The Academic Senate discussed the launching of the new University Transformation Office and a potential policy to extend Central Michigan University’s drop deadline at its March 25 meeting.

President Neil MacKinnon announced that the new University Transformation Office will be launching, and that CMU’s first transformation officer will be Darcie Wilson, the current deputy chief information officer at CMU. This new office will be used to direct and provide guidance on projects implemented by the university.

“The goal is to drive transformative outcomes that maximize efficiency, enhance institutional capabilities and foster a culture of excellence university-wide,” MacKinnon said.

MacKinnon said this new office would assist in:

Portfolio management
Program and project execution
Process improvement
Organizational change
Empowering innovation

“Sometimes in higher education, we have great ideas, but our challenge sometimes is implementing those ideas,” MacKinnon said. “This really is a neutral third party that is going to be a facilitator.”

SGA proposes to extend the drop deadline

Student Government Association President Carolina Hernandez Ruiz introduced a new proposal to change the deadline to drop classes from the first week of the semester, to the second week.

Hernandez Ruiz said that this proposal will still keep the original add deadline, but extend the drop deadline for students. This extension would give students more time to decide whether a class fits their schedule without penalizing them, she said.

The current add/drop deadline at CMU is the first week of the semester. This means that students are able to add or drop certain classes without penalty within that one week. Afterwards, the decision to drop a class will mean that students still have to pay for the class, even after it was dropped.

“Many students need more time to decide whether a course aligns with their learning needs,” Hernandez Ruiz said. “Extending the dropout deadline to two weeks will allow students to make more informed decisions without academic penalty.”

She said more time is especially needed during the spring semester, when snow days and other events can create last-minute class cancellations. She said that could keep students from getting enough time to decide whether a class is suitable for them.

“The whole point of this resolution is that a week is not enough,” Hernandez Ruiz said. “The students will have a better understanding of what the class will take for them and if it aligns with their academic requirements.”

Academic Chair Stephen Juris said when he was discussing this potential proposal with many offices around campus, including the registrar, one concern that came up was how financial aid was impacted. Provost and Executive Vice President Paula Lancaster said because there is a financial aid requirement for students to be signed up for a certain number of credits per semester, extending the drop deadline could threaten their eligibility to receive financial aid.

“There’s a significant burden on advising to ensure that everyone understands the implications of dropping without the opportunity to add something in its place,” Lancaster said.

Hernandez Ruiz said the proposal is still in the deciding process, and the SGA only wanted to get the opinions of the Academic Senate. The next step will be to propose it in the next SGA meeting. She said that she and SGA hope to have this proposal enforced by the next Fall Semester.

In other news:

MacKinnon said that the chances to submit a Go Grants proposal ended on Friday, March 21. His office has received 122 submissions that will be reviewed by Executive Director of Financial Planning Joe Garrison. MacKinnon said that the goal will be to get the decision on who won the grant money out by early April.
Nominations for the Alumni Awards are open and will be open until Friday, March 28. These awards will go to CMU alumni that made significant contributions to the CMU community.
Seats in Senate committees for the Fall 2025 semester are open and will accept any nominations. These committees include the Academic Planning Council, police oversight, university grievance review and many more.