General Assembly announces forum for students to offer input on presidential search

TSG members discussed financial services, nontraditional students and Temple’s next president, yesterday.

In response to student concerns about financial aid service, Temple Student Government will be arranging meetings with Kathleen Richards, associate director of Student Financial Services, members said at yesterday’s General Assembly meeting.

A Google-enabled forum, which students can electronically submit questions and comments to SFS, will be set up via the TSG website.

TSG members also heard complaints at its meeting about registering for biology, accounting, advertising and political science classes with Self-Service Banner, which TSG Student Body President Colin Saltry said would be taken to the provost.

Junior neuroscience major Petra Brayo expressed concern with the system’s software.

“If you didn’t have the prerequisite [completed] you couldn’t get the class. That was fine, but what they did was the put a code in and if you have transfer credit or advanced placement credit it doesn’t recognize that,” Brayo said.

Individual professors also were unable to approve green cards for students who were registering, slowing the process by causing a congestion problem in the biology department, some said. Biology is the most popular major in the College of Science and Technology.

“Why wasn’t it better tested before hand?” Brayo said.

An announcement yesterday also indicated that the Presidential Search Committee will be hosting a forum for TSG members and undergraduate students to give suggestions for what the committee should look for in Ann Weaver Hart’s successor.

Search firm Witt/Keiffer, contracted by the committee, will hold the forum in the Fox Gittis room in the Liacouras Center on Nov. 14 at 2 p.m.

This is the only opportunity for members of the public to speak with the committee, whose meetings are closed throughout the hiring process, Saltry said.

In response to comments from students at the General Assembly meeting on Oct. 31, TSG Vice President of External Affairs Elliot Griffin discussed the routes and limitations of the TUrDoor and OWLoop shuttles. Students complained that shuttles have either been late to stops or not picking up students along the routes.

Griffin reminded students that they can ask TUrDoor drivers to bring them to their front doors.

While this week is National Non-Traditional Students Week, TSG will create a non-traditional students advisory board before Thanksgiving, which will most likely be chaired by TSG Vice President of Services Ugo Obilo.

Amelia Brust can be reached at abrust@temple.edu.