Ryan ChartrandThe Cal Poly Academic Senate met on Tuesday to decide the future of the Fairness Board and the Grievance Board, which both address concerns that students may have with their grades and/or professors.
The Academic Senate passed reform legislation in their March 6 meeting, dissolving the student Grievance Board while creating some new language, effectively transferring all of its responsibilities to the student Fairness Board.
Matt Taylor, Associated Students Inc. student representative for the Grievance Board, said one of the main reasons for the consolidation of the boards was due to lack of student awareness.
“The Fairness Board and the Grievance Board aren’t very well known assets to the students,” Taylor said. “A lot of people don’t know about them, that was part of the problem.”
Both boards are outlets which students can turn to, in an order of succession, for support if there is a dispute concerning a grade. The student should first turn to the instructor to solve the problem. If that doesn’t work, the student then turns to the department adviser.
If all else fails, the student can take the dispute to the Fairness Board.
The Grievance Board works in the same manner, except that it handles issues that are non-grade related.
Taylor spoke about some of the reasons for the demise of the Grievance Board.
“The problem is that it didn’t have very much authority,” Taylor said of the board’s lack of activity.
“The Grievance Board has been around for 10 years and it has never heard a single case,” Taylor added.
ASI Board of Directors Chair Jared Samarin said although there have been some slight alterations in the text of the document, the Academic Senate’s decision is pretty certain.
“The language won’t effect the spirit of the resolution,” Samarin said.
“They will most likely pass the current form of the proposed resolution.”
Samarin said the only thing remaining is for the Academic Senate to officially pass the resolution during their next meeting on May 8.