasized when the American Association of University
Professors promoted the concept of faculty forums. This association stressed the importance of

FIELD OBSERVATION: FACULTY SENATE

faculties sharing the process of administration and having a voice concerning academic matters
(Schloss & Cragg, 2013). However, the role of faculty senate did not manifest until after World
War II when faculty began to have more of a powerful role in academic matters (Brubacher &
Rudy, 1976). While attending the senate faculty meeting, I realize the importance of senators
being present to vote on various motions that were submitted. Decisions cannot be made unless
a certain number of senates are present. Faculty senates play an important role in the continual
improvement toward academic excellence across the board for universities and colleges. Not
only do the senators that are members of the faculty senate play an important role, the
administrators and student government president play an important role as well.
While researching a little bit more about the faculty senate at Georgia Southern, I noticed
that the normal attendance usually consists of administrators, the SGA president, and visitors.
Key leadership positions that are usually in attendance are the President (the public face for the
college and accountable for all major functions of the college), the Provost (the chief academic
officer), the Deans of various colleges (the chief academic officer of the college they oversee),
the President of Student Leadership (voice for SGA), and the Vice Presidents of various
departments such as Student Affairs (responsible for the operation of student services) and
Business and Finance (responsible for business and financial operations of university).
Administrators play an important role in the senate meetings. Even though there were not many
administers at this particular meeting. I was able to get a small idea of how their roles play a part
in the faculty senate meetings. The president and the provost are the ones that answer and give
updated information on topics such as budget and tuition. Provost Bartel briefly clarified
information pertaining to a potential five percent budget cut at Georgia Southern University. She
stated that there will not be a five percent budget cut but it would be a one percent budget cut.

FIELD OBSERVATION: FACULTY SENATE

Most colleges experience budget reduction for various reasons but in Georgia Southerns case,
budget reduction happen because of the small decline in student enrollment. Schloss and Cragg
mention the importance of planning and budgeting and they stated that there is no aspect of the
management postsecondary institution that is more important than planning and budgeting
(Schloss & Cragg, 2013). Budgets can include student tuition, state appropriation, auxiliary
income, foundation income, extramural funds and many more (Schloss & Cragg, 2013). One of
the key factors concerning budgets is to make sure that budgets and funds are prioritize and
meeting the needs that benefit the university the most. It has been said that no single factor is
more likely to be associated with the failure of an organization than for key decision makers to
not understand budget (Schloss & Cragg, 2013) .
As far as the president of the student association at Georgia Southern being present at the
meeting shows how involved the student government is at being a part of important decision
making matters. Students have not always been as involved in the decision making process at
universities. Initially, student clubs and organizations were a way for students to enjoy campus
life but eventually college administrators introduced a more formal way for student voices to be
heard. The increasing demand of students to participate in the decision making process has been
widely implemented throughout the United States (Schloss & Cragg, 2013). The evolution of
student self-governance is truly a mark of the nations democratic principles and standards
(Schloss & Cragg, 2013). As higher education has expanded, the growth of student selfgovernance has embraced the power of their voices being heard. For example, administrators at
Georgia Southern University made a really good effort to allow students to be a part of a big
decision related to expanding the universitys stadium. Students had their voices heard by voting
if they would agree for their tuition to increase in support of the expansion of the new stadium.

FIELD OBSERVATION: FACULTY SENATE

Another way students have been involved with decision making is that they have been able to
implement ideas such as create scholarships for students that are in financial need. Because of
these types of privileges, colleges and universities have been able to meet their goal and mission
of providing continual improvement and institutional effectiveness through student government.
In researching previous minutes, I found that a typical senate meeting consists of
discussing a lot of various topics. There are various reports that are read during the meeting and
after each report has been read, senators and visitors can ask questions. At a previous meeting the
president went over a report and he discussed budget items. One item in particular was tuition
payments. We know that tuition rates for public institutions are determined by state governing
boards and it is important that tuitions be balanced so that both full enrollment and enough
revenue can come in and maintain colleges. President Keel spoke that tuition will increase by
two percent for Georgia Southern and that various other colleges had a tuition increase as well.
Other colleges such as Georgia Tech received a nine percent increase and this is because the
tuition has to balance out according to the enrollment and financial needs of the university. Other
topics that the president mentioned in his report were pay increases and student involvement.
Another important report that is discussed in the previous meeting minutes was the Librarian
report which consists of several different committees reporting various items discussed in their
meetings. One committee in particular is the Graduate Committee which is also associated with
the Curriculum Committee in that their primary focus is to review, maintain, and recommend any
curriculum ideas or changes within a college. For example, the graduate program in the College
of Education at Georgia Southern University proposed a change for requirements in the
Educational Leadership Doctoral Program. The proposal focused on helping students meet their
programmatic requirements and allows them to graduate in a timely manner. We see that these

FIELD OBSERVATION: FACULTY SENATE

actions relate to the strategic planning process along with faculty expertise and that these all play
a part in intuitional effectiveness.
In conclusion, through the observation of the faculty senate meeting, I see how important
organization, structure, and administration are within higher education. The organization of
higher education has evolved immensely throughout the years. I am personally grateful that
student and faculty involvement has increased throughout history because I am a firm believer
that no one group has all the answers to effectively make an organization successful. Each
governing board, each leader and each committee throughout universities worldwide have a very
important role to play in the future success of all colleges and universities and will continue to
have an important role throughout history.

FIELD OBSERVATION: FACULTY SENATE

References
Brubacher, J. S., & Rudy, W. (1976). Higher Education in Transition: A history of American
Colleges and Universities. New York: Harper & Row.

Schloss, P. J., & Cragg, K. M. (2013). Organization and Administration in Higher Education.
New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.