Motion may bring financial changes – Interterm Part 1

Decrease in interterms to align with standards – Interterm Part 3

Reduction in interterm requirements considered

Faculty Senate debates interterm requirements

EDITORS NOTE: This is the second installment in a three-part series, which discusses the questions surrounding the proposed interterm changes.<em>EDITORS NOTE: This is the second installment in a three-part series, which discusses the questions surrounding the proposed interterm changes.</em> EDITORS NOTE: This is the second installment in a three-part series, which discusses the questions surrounding the proposed interterm changes.

Student life could be changing if a motion to change the required number of interterms from three to one passes at the upcoming Baker University Faculty Senate meeting.

The reduction of required interterms could result in the shrinking of the number of students on campus during interterm.

“At present, if you’re enrolled in interterm you get to be living here. If not, your break continues and you don’t come back,” Associate Dean of Students Teresa Clounch said.

In regards to student life, the lower number of students on campus could affect many things.

“We, of course, have the current freshmen, sophomores and juniors who would still be completing their interterms, so we wouldn’t see the impact right away probably,” Dean of Students Cassy Bailey said.

During interterm, all RAs are required to be on campus, and Clounch said she is not sure if the lower number of students due to the decreased number of required interterms would mean less RAs on campus during that time.

Greek chapters could likely have a lower number of members on campus as well, which means the greek houses would have to decide between staying open for a few members or closing and making the members figure out where to stay.

Dining services would experience a change of pace, too.

If the motion to lessen the required number of interterms passes at the Dec. 6 faculty senate meeting, transfer students and freshmen would be required to take an interterm within the first 12 months of attending Baker.

Tanya Sieber, interim director of dining services, said most meal-plan holders are first-year students, so traffic in the dining hall wouldn’t change much.

The Wildcat Café is on limited hours during interterm, however Sieber is unsure if those hours would be shortened more with a reduction in students on campus and said she would want to go through a year of interterm before making changes.

Until the number of students on campus is determined, the future of student life during interterm is unknown.

“I think it’s important to be flexible in those for students,” Bailey said.