Debate broke out about unpaid for-credit internships during a report from the Committee on Instruction at Wednesday’s University Senate meeting.

The committee sent a survey to all the schools and colleges and found there is no policy that is consistent across the university concerning summer internships.

‘It turns out that the situation is quite diverse across the campus, and there is not a consistent policy about this,’ said Can Isik, who gave the report for the instruction committee.

The instruction committee’s report attracted the most interest and discussion at the meeting. Other business included a report on the university’s fiscal health and the passage of changes to curriculum, including the creation of a minor in sport hospitality and event management.

Many students in the College of Human Ecology intern for nonprofits and cannot get paid, said Diane Murphy, dean of the college. Faculty in attendance called it a ‘corrupt process’ and ‘exploitation.’

But Barbara Kwasnik, a professor in the School of Information Studies, said libraries cannot afford to pay interns.

‘If we had a rule against unpaid internships, none of our library students would get internships,’ she said.

Bruce Carter, an associate professor in child and family studies and psychology, voiced concerns about professors not being paid for sponsoring students in summer internships or independent study.

Other issues included international students who have to receive credit during the summer and students entering into unsafe situations just to have an experience.

In its other work, the committee crafted a university-wide procedure for students to follow when appealing a grade, Isik said. It will soon be available to the schools and colleges, he said.

Members also moved toward making SU a one-clicker campus by selecting Turning Point devices as the clicker of choice, starting in the spring. Some students had been required to purchase a different type of clicker response system for each class, although they essentially do the same thing, according to the report.

Martha Garcia-Murillo, chair of the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee, presented her committee’s report. Topics included the financial health of departments under the current Responsibility Center Management fiscal system, which was adopted in 2006.

This fall’s freshman enrollment landed 162 more students than the goal of 3,300 freshmen. But only 297 students transferred to SU, lower than the 328 expected. This all resulted in a net gain of $7.5 million above budget in undergraduate tuition, according to the report.

Kwasnik, from the iSchool, presented a report from the Committee on Curricula, including a new minor in sport hospitality and event management in the College of Human Ecology. The report also details a proposed dual-degree program, which would award a Juris Doctor and a master’s degree in computer science.

The senators also spent part of the meeting in closed session to discuss honorary degrees. After the closed portion, the Senate carried a motion related to the time period that candidates are eligible for honorary degrees. Right now, candidates who are approved for honorary degrees have two years for the chancellor to actually select them to receive one. The motion extends that eligibility period to four years for current and future candidates.

Other items included:

• Approval of minutes from November’s Senate session

• Jonathan Massey announced that Kelly Szott, a fourth-year doctoral student in sociology, won the election for a spot on the Agenda Committee and has started to attend meetings.

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Published on December 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm