The Student Government Association (SGA) passed a resolution (SGA.RES.S25-01) regarding the faculty use of eCampus on Feb. 5. The resolution was sent out via email to the students as well as posted to SGA’s Instagram page and website, shortly after it was passed.
The resolution was authored by Monmouth University student Michael Makfinsky (’25, SGA Attorney General), sponsored by Matthew Gold (’25, President Pro Tempore), also an MU student, and signed by SGA President Tanner Purdy and SGA Vice President Eliana Duarte.
“SGA.RES.S25-01 is the first resolution passed by the SGA in recent memory. Returning to the utilization of resolutions as a means of influencing change has long been a priority of mine and our entire cabinet. We truly believe that speaking as a voting body adds urgency to the process of problem-solving and displays our commitment to using our platform as a positive force on campus,” said senior in finance and real estate and SGA president, Tanner Purdy.
The resolution that was passed unanimously by the SGA Senate, having 22 votes in favor, 0 opposed, and 2 abstentions, urges, “the Monmouth University Division of Academic Affairs, Faculty Council, and other faculty leadership groups to require that all faculty maintain an updated eCampus page throughout the semester, including a current syllabus, grade book, and relevant course materials to support student success.” In addition, under the resolution, faculty would be required to post schedules, all relevant information on major assignments, and use “the platform to communicate key announcements to students.”
The resolution, also asks that faculty members be provided with training and support so that faculty can use eCampus most effectively. This training and support would include, according to the resolution, workshops, one-on-one consultations, and technical support. Additionally, the resolution calls for a compliance review process to be implemented, “to monitor and support faculty adoption of eCampus, with mechanisms for addressing non-compliance.”
“At the heart of the student learning space is the use of eCampus to distribute syllabi, grade books, assignments, and other necessary course resources. Several members of the Senate have reported significant inconsistencies in how faculty utilize eCampus in the classroom. Rather than being confined to specific programs, these inconsistencies appear to be widespread across all levels of the academic experience. We firmly believe that all students deserve consistency in their academic experience,” Purdy said.
This SGA resolution is not the first time the SGA has tried to use its power to present a bill regarding the use of eCampus. In 2015, SGA came to the Faculty Council with a proposal that the faculty be mandated to use eCampus.
Christopher DeRosa, Professor of History, served as the chair of the Faculty Council (FC) in 2015 when the SGA presented its proposal for all faculty to be mandated to use eCampus. In the FC 2015-2016 chair’s report, it states, “[The Faculty Council] could not require that – it would violate our colleague’s academic freedom to dictate what teaching tools they use.”
According to the report, Faculty Council instead created a “Midterm Status Alert System,” focusing on one of the major complaints from the students, i.e., lack of information on grades and student performance. “The system created would have required the faculty to fill out a detailed report for each student on their academic performance at the semester’s midpoint. After, the FC leadership change and some additional discussions, the regulation was not implemented as the form was deemed to be too lengthy, laborious, and potentially counterproductive,” said Marina Vujnovic, who was, at the time, Vice Chair of the Faculty Council.
At the core of this argument, as stated by Professor DeRosa in 2015, is the principle of academic freedom by which faculty has the right to select teaching tools, including technology, they wish to use in their classes.
However, the resolution states that “integration of technology in education is essential for enhancing student engagement, academic success, and operational efficiency,” creating a rift between faculty’s right to academic freedom, and student’s desire for a more uniform, technology-based educational experience.
“Monmouth University pays for eCampus with tuition dollars, which every student utilizes for their classes. eCampus contains a grade book, assignment submission system, announcements page, and other important course materials,” explained Brendan Sheehan, SGA Director of Public Relations. “The SGA believes all students should have access to these tools in one centralized, accessible database like eCampus, which faculty had a say in choosing. Failure to do so will make Monmouth’s education less accessible and transparent, shutting us out of the academic experience we pay for,” Sheehan continued.
Richard Viet, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs expressed his support of the resolution and his diligence in updating the eCampus in his own courses. “However,” he said, “our collective bargaining agreement with the faculty requires only that a syllabus be posted. I look forward to working with the SGA as we strategize about how best to provide students with timely and relevant course materials in support of their success.”
FAMCO, Monmouth’s faculty union, which’s been active since 1971, negotiates agreements with the administration involving faculty salaries and benefits, but also fights for protection of academic freedom, specifies a process for tenure and promotion, and protects other working conditions of full-time faculty. They have recently negotiated a contract that will remain in effect for two more years.
Professor of Sociology and President of FAMCO, Johanna Foster, commented on this resolution and the effect it will have on professors. She said, “The faculty union appreciated receiving outreach from the SGA on their recent resolution. We can respect that students are seeking some modifications to professor’s work requirements. The faculty union took these concerns very seriously in our last round of contract negotiations and agreed to make some limited changes that acknowledge some of these concerns, while also retaining faculty’s rights to determine what tools and methods of teaching and evaluation best serve their role as professionals with autonomy in the classroom and in their areas of expertise.”
She further elaborated that FAMCO shared with SGA that the faculty’s conditions of work—which include the teaching conditions and practices outlined in the SGA resolution—are protected by a labor contract agreed upon by both the union and Monmouth University administration. Besides being required to post the syllabi on eCampus and having eCampus be the only method of electronic assignment or instruction delivery, no professor who teaches in person is required to use the platform beyond that. “Any changes to that legal agreement must be formally bargained between the faculty and the administration in contract negotiations,” Foster said. “In our last round of contract negotiations between the faculty and the administration, which lasted from February to October of last year, and will reopen again in 2027, the faculty union considered a proposal from the administration to change faculty requirements around eCampus use.”
Foster continued, “The faculty union feels very confident in our position that the high-quality learning experiences that happen here at Monmouth between our engaged students and faculty will continue under our new contract, including this new provision, all of which remains in effect through the end of the 2027 academic year.”
Sheehan believes that waiting two years is unacceptable, and that 2027 is too late. He said, “Unfortunately, the SGA disagrees with the faculty union that a learning environment where students do not have visibility into their grades and other important course information is a high-quality one. We stand firm in our belief that this resolution will have a profound and positive impact on all students. This common-sense measure was passed unanimously by the Senate, and our petition supporting the resolution has garnered more than 500 signatures from members of the campus community in its first day.”
“I appreciate students’ zealous push for what they think will improve their educational experience, but I think there is, what we would call, a logical fallacy in their proposal,” said Vujnovic. “I was on Faculty Council when this issue was debated a decade ago, and I was a lead negotiator for our Union contract when this issue was discussed at the table last year. We need to look at the underlying issue and find the remedy for it, if it doesn’t already exist. If the issue is that there are faculty members that aren’t communicating grades and returning graded assignments, and students are unable to track their class performance, we have a remedy for that in the contract. It is disciplinary and we just negotiated an expanded version of it last year. Mandating all faculty to use eCampus will not solve this issue, because in my twenty years of teaching, and my leadership positions, I have learned that those who don’t do the work won’t be compelled to do it when what we offer them will be even more complicated and cumbersome, in addition to not solving the underlying problem.”
Vujnovic continued, “The other issue is overall student experience and the emphasis on a uniform educational experience. The beauty of higher education is that we don’t all teach the same. That is the core of what we do. We have different tools and methods. Some of us use technology, some don’t. Students will be exposed to various methods and, in my opinion, that enriches their overall experience.”
“I use eCampus because I appreciate when someone else does my math. I am sure, I am not alone in that. But many of my colleagues don’t and that’s their choice as faculty, as long as they make sure students get feedback on their progress. They don’t have a choice of not providing that feedback, and the contract is clear on that issue. Many faculty give paper copies back to students with grades right on it. Students can keep track of their grades and that is a perfectly acceptable way of doing things in higher education.
Mandating the use of a proprietary piece of technology goes against the core of what higher education is about, and even more deeply, it is concerning considering nearly daily onslaught of news about various data breaches, which was another concern discussed during the contract negotiations. And I’ll end with a concern that students proposed a surveillance system that would monitor faculty use of eCampus and track them for non-compliance. I was surprised by this. Faculty fought hard and continues to do so, not to allow any systems we use or that might be invited to our campus, to surveil and harvest our students’ data and track their work. Faculty is here to discuss all of these issues with students, including how these proprietary technologies enable cheating, something that’s a growing issue on our campus. A cheating incident in one of my classes last semester was destructive to my teaching experience, so I think we need to discuss technology use in higher education and how it affects both faculty and students. I invite that discussion to start as soon as possible,” concluded Vujnovic.
SGA provided “The Outlook” with an open letter discussing their stance on the resolution and the aforementioned petition that students can sign to show their support.
Meghan Reilly, a senior English student, is indifferent to the resolution as she can understand both sides. “I understand why the resolution has been proposed because students should be able to see their grades besides their midterm and final letter grades,” she said. “However, I have had several classes where eCampus wasn’t utilized and still received feedback from my professors so I know how I am doing in the class. I think that some technologies are difficult for professors to become accustomed to and as long as you don’t have to pay for alternative options, it is just adjusting to different professors’ modes of teaching. Although, I do understand for people who do not know how they are doing in a class to want this resolution in place.”
Maya Malizia, a senior sociology major, supports the new SGA resolution and credits SGA for this plan. “I feel like professors should be held accountable for putting the grades on eCampus. I think using eCampus is helpful for the students so they can understand their position in class with their grades. I like the SGA resolution. I think it’s for the best. And I wish it was implemented earlier.”
However, senior communication student Beyonce Carranza doesn’t believe that a resolution is needed. “I don’t mind using alternative options to eCampus as long as it isn’t more work,” she said. “It’s not fair for older professors to stress themselves out learning how to use eCampus when email for example is simpler for both the professor and student. I think the SGA resolution is a bit much.”
“Using alternative options does not take away from having quality education,” Carranza continued. “I’ve never felt like my education has suffered by not using eCampus, because my professors are good communicators about my feedback and grades.”
Christine Hatchard, Psy.D., Chair of the Council of Chairs, believed that access to course materials and one’s course performance is important and that there are various ways in which communication about these could be achieved. “After reviewing the SGA resolution,” she began, “I believe that what they’re requesting, such as access to course syllabi, communication about their courses, and timely information about their grades, is reasonable and can be achieved in different ways.” However, regarding the use of eCampus more specifically, she said that, “A specific mandate to use eCampus would fall under the purview of the faculty union (FAMCO) and their collective bargaining agreement.”
“If some faculty are vague about grades or do not respond to student inquires about grades, that is a personnel problem because the faculty member is not living up to their contractual responsibilities. There are mechanisms in place to deal with faculty who do this. You cannot ‘idiot-proof’ the contract by making people use eCampus. A faculty member who has poor or opaque grading practices is not going to suddenly improve because they have to post their mystery grade book in another format. Faculty are already required by contract to keep grade books and save it for several years. The need of students for transparency in grading, to understand how they are being evaluated, it completely reasonable. The need of faculty to maintain academic freedom in pedagogy is also completely reasonable. The two desires are not mutually contradictory. Requiring faculty use of eCampus does nothing to ensure that both desires are met,” said Professor of English Sue Starke and a member of FAMCO contract negotiating team.
Sheehan concluded, “We welcome the Faculty Council, FAMCO, and others who have concerns to the table to share their thoughts and concerns, as we work to improve the academic experience for all.”
