# March 6th, 2026
#### **ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY**
#### **FACULTY SENATE MEETING**
#### **March 6, 2026**
#### **Reynolds 222**
**Attendees**: Amanda Mohler, Audrey Folsom, Richard Segall, Karen Graham, Julie King, Gary Edwards, Suzanne Melescue, Alexandr Sokolov, Eric Dry, Rashele Wade, Kristen Sumler, John Howard, Michael Cooper, Savannah Cormier, Dwayne Powell, Kim Vickrey, Hao Yang Teng, Guolei Zhou, Jason Causey, Banafsheh Aghayeeabianeh, John Hershberger, Scott Mangan, Stephanie Hoeckley, Toccara Carter
Proxy Attendees:** John Howard for Jeremy Weeks, Trinity Pullam for Kacie Altom, Audrey Folsom for Eric West, Karen Graham for Robert Williams, Karen Graham for Ibrahim Duyar
Guests:** Kevin Hennings (parliamentarian), Taron Robinson
Absentees:** Marceline Thompson-Hayes, Pradeep Mishra, Jamie Passmore, Bert Greenwalt, Rollin Tusalem, Veronika Scudamore, Anne McGee, DayDay Robinson, Mark Lewis.
The meeting was called to order** at 3:00 pm by Amanda Mohler.
**Order of the Day:** Motion to approve the order of the day by Eric Dry, seconded by Rashele Wade; all are in favor, the motion carried.
**Approval of Minutes:** The motion to approve the February 20, 2026, meeting minutes was made by Richard Segall and seconded by Karen Graham; all in favor, the motion carried.
##### **New Business**
**1. Taron Robinson, Director of International Programs**
Resources offered by International Programs: well-being and campus integration for international students. They can do one-on-one consultations with the student to help meet their needs.
ELA = English Learning Academy – A 6-week, 5 days a week, academy whose purpose is to help them be more proficient in the English language. (more details at [https://www.astate.edu/academics/global-opportunities/english-learning-academy/index.html](https://www.astate.edu/academics/global-opportunities/english-learning-academy/index.html) )
The office can provide best practices for the classroom.
The International Student Office's main goal is to help them with their immigration paperwork (the I-20) and keep them in compliance. They must have 12 credit hours per semester, and only 3 of those can be online. Graduate students need 9 credit hours per semester, and 3 can be online.
Are summer courses required for international students? They do not have to take summer classes, and they can stay here for the summer.
The students are given all of this information during orientation.
The office offers a weekly shuttle service to go shopping in town. The office pays for it.
For airport traffic, a shuttle runs during designated days and times that align with the start and end of semesters. Students are given this information, and travel is aligned to this window. The shuttle does not run mid-semester for just one student going on a trip.
Transportation to and from clinicals for international students can be an issue for clinical programs such as those in MLRS.
1\) **What level of support is given to international students whose first language is not English in terms of writing quality (grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc) and learning specific formatting styles like APA?**
There is tutoring, and we work with the writing center.
2\) **Are international students counseled in terms of their major and what they can do with their degree if they are planning to return to their country of origin? (Does the country recognize their degree, especially for health care practitioners?)**
Those conversations happen at the institution/program level. We talk to them about their plans after graduation. We work with them to find jobs that fit their degree or to travel back home. They must be employed in their field of study to stay in the US. We monitor them as they are employed (OPT) for a year. In STEM fields, they can do an additional 2 years.
Can they change their major? Yes, they can do that. It is updated in their I-20.
It is hard to tell if they can practice in the field they studied in their home country.
Do you have a list of businesses that sponsor H1B visas? We do not. And the $100,000 H1B visa fee is scaring off some people.
On 3/11, our immigration attorney will hold a meeting in Centennial Hall to answer questions.
2. **Student learning needs.**
Some faculty have expressed concerns about patterns of behavior in this generation of students.
Students do not read and look for the easy way out. Students are coming in lacking foundational knowledge to be successful in the courses. They are not college-ready.
We are seeing a lot more accommodations for social anxiety and speaking publicly, which can be an issue in certain jobs.
Online students can be an issue. They want extensions beyond the academic calendar. Or they want accommodation beyond what is in the document.
Faculty need more support to deal with all these expectations. We need help helping the students.
A faculty member brought up a concern about the LEARNS Act and the ability to have tenure removed.
##### **Old Business**
**Committee Reports and Updates**
None.
The Equity Policy will be presented at the next meeting.
3:58 pm adjourned by Amanda Mohler
Minutes recorded by Audrey Folsom