The Marquette Student Government Senate passed a recommendation Thursday to encourage instructors to post sample syllabi on departmental Web sites.

Senator Emil Ovbiagele, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, authored the recommendation and said the issue was one of “conspicuous need.” Instructors in the Department of Political Science already have a similar practice for their courses, according to Senators Billy Doerrer, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Thaddeus McGuire, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

According to the recommendation, the goal is to “fully maximize the diverse but unique teaching and testing methods associated with each instructor.” The simplified syllabi would be available to students during enrollment, providing them with course content and information on how they will be assessed, Ovbiagele said.

Despite the recommendation’s approval, some senators were concerned that students would use the information provided by these syllabi to seek out the easiest classes according to students’ personal learning styles and that instructors would be unable to change their syllabi after classes begin.

In other MUSG news…

The Senate allocated $5,035 to the men’s club hockey team, as recommended by the Student Organizations Allocations Committee. The majority of the money will pay for renting ice time at the Pettit National Ice Center for practices and home games, according to Senator Michael Barreras, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences.

The Senate also elected a new legislative clerk and parliamentarian. Katie Ranft, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences will take over the job of legislative clerk, currently held by Maria Pantoja, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. Stacey Barnum, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, will become the new parliamentarian, replacing Jimmy Schott, a senior in the College of Business Administration.