Student Government Association welcomed two guest speakers, nominated a Man and Woman of the Year and appointed a student representative to Faculty Senate on Monday Sept. 16.

Missy Niveen Phegley, director of composition and assessment for the Department of English, was Monday's featured speaker. She spoke to student leaders about academic accreditation at Southeast and an upcoming visit by a team of accreditors. One priority of the visit — scheduled for Sept. 23 and 24 — is to develop an evaluation criteria report.

Accreditation is the process of assessing the quality of a university's academic programs. According to the U.S. Department of Education, accreditation is practiced in order to "create a culture of continuous improvement of academic quality and to involve faculty and staff in classroom evaluation and planning.”

By federal law, Southeast must be accredited by a nationally-recognized accreditor in order for students to receive federal student aid from the U.S. Department of Education.

Dean of Kent Library Barbara Glackin encouraged the student leaders to attend open forum discussions and interact with accreditors.

The first two forums will take place Sept. 23 at 2:30 p.m and 3:30 p.m. The last forum is set for Sept. 24 at 9:00 a.m. They will be located in both University Center Ballrooms, covering topics such as teaching, learning and institutional effectiveness.

Glackin noted these accreditors will be present in different areas around campus to converse and observe in case any students did not have the chance to attend an open forum.

SGA then went into a closed session to nominate members for Man and Woman of the Year, an annual recognition awarded to two students and decided by popular vote.

SGA President Matt Rolwing later announced Sen. Payton Ruddy as the nomination for Woman of the Year and Special Projects Committee Chair Jacob Wilkerson as Man of the Year.

All student organizations and athletic teams on campus have the opportunity to submit nominations for someone within the organization, and the Southeast community will vote online Oct. 21 and 22.

“This award recognizes two students for their achievements and service to our university community,” stated the 2019 Homecoming Handbook.

Man and Woman of the Year will be announced during halftime of the Homecoming football game Oct. 26.

In other business, SGA members unanimously voted in favor of Sen. Robert Phillippe’s appointment to serve as the student representative to Faculty Senate.

Phillipe was appointed by Rolwing and will facilitate the delivery of comments, questions or concerns from students to Faculty Senate.

SGA’s next meeting will be Monday, Sept. 23 on the fourth floor of the University Center.