8 PM Farnsworth Pavilion Student Senate 04.06.16 8 PM Farnsworth Pavilion

Subcommittee to Address the CUC Credit Hour Limit Proposal Paul Dingus, Rahul Kothari, Sonal Pai, Revathi Ravella, Peter Yun

Primary Grievances: Student capability to successfully engage in heavy course loads varies greatly. Lesser number of credit hours is not necessarily indicative of a lesser amount of work. Credit hour cap limits students’ ability to explore classes and take advantage of Rice’s broad academic offerings. Limits flexibility of students who want to shift their course schedule in order to study abroad or accommodate for semesters with heavier course-work. Limits students from pursuing a double major and/or minor. Students who are Teaching Assistants and/or participate in research/work for credit are limited in the number of classes they can take because of the limit. Current state of academic advising does not provide students with the skills necessary to evaluate and plan their holistic Rice experience. Unduly burdens students without AP credit, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. 1010 Respondents across Residential Colleges 875 Against 122 For 13 Neutral/Other

Moving Forward The proposal as-is should not pass, simply due to overwhelming student opposition Students feel that this version of the proposal would create more problems than it solves Students feel that their access to education is limited by Should the Faculty Senate choose to move forward with the policy, this subcommittee asks that they reevaluate its structure, taking into consideration the following recommendations. A version of the proposal with the suggested changes should be presented to the student body for feedback, and the process should continue from there.

Short-Term Suggestions

Transfer the petition process to academic departments Keep proposed credit hour limits in place Students can petition to take more hours Undeclared students → Dean’s Office Declared students → Department/Major Advisor Benefits: Retains original purpose of the CUC proposal Departments understand their students’ situation well → can better offer fair and knowledgeable consideration to student petitions Freshmen are majority undeclared → will organically be subject to a more general petition system Students in more demanding majors can receive the leniency they require to succeed Narrows well-being problem → can be dealt with on departmental basis

Allow students to audit courses Unaudited course enrollment capped at 17/18 hours Students can register for one audited class per semester 1 audit per year at Rice for a max of 4 audits No impact on GPA, no associated credit No coursework Must designate class as “audit” by end of Add/Drop period Classes designated as “audit” cannot be converted back to a grade Benefits No pressure of assignments or grades → purely for students to explore subjects of interest Reduces academic-related stress → better for wellbeing

Long-Term Suggestions Investigate and rethink the number of credit hours required for graduation, especially within the School of Engineering. Investigate and redevelop the role of pass/fail and audit classes to create a variety of course experiences, so that every type of classroom learning experience is available and accessible to Rice students in the future. Better develop academic advising and mentorship for undergraduates so that they are able to conscientiously develop a holistic undergraduate experience that fits their goals.

Voting Class B #1/ B #2 https://docs.google.com/document/d/13OnhvStbdLwS600PC0bjfWlGZDkbNk37D0nuj WHTjE0/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZwhdvUVYHQp3TzOUjiRgrx0yMJTXWiUHciZ u5uMw4lU/edit

Voting RSVP Constitution http://sa.rice.edu/files/legislation/spring2016/RSVPConstitution.pdf

Approval of Second Round Ballot https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yU9pi3VAKEzzkgmGVMd9egzDxonoSCnpkiEp acC82wA/edit?ts=57028510

Director of Government Affairs Legislation https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mvs8ChwHxGJ68Gx4FBeJjQ2qbL6SJaf3d_rQxo ymMSo/edit

Announcement of Committee and Constitutional Revisions

Presentation of Blanket Tax Committee

Presentation of New Committee Chair Members Academics Shelby Bice Henry Bair Undergraduate Advisory Boards Anjali Bhatla Swapnav Deka Student Life Michelle Tran Brianna Singh Future Alumni Neha Amaravadi Claire Luo Environmental Akash Ghosal Conrado Asenjo Wellbeing Sanjana Ranganathan Carolina Hatanpaa

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