Provost Peter Rabideau announced a possible reduction in the number of credit hours required for a degree at the faculty senate meeting Friday.
The provost also recommended dates for next year’s Fall Break, and clarifications were made concerning the academic forgiveness policy.
Rabideau said that reducing the number of hours required for students to earn a degree was a subject of discussion at all Mississippi public universities. If adopted, the change would reduce the number of hours required to graduate to between 124 to 128 credits for some majors.
Rabideau said the focus right now is toward 128 credits, with provisions for exceptions remaining.
“I think there is a good possibility that something along these lines will happen,” Rabideau said.
Sen. Dan Embree said he was concerned about what courses would be removed from degree requirements.
“Cuts are going to be made in things that aren’t specifically job-related,” Embree said.
Embree added that the courses removed from degree requirements would be in subjects like art and literature.
“This is a further step toward what many people out there already think we are-a vo-tech school with a football team,” Embree said.
Rabideau agreed that some danger exists in requiring less of students, but he said that it could be done.
“I really do believe there are some programs that can be done in 124 [credits],” Rabideau said.
Rabideau said very few details were known and no decision has been made on whether the new requirements would apply only to incoming students or to current students as well.
Rabideau, however, forecasted that any changes would probably begin next fall.
The degree changes were under discussion by the Institution of Higher Learning, Rabideau said, but the talks are in their preliminary stages and have not resulted in many details yet.
Also in the meeting, Rabideau said his recommendation to the Dean’s Council for next year’s Fall Break will include holidays on Monday Oct. 18, Tuesday, Oct. 19, and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Rabideau said he assessed that most of the faculty were not happy with having an entire week off during Thanksgiving, and the break would still be considered experimental.
“We’re getting in the final stretch and then we all stop and take a rest,” Rabideau said, adding that a break of that nature ruins students’ momentum.
Senate President Walter Diehl said parts of the academic forgiveness policy that needed clarification.
“Nobody considered when this policy would start or to what extent any previous courses would be considered,” Diehl said.
Diehl said the recommendation of the senate would be to consider classes dating back to the fall 2003 to be in contention for forgiveness.
The policy is awaiting review by the Dean’s Council, and the senate will not be able to review the policy again before a decision is made.