Mason Bennett – News Editor

mxb5302@psu.edu

Student Government Association members met for their general meeting on Thursday, Oct. 27, and heard from Secretary of Academic Affairs Nathan Murarik regarding Canvas usage among Behrend faculty.

During council reports, Murarik described a meeting with Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Pamela Silver.

“For those who are frustrated with how their instructors use Canvas, the best way we can advocate for ourselves is through the SRTEs,” he said.

The Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness, otherwise known as SRTEs, are Penn State’s locally developed instrument for gathering feedback from students at the end of each academic term.

In the meeting Murarik said, SRTEs were pushed as a productive solution to student concerns.

“If you feel like it’s hurting your academic progress, provide feedback in the comments of the SRTEs. When I met with Dr. Silver, she put a major emphasis on them,” Murarik said.

The board member continued on this thought.

“The university can’t force instructors to change their Canvas page or implement a mandate, but if enough students reflect in SRTEs, some kind of action is taken,” he said.

Chief of Staff Michal Bosek explained that the evaluations are entirely anonymous for students.

“A teacher cannot trace back who submitted them, in case anyone ever feels uncomfortable,” Bosek said. “It won’t affect your relationship with the instructor or school.”

In other reports, the School of Business is starting an academic adviser evaluation initiative, in which advising faculty will undergo regular performance assessments.

“It’s in the beta stage right now where they’re testing to see if any problems come up with it,” Murarik said.

In other business, board members approved Amendment S.R. 22-23.03 with a vote of 12-0. The amendment acknowledges that the organization’s current constitution supersedes previous versions of the document.

“The current constitution is dated from December of last year,” President Matthew Strupczewski said. “We do this to cover all our bases.”

The board tabled two club proposals: Philosophy Club and Music Production Club. Bosek said two more club proposals will be on the board’s agenda next week.

Board members approved the meeting minutes from Thursday, Oct. 20. President Matthew Strup and Vice President Luke Warner were not in attendance at Thursday’s meeting due to a wedding ceremony.

The next Student Government Association general meeting will be on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 6 p.m. in Reed 114.