Lost in Time: policy and dissent

Although there are many supporters of the program, and others that support the theory of the program, there are some that bring a dissenting voice to the argument. Ann Marie Ellis, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts believes that, because there would be, comparatively, so few students taking the Native language course, that there could be several obstacles.
“I would think that the teaching of a Native American language, it would be more difficult to find somebody qualified to teach it,” said Ellis.
The qualifications, according to Reilly, should consist of a background in teaching languages and the ability to speak Muscogee (Creek). Others believe it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find an instructor with such qualifications as well as one that meets the criteria of the university. However, according to Ellis, the policy concerning the qualification of instructors is out of hers, and the university’s, hands.
“In order to teach on the college level, you have to have 18 graduate level hours in that area,” said Ellis.
The policy that qualifies instructors to teach originates from guidelines that have been implemented by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The SACS is the governing body of colleges from Texas to Florida and Kentucky.
Ellis’s statement was confirmed by documents obtained from the SACS web site. However, the rule calling for these criteria is merely a guideline. The SACS defines guidelines and policies and a guideline is more lenient than a policy.
“A guideline is an advisory statement designed to assist institutions in fulfilling accreditation requirements. As such, guidelines described recommended educational practices for documenting requirements of the Principles of Accreditation and are approved by the Executive Council,” states the SACS web site. “The guidelines are examples of commonly accepted practices that constitute compliance with the standard. Depending upon the nature and mission of the institution, however, other approaches may be more appropriate and also provide evidence of compliance.”
The SACS definition of ‘guideline’ provides enough leeway to allow a Native language program to exist at Texas State. With the policy-makers at the university on his side, Reilly has an opportunity to implement a program that would benefit all students, especially those of Native American descent, Texas State and the Muscogee (Creek) tribe. However, even Reilly has his reservations.
“You don’t necessarily expect fast answers to complex questions,” said Reilly. “They’re a lot more cautious about dealing with non-Indian peoples, white people if you will, because they’ve been burned so many times.”