The Arts and Sciences Council was all dressed up but had nowhere to go during its first meeting of the year Thursday.
A joint session of the A&S Council and the Engineering Faculty Council failed to approve a new dean's excuse policy because only one member of the EFC showed up, delaying a vote for possibly a month. With the non-vote, there is currently no policy in place to deal with students who miss a test or paper due to illness.
"It is unfortunate that we couldn't have a vote because we remain in a situation of limbo," said William Chafe, dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences.
While some in the council expressed the desire to immediately deal with the problem in a special joint session before next month's scheduled A&S Council meeting, others said the issue could wait. "It is not going to be a disaster to continue without a policy," chemistry professor Alvin Crumbliss said, pointing to the fact that there has been no policy in effect so far this year.
Chemistry professor James Bonk, who chaired the committee that re-examined the policy, suggested a special joint council session should be held in Hudson Hall to better accommodate the engineering faculty members who did not make Thursday's meeting. Four members of the EFC are required to reach quorum for a vote.
Chafe charged a committee in May to establish a new dean's excuse policy after Director of Student Health Dr. Bill Christmas announced last fall that health care workers would no longer issue medical excuses to students. This announcement meant that the old dean's excuse policy, which required confirmation of illness from a medical professional, was no longer tenable.
Under the proposed changes, not only would Student Health be removed from the equation, but the responsibility for granting medical excuses would no longer fall to deans. Students, instead, would be able to deal directly with their professors if a short-term illness prevented them from finishing work on time.
Students would use a special e-mail form available online to inform professors of illness. Bonk said the form would likely be available through ACES or other university-run sites. The e-mail form would give the student's name, the course number, the date the illness became an impediment and a description of the missed work.
The last part of the form would have a paragraph concerning the Duke Community Standard. In printing their name at the bottom of the form, students would affirm compliance to the standard and promise not to use the absence to gain an unfair advantage over their classmates. After Bonk's presentation, debate on the procedure and wording of the new policy held the council over its scheduled adjournment time, causing many of those in attendance to walk out.
Much of the debate concerned the language of the e-mail form. Many "I don't want the Arts and Sciences Council to tell me what I should have on my syllabus," Crumbliss said.
The proposed changes would not alter the current long-term illness procedure, which will continue to be carried out by the deans. The distinction between a short-term and long-term illness was described by Bonk in his presentation.
"This is sort of like pornography," Bonk said. "A dean can recognize a long-term illness when he sees one."
Also Thursday, Chafe--who is stepping down as dean at the end of this year-- made his last "State of Arts and Sciences" address to the council, reflecting on successes in the past and highlighting challenges for the future. In the face of current budget constraints, he praised the faculty and made the case for caution in the short-run to allow for long-run growth.
"I am confident that the plans we have put in place for ensuring financial stability over the next five years will provide a solid foundation possible for sustaining our momentum forward," Chafe said.
IN OTHER BUSINESS: Elections for two positions on the Executive Committee were also held Thursday. The council elected Professor of English and Literature Susan Willis from the humanities and Associate Professor of History John French from the social sciences. Two more vacancies will be filled in October by representatives from the natural sciences.
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