The committee to review Workgroups No. 8 and 9 have already had several meetings, and luckily they have been both open and transparent to the public.

Committee members, as seen in Monday’s article of The Daily Eastern News, are actively discussing their views on recommendations made by the Workgroups, and being open on what they think.

After months of dealing with more secretive groups, it feels good to finally see the progress a group is making, and exactly what decisions they are leaning toward making.

There is an important dialog happening about what direction the university needs to go in.

Could this mean four day-long academic weeks? Could this mean more colleges? This remains to be seen.

The fact that the groups are talking about this in an open setting is great. The fact that they are disagreeing with each other, strange as it may seem, is a good thing. Each member of the committee has valid points, and depending on their circumstances they can see the pros and cons of each plan as originally formulated by Workgroups no. 8 and 9. Being privy to these conversations is good for the campus. This way, we can all evaluate for ourselves what is best for the campus, especially when we are able to see the diverse opinions of the committee members.

A college reorganization is not something that should be done lightly. It is something many colleges are looking at, though each in different ways. For instance, Southern Illinois University is already looking at a “broad academic reorganization plan” that its chancellor plans to start at the beginning of the new fiscal year, according to The Southern Illinoisan.

This plan is being done in a very short timeline, and students and faculty have already voiced a variety of concerns about what this would mean. These changes are different from the ones Eastern is looking at. However, they are formidable changes that could shake up both schools. Luckily, at Eastern, a group of faculty are being allowed to review these changes before they happen. Granted, they are also on a short timeline to submit their recommendations to the provost, as he expects them in early January, but this is at least another measure for more people to provide input on the suggestions made for organizing the colleges.