This year, the Undergraduate Student Government Academic Assembly completed 12 of its 27 planned projects, with 15 to continue next semester.

Academic Assembly President Mark Levin said finishing the semester with incomplete projects is inevitable because some projects involve research, testing and drafting recommendations for the University Faculty Senate. Five of the 15 continuing projects were introduced this semester.

Among completed projects is a report finished Feb. 14 that evaluated first-year seminars and listed recommendations the Faculty Senate should take into consideration.

Ashley Harris, the legislation's sponsor and a College of the Liberal Arts senator, said the assembly worked on the report for about two years.

"It's to make sure everyone gets a valuable experience from the first-year seminar, because I know a lot of people are let down," Harris said.

The assembly also organized a diversity roundtable Feb. 7 to discuss ways to promote diversity in academics. The roundtables will continue next year.

"Diversity roundtable was one step forward in the right direction, and it started communication that should have started a while ago," said Wendy Flynn, vice president for the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments (CCSG) and event organizer.

Some projects are incomplete because there are many steps in the process, Levin said.

Two resolutions were passed concerning academic integrity, which contained recommendations to diminish integrity violations, instances of Internet plagiarism and the creation of a Web site next semester.

The site could include the academic integrity policy, a statement by the assembly concerning academic integrity and resources available from other universities.

Nicole Belolan, a College of the Liberal Arts representative and sponsor of both resolutions, said the overall response has been positive and added that she hopes it will become a part of the academic philosophy.

Jeff Markowitz, CCSG academic affairs director, has been working on shifting the Student Rating for Teaching Effectiveness (SRTE) to an online format, to be tested at an undetermined Commonwealth Campus location and a University Park college in the fall.

"It's been a difficult endeavor putting these online, but with the work the committee has put into it, it has a pretty good shot of being a hit at Penn State," he said.

Markowitz said a report would be drafted by December based on the results of the pilot online SRTEs, which will then be presented to Faculty Senate. "We want to make this as easy as possible," he said.

A survey to determine whether students are satisfied with the drop/add period has also been sent to randomly selected students, Belolan said. An informational report will be drafted in the fall following the results of the survey, and changes to the drop/add period could be proposed in the spring semester.

Assembly Vice President Brad Hoagland said the atmosphere between USG Senate and Assembly was neutral this year, despite the assembly's vote to impeach USG President Galen Foulke and Levin's request for the public apology of Multicultural Affairs Director Mark Bagley.

"This was by far the most productive year in my three years in Academic Assembly, and I don't think the impeachment hindered the progress at all," Hoagland said.

Foulke was found not guilty on all accounts, and Assembly voted not to ask Bagley for his resignation.

Collegian staff writer Devon Lash contributed to this report.