Tanner Purdy, Class of 2025, SGA President
Brendan Sheehan, Class of 2026, SGA Director of Public Relations
The success of the learning environment depends on a mutually respectful student-faculty relationship, built on trust, transparency, and accountability. Our advocacy for students’ rights and grade transparency stems from our commitment to that relationship. Shared governance should not be confined to faculty and administration, it must also include students.
The unanimously passed SGA Resolution S25-01 was a call to action and a starter for dialogue with all relevant parties. It brought to attention a widespread issue deeply felt by students and faculty. In Fall 2024 alone, 172 sections had no midterm grades submitted leaving students in the dark on their academic standing. Yet, the FAMCO E-team has dragged their feet, slowing the SGA’s push for grade transparency.
We reached out to Dr. Rekha Datta, Professor of Political Science, Freed Endowed Chair in Social Sciences, and former Interim Provost, to share her perspective. She expressed full and unequivocal support for our cause, stating, “Faculty-student relations are the foundation of enhanced and empowered learning. Trust and respect are fundamental pillars of this relationship. Monmouth University students, and this SGA resolution, uphold and seek to strengthen that relationship.” As campus leaders, we have an obligation to act and work jointly towards a resolution.
We understand that this comes on the heels of an arduous bargaining process, but when 1,100 members of the community sign a petition in support of some iteration of the SGA’s push for grade transparency, we have a mandate to lead. Dr. Datta underscores the trust students place in faculty, explaining, “Students respect and honor the rights of faculty to determine how they evaluate performance. They are simply asking for transparency—to have access to their grading records on eCampus so they can understand their standing and work toward improvement. The goal of this is enhanced learning, not interference.”
The FAMCO E-team defends the existing contract as a “collaborative process” but turns a blind eye to the fact that contracts can evolve. At any time, the union and administration can negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to refine policies while not reopening the entire contract. As Dr. Datta notes, “I sincerely hope that the SGA, administration, and faculty union will find an amicable solution to this soon through a letter of understanding in the interregnum to signify good faith and a path forward until a mutually agreed-upon clause is incorporated in the faculty contract as formalized through the next round of collective bargaining.”
Higher education is built on the exchange of ideas, yet when students raise legitimate concerns, they are cast aside and told that our request for an electronic grade book is impossible. Dr. Datta commended the SGA for their advocacy for students’ rights, stating, “Throughout this process, the SGA leadership group has been respectful, peaceful, and persevering. They manifest grit (Angela Duckworth), and through it, offer a powerful demonstration of enhanced learning and leadership.”
We are excited to meet with the FAMCO E-team, Faculty Council, and the Administration, with the Provost serving as a mediator. We want to discuss the union’s concerns and identify pragmatic solutions that provide meaningful wins for students and faculty. We will sit at the table for as long as it takes because students will not wait two years for a solution.
Access to grades should not be a privilege, it should be the standard. The time for action is now. We call on the FAMCO E-team to stop deflecting, start listening, and be part of the solution. Together, we will build a truly transparent learning space that fosters student and faculty success.
Faculty Supporters:
Professor Charles Willow, Professor Ilyong Jung, Professor Richard Roberts, Professor Dottie Lobo, Professor William Schreiber, Professor Debra Pachucki, Professor Lindsay Mehrkam, Professor Colleen Manzetti, Professor Peter Jacques, Professor Jonathan Daigle, Professor Max Lamberto, Professor Patrick R. Walden, Professor John Burke, Professor Nancy Uddin, Professor Sharon Dornemann, Professor Mannikka Rosa, Professor Kevin Dooley, Professor Saliba Sarsar, Professor Tina Paone, Professor Shannon Hokanson, Professor Deanna Shoemaker, Professor Scott Hofer, Professor Tamara Rial, Professor Peter Gariepy, Professor Rekha Datta, Professor Joe Patten, Professor Robert Scott, Professor Michael Donato, Professor Jonathan Ouellet, Professor Joe Palazzolo, Professor Jason E. Adolf, Professor Nguyen Pham, Professor Jamie Pigman.
