Published: February 16, 2011

Concerns with Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC)’s handling of weather-related closings was among the topics discussed during the Feb. 3 College Council meeting held in the South Lounge.

Kevin Quaratino, FCLC ’13 and treasurer of the Commuter Students Association (CSA), spoke on behalf of commuters citing issues with the alert message not being timely, problems with the text message alert system and the dangerous commute. He continued that students were looking for “policy transparency” regarding weather-related closings.

Rev. Robert Grimes, S.J., dean of FCLC, addressed the issue of policy transparency, explaining how a vice president, whose name was not disclosed, is responsible for making the decision of closing school based on “basic principles.” These include “safety and functioning of campus, looking at the situation in a 15 mile radius, contacting the New York City Emergency Management Office, and then deciding if the school will operate, be closed, or cancel classes but leave campus open,” Grimes said.

Council members discussed methods of communication regarding campus delays and closings. “The best way to get information is through the phone,” Grimes said.

Several faculty members mentioned, however, that the phone system was not always updated with the newest information and there was no way of knowing about delays and closings because there was no date included.

An agreement was made that the date should always be included.

Another issue discussed at the meeting was midterm grades. After a vote, the council came to a consensus that all students, not just freshmen, will receive grades on a one to seven number scale.

Mark Mattson, associate dean of FCLC, explained that each number corresponds to a particular issue, for example one means student is missing class, two means students is missing homework assignments, etc.

“The point is to give deans an idea of what students are having problems with, to triage students and make it clear what they have to do,” Mattson said.

Mattson also addressed a problem with DegreeWorks during the meeting, as the system periodically changes the status of “enforced” substitutions to “unenforced.”

He called the problem “a high priority item” and said, “SunGard and IT are aware of the problem and are testing a solution.”

The meeting ended early with a consensus finally reached regarding midterm grading at FCLC.