The Baker University Faculty Senate delved into an agenda that President Tracy Floreani described as “straight-forward.”

No new business was proposed at the meeting which was Tuesday at 11 a.m. in Mabee 100, leaving only the substantive motions from the December meeting to be discussed at the meeting.

Following an amendment to the projected changes to the Educational Technology Committee composition, the first motion passed after a secret ballot.

The next order of business resulted in a succession of discussion surrounding the Education Programs Committee’s motion, which was originally postponed because many felt it needed further clarification.

“Apparently it was not clear to most people that the approval of options for the business major also meant approval of options for the Bachelor of Science degree,” Susan Emel, faculty representative to board of trustees, said.

After an amendment to the second item verified that proposed program additions and alterations only affected business degrees, and not the implied connection to the B.S. degree, the motion passed unopposed.

The Senate approved the alteration of membership from alternate to staggered three-year terms, followed by dialogue regarding handbook clarifications.

After a brief report of General Education Task Force’s recent activities, the Senate received positive news regarding the number of students retained from the fall semester, which topped the average percentage at 93 percent.

Although the motions required multiple amendments and extensive discourse, all items were approved when the Faculty Senate’s first meeting of the year came to a close.

"They're important details. Kind of tedious, but necessary," Emel said.<br/>