Changes to the biology graduate program with how the department uses graduate assistants could happen soon.

Mary Anne Hanner, dean of the College of Sciences, and Robert Augustine, dean of the Graduate School, decided to form the Graduate Teaching Assistant Program Committee in early October to address concerns surrounding the department’s move to use graduate assistants for supervised instruction.

The move, which allowed graduate assistants to teach lab sections of Biological Principles and Issues starting in fall 2007, was approved in April 2007.

Hanner said the decision to create the committee came after she, Augustine and Biology Department Chair Andy Methven discussed the issue early in the fall 2007 semester and decided it would be a good idea to get faculty input on the issue because there was ongoing concerns about the program.

Some faculty members within the biology department have issues with the way the program was implemented, and have spoken adamantly about their concern.

“At that time, it didn’t appear we needed that process in place,” Hanner said of why they did not decide to form the committee in April.

Augustine said he also was not aware of faculty concerns in April.

“It wasn’t until the concerns arose, that we encourage the program to put together its own review committee,” he said.

Hanner and Augustine said a committee like the GTAP committee is not uncommon with departments, and that a re-adjustment period happens often after a program is implemented.

Hanner and Augustine attended an early October biology faculty meeting where they asked for volunteers to comprise the committee.

Eventually, five members were selected for the committee: Tom Nelson, Charles Pederson, Scott Meiners, Marina Marjanovic and Jeff Laursen. Bud Fischer and Chuck Costa were selected as ex-officio members to the committee.

Biology professor Gary Fritz, who opposed the implementation of the program, said a handful of these members openly support the current program.

Fischer is the biology graduate program coordinator; Costa was an original supporter of a similar program proposed in 2000, and Nelson, Pederson and Meiners all spoke at the June 25 Board of Trustees meeting in support of the current program, Fritz said.

However, because it was a volunteer committee, Fritz said he realizes the committee would be staffed the way it is. He added, though, the people within the department who oppose the implementation of the program refused to volunteer because, in doing so, that would legitimize the program.

“But, of course, we said ‘No, we are not volunteering for an illegitimate program,'” Fritz said.

Hanner said her, Methven and Fischer even talked to faculty members after the meeting to try and include as many voices as they could for the committee.

She added she was disappointed opposing faculty did not volunteer because they could have worked together to solve the issues.

Nelson, a member of the GTAP committee, said the committee’s recommendations on those issues would reflect concerns raised by the opposition to the program.

“We are striving to build the GTAP program on a foundation of ‘best practices’ supported by all of our colleagues in the (biology) department and across campus,” Nelson said.

He added the GTAP committee is formulating their recommendations from previous proposals from the biology faculty and student comments on course evaluations.

Nelson said recommendations from other graduate teaching assistant program coordinators, and recommendations from graduate coordinators in biology departments at other universities with a similar educational mission statement to Eastern’s biology departments are also being factored into the recommendations.

The recommendations will be sent to the biology faculty for discussion and review during February. A faculty advisory vote will then be taken on those recommendations, with the final recommendations being sent to Hanner and Augustine at the end of February.

Augustine said he is assured the GTAP committee will factor in dissenting opinions on the program.

“I feel very confident that we’ll see the ability of the committee to evaluate the problem and come up with good recommendations for the program that would be in the best interest for the program,” Augustine said.

Fritz said the faculty who oppose the program would not like to see changes made to it, but would like to see it abolished.

That, he added, is not going to be addressed by the GTAP committee.

“No one has given us the option, that I am aware of yet, to sink the program and start over,” Fritz said.

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.