Academic Affairs Committee Meeting — Minutes (10/28/25)

✅ Introductions & LogisticsCommittee members introduced themselves (Kevin is chair).New members were onboarded and added to the Teams channel.Overview of the initiative tracker (color-coded for status: green = active, blue = on hold, red = stalled or dropped).📚 Key Ongoing InitiativesTextbook Access:Effort to secure more physical copies of hard-to-get textbooks (starting with “Transport” textbook for a 10B class). They discussed pushing professors to make digital resources available or request more copies via the library.Transfer Student Curriculum Access:Transfer students can't register for certain required classes (e.g. writing seminars) due to registration restrictions. Committee discussed lobbying Dean Rowe to address this.Class Registration Conflicts for Peabody Students:Peabody music students face scheduling conflicts due to long classes and strict SIS (student info system) rules. Admin workaround required.Study Spaces & Technology Issues:Technical problems with the screen-sharing systems (Zoom vs. CoRespond).Proposal for loaner tech accessories (HDMI, USB-C, etc).Credit Overload Advocacy:Students want flexibility to take heavier course loads. This initiative had mixed success due to administrative resistance.Student Feedback Initiative (via Pancake Event):Academic Affairs collaborated on an event to collect feedback via a QR form. Unfortunately, it didn’t yield much actionable input. They plan to revise the approach for the next semester.Course Manual Project:Based on Princeton’s “Principedia” – a peer-sourced class guide. Discussions with deans are ongoing about implementation, but sustainability is a concern.:💡 Brainstorming New IdeasMembers were encouraged to either join existing initiatives or propose new ones.The team agreed they needed a second batch of ideas for the rest of the semester.🔄 Ongoing Tagging & Essay Credit IssueDean Rowe is working to retroactively apply “essay” tags to qualifying classes. Students might suddenly see added credits if it goes through.📖 More on TextbooksDiscussion continued on distributing limited textbook content under copyright rules (e.g., 10% of the book).Highlighted that textbook access is often seen by admin as a financial aid issue.🏛️ Powers of the CommitteeCommittee can propose and advocate, but real implementation usually needs admin cooperation. Nothing is fully student-led.🧪 New Idea: CO₂ Monitoring in Lecture HallsProposed testing air quality in buildings like Ames, which is supposedly sustainable but reportedly has poor ventilation.This sparked discussion about facilities and the limits of student influence.