Kean to Create Course “Wait Lists” Beginning Fall 23

By Adaora Nnakwe | Published February 10, 2023

Students closed out of courses during the registration period will have a new option starting next semester: go on a waitlist. 

Michael Salvatore, senior vice president of administration, told the University Senate in January that Kean tested a waitlist feature of some sought-after courses during the registration period in the fall semester. More than 70% of students benefited from the waitlist feature and will be expected to be used for all course sections.  

“We will be using that feature for the fall on all courses,” Salvatore said. “As a seat opens, students are then given the opportunity to join that class.”

“Students will benefit because they will have a greater chance of registering for the courses they want or are required to take. More courses will be open and available to students, reducing the need to take courses they consider a second option,” he said.

Wait lists are a return to the past as they were standard procedure across the country before computerized registration. For decades, students waited in line, usually in a large gymnasium, to sign up for the courses they needed, and if any were already full, they were asked if they wanted to be “wait-listed.” 

Salvatore also informed the Senate that Kean will evaluate for improvement the availability of course sections. Students who were expected to graduate in the upcoming semester had more access to available courses. There were course sections that were open for more seat availability and over 100 students were able to register for classes. 

 At the Jan. 24 meeting held via Zoom, the Senate mostly discussed another major administrative move: the return to the national academic standard of departments instead of schools and chairpersons instead of executive directors. The change is expected to take effect for Fall 23 to discuss improvement issues of the department and chairs implementation task force along with the senate committee on adjunct faculty. 

Laurie Knis-Matthews, Ph.D., an occupational therapy professor explained that the committee on chairs is examining the role of chairs and how to improve the position to benefit everyone. 

“We have four aspects that we’re trying to take a look at for this phase,” Knis-Matthews said. “We’re looking at chair training. We’re looking at how to support those new to the role. We’re looking at creating a chair’s handbook and we’re hoping to present initial information about becoming a chair to the greater Kean community.” 

Joy Moskovitz, associate vice president for academic affairs, responded with a proposal to move forward with the senate’s support and what the next steps are towards the transition from levels of departments to the chair model. 

Chairs are elected by full-time faculty in each department and the process is articulated during negotiations between the university administration and the Kean Federation of Teachers, which represents full-time faculty. 

“With the senate’s support, we’ll go back to the provost with our latest work to move forward with the board and the president and prepare everyone for the (chair) elections,” Moskovitz said. “According to the master contract, it normally takes place by April 30.”

Sucheta S. Ahlawat, Ph.D., chair of the senate and professor in the school of marketing and management, discussed concerns about the awareness level of reorganizing the department structure. 

Moskovitz provided information on the process moving forward and gave a website link.  

“Our intention today was to give an overview and talk about what the next steps would be for the senate,” Moskovitz said. 

Marshall L. Hayes, Ph.D., executive director of Center for Clinical Lab, said that the task force will focus on roles associated with the chair and coordinator functions. 

Hayes said that a consideration document, a document linked to the original task force, will ask each academic unit to categorize its programs and provide the number of faculty, including adjuncts (who are part-time), full-time lecturers, tenured as well as tenure-track professors. A consideration document goes 

“The additional thing that our task force has done has been to gather information from other campuses across the country, if not the world, on how associate chairs and assistant chairs are also integrated in the process,” Haynes said. 

“We’ve compiled all that information and we’re using it as a framework for decision-making and informing the kinds of policies that we want to establish moving forward.”

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