Spring Break
Buzz of discussion on cell phones at Faculty Senate meeting
Senate, UPI to help celebrate for 10 staff, faculty members
Krystal Moya/Administration Editor
Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: News
The Faculty Senate will motion to accept the Statement of Principle for the Cell Phone Use in Classrooms proposal from Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs, at its meeting at 2 p.m. today in Booth Library, Room 4440.
Lord has outlined the following principle for faculty to follow in his memo to Faculty Senate Chair John Pommier: "Each faculty member has the authority and responsibility to establish the conditions for student cell phone use in his/her classroom, and these shall be specified in the course syllabus. Such conditions are at the discretion of the faculty member, but shall provide that a university-initiated campus security text message can be received and disseminated to the classroom in a timely manner."
Faculty members can administer their own policies on a class-by-class, personal basis.
This includes requiring cell phones to be turned on silent, vibrate or limit the number of cell phones allowed to be turned on.
However, should a faculty member have a policy, the principle states it must be outlined in the class syllabus.
Lord reached the aforementioned principle after a proposal to adopt a cell phone policy incorporated into the Student Conduct Code.
This idea was soon derailed when issues of receiving emergency text messages from the university could not be addressed by a campuswide policy.
Pommier said the senate will most likely motion to accept this principle after a "lengthy discussion" of an overall faculty policy to act as a guide for the professor's individual policy.
Also, at 3 p.m., the senate and co-host University Professionals of Illinois will move to the east side of the University Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union to celebrate the retirements of 10 staff and faculty members.
Susan Kaufman, professor of journalism; Carol Stevens, professor of English; Teresa Bennett, assistant professor of early childhood, elementary, and middle level education; Charles Costa, associate professor of biological sciences; Allan Horney, professor of music; Terry Perkins, professor of communication studies; Norman Greer, associate professor of communication studies; Jerry Eisenhour, professor of theatre arts; Susan Hankenson, certification officer for the graduate school; and Mori Toosi, professor of technology, will be honored after the meeting.
"These people are hallmarks of the institution and there should be some celebration in the coming of their retirements," Pommier said.
Food and drinks as well as a presentation of the retirees will be conducted until 4:30 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
"These individuals provide an energy and a spirit that assists the university in administering quality education," Pommier said. "These individuals are and will always be important to the university and deserve our accolades."
Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7942 or at ksmoya@eiu.edu.
Lord has outlined the following principle for faculty to follow in his memo to Faculty Senate Chair John Pommier: "Each faculty member has the authority and responsibility to establish the conditions for student cell phone use in his/her classroom, and these shall be specified in the course syllabus. Such conditions are at the discretion of the faculty member, but shall provide that a university-initiated campus security text message can be received and disseminated to the classroom in a timely manner."
Faculty members can administer their own policies on a class-by-class, personal basis.
This includes requiring cell phones to be turned on silent, vibrate or limit the number of cell phones allowed to be turned on.
However, should a faculty member have a policy, the principle states it must be outlined in the class syllabus.
Lord reached the aforementioned principle after a proposal to adopt a cell phone policy incorporated into the Student Conduct Code.
This idea was soon derailed when issues of receiving emergency text messages from the university could not be addressed by a campuswide policy.
Pommier said the senate will most likely motion to accept this principle after a "lengthy discussion" of an overall faculty policy to act as a guide for the professor's individual policy.
Also, at 3 p.m., the senate and co-host University Professionals of Illinois will move to the east side of the University Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union to celebrate the retirements of 10 staff and faculty members.
Susan Kaufman, professor of journalism; Carol Stevens, professor of English; Teresa Bennett, assistant professor of early childhood, elementary, and middle level education; Charles Costa, associate professor of biological sciences; Allan Horney, professor of music; Terry Perkins, professor of communication studies; Norman Greer, associate professor of communication studies; Jerry Eisenhour, professor of theatre arts; Susan Hankenson, certification officer for the graduate school; and Mori Toosi, professor of technology, will be honored after the meeting.
"These people are hallmarks of the institution and there should be some celebration in the coming of their retirements," Pommier said.
Food and drinks as well as a presentation of the retirees will be conducted until 4:30 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
"These individuals provide an energy and a spirit that assists the university in administering quality education," Pommier said. "These individuals are and will always be important to the university and deserve our accolades."
Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7942 or at ksmoya@eiu.edu.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 15
Faculty Member
posted 4/28/09 @ 7:40 AM CST
Blair, what a vacuous policy: the faculty member can say no, but then has to say yes. Brilliant. So, when will faculty be given a university cell phone to receive such a message in their classes? I certainly am not going to take the time to assign a specific student at the beginning of class to be the "vibrator" and I do not bring my own personal cell phone to class. (Continued…)
Another faculty member
posted 4/28/09 @ 7:51 AM CST
A *secure* notification system is the appropriate way to transmit an emergency message. Ah, but that would cost money.
There is no way that many faculty will accept a scenario with phones out during classes and exams. (Continued…)
Yet Another Faculty Member
posted 4/28/09 @ 9:18 AM CST
Have the secretaries keep their email running and have them pull the fire alarm if there is an emergency. We have enough distractions to deal with in the classroom without pandering to students who go into conniptions if they are without their pacifier for a moment. (Continued…)
KT
posted 5/01/09 @ 7:23 AM CST
Yeah...pull the fire alarm so everyone can get shot coming out of the building...brilliant
Still another faculty member
posted 5/01/09 @ 1:31 PM CST
"Hey Faculty member, don't forget that without us students...YOU WOULD BE WITHOUT A JOB...Sadly you would get to join all of those poor folks on the Unemployment Line today. (Continued…)
A Slightly More Literate Student Leader
posted 5/01/09 @ 2:54 PM CST
It's ridiculous to claim that "professors exist for the students that pay for them". One of the reasons that teachers are needed is to educate students, yes; however teachers are further empowered through unions, a societal desire to endorse education, a university's prerogative to emphasize research. (Continued…)
A faculty member
posted 5/02/09 @ 12:09 PM CST
Student Leader's comments above don't show very good judgment. "No need for you," et cetera, insults any faculty member reading.
Not a smart move a couple of days before final exams!
ASMLSL
posted 5/03/09 @ 6:55 PM CST
Just to note, I'm a student, not a teacher.
Student Leader's argument is ridiculously simple. Of course teachers need students in order to do their job: if that's your sole argument (and I think it is), then I don't know why I'm bothering to respond. (Continued…)
Grad Student
posted 5/03/09 @ 9:00 PM CST
The reason why professors make certain rules in their classrooms is because it facilitates the learning process. That is what each student is paying for--not for a free "A" or a free reign of the classroom. (Continued…)
EIU Alum
posted 5/04/09 @ 10:18 AM CST
A university's job is to prepare students for the real world and for their future jobs. Do you think the childish behavior of texting every ten seconds is allowed in the real world? It is not, it is called time theft. (Continued…)
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