Al-Shahawi Chairs Meeting for Faculty Members

Chaired by Dr. Khalid Al-Qutb Al-Shahawi, a meeting of the faculty members in the English Department of the College of Arts and Humanities was held on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at the Islamic University of Minnesota.

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Al-Shahawi expressed his gratitude to the attending colleagues before moving on to discuss the topics on the agenda, which included final exams, assignments, grade recording, student absences, lack of participation from some students, the academic schedule for the second semester, and the financial incentives for faculty members.

The meeting resulted in several recommendations, the most notable of which was to allocate a percentage of the final grade for student participation on the university portal, to address any issues related to the final exam in accordance with the doctor’s testing philosophy, and to ensure adherence to the course description prepared by the department. Additionally, there was an emphasis on the importance of finalizing the grading of assignments this week, submitting all final exams, and distributing the departmental schedules for the second semester based on specializations and the academic experience of the instructors.

Regarding the financial incentives for teaching courses, the department chair agreed with the faculty members to draft a letter addressing the colleagues' requests, to be submitted to the Dean of the College for forwarding to the university administration.