[In these minutes: Discussion with President Yudof, Chair elections, Search committee appointments]

STUDENT SENATE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (SSCC) MINUTES

APRIL 26, 2001

[These minutes reflect discussion and debate at a committee of the University of Minnesota Senate or Twin Cities Campus Assembly; none of the comments, conclusions, or actions reported in these minutes represent the views of, nor are they binding on, the Senate or Assembly, the Administration, or the Board of Regents.]

PRESENT: Jason Reed (chair), Sabeen Altaf, Amber Benning, Judy Berning, Daniel Buechler, Percy Chaby, Khaled Dajani, Paul Enever, Trevor Ewanochko, YeeLeng Hang, Shawn Lavelle, Kari Lindeman, Adam Lyche, Matt McBlair, Ryan Osero, Matthew Wohlman.

GUESTS: President Mark Yudof.

1. REPORTS

CHAIR
Jason Reed noted that the Regents will be holding a budget forum in May, at which point the SSCC should have a statement to read regarding the trade-off of higher tuition to pay for salary increases. He stated that the financial aid event to celebrate web-based service with the Department of Education is tomorrow on campus. He thanked the students for volunteering to serve as escorts.

STUDENT SENATE CHAIR
Percy Chaby said that an item for next year will be tuition payment by credit card. Tied into this is an effort to reduce paper throughout the tuition process. Once these issues are addressed, credit card payment might save additional time and paper.

As part of SLC’s turnover, he has met with Dan Kelly and Kevin Poppele, and has a meeting schedule with Matthew Wohlman.

CROOKSTON
Matt McBlair reported that Steve Brandt was elected President and Brent Massmann will serve as Vice President. The awards banquet is tonight.

DULUTH
Shawn Lavelle stated that the SSCC position is yet to be filled, but that Kari Amstutz has been re-elected UMDSA President. The awards banquet will be held in two weeks.

MORRIS
There was no Morris report.

MSA
Jason Reed said that Dan Kelly and Nicholas Dehnert were elected President and Vice President respectively. Committee chairs, SSCC, and Committee on Committees members were elected last week.

GAPSA
Paul Enever reported that Phillip Cole was elected President and that a transition meeting is planned for next Monday.

2. DISCUSSION WITH PRESIDENT YUDOF

President Yudof joined the meeting and discussed the following items.

He said that the University is hoping to receive funding at or near the level recommended by the Senate. If this occurs, the University will be able to increase faculty salaries, keep-up with the increased cost of health insurance, start new academic programs, heat all campus buildings, and keep tuition increases low. To make-up any difference, the colleges will be taxed, the University will experience a 4-5% retrenchment, central will cut $10-15 million, and tuition increases will be in the high single digits for undergraduates. Some priorities will also need to be cut or lessened, such as undergraduate initiatives, interdisciplinary hires, and health care training.

In terms of the Medical School, the legislature still needs to provide separate funding so as to not take money from other programs and areas.

Q: How is the college tax determined?

A: It would be a percentage of tuition, which hurts some colleges more than others. Each colleges all-funds budget would be reviewed to determine the amount. To absorb this tax, some colleges might have to forego filling open faculty positions. If the colleges are taxed, central must also make cuts.

President Yudof noted that more housing is being built so that all students can live in the dorms without having to move between temporary locations. He asked the committee for their thoughts. Members responded that:

On the last point, President Yudof noted that the national experience on high-rise dorms is poor. These structures also take longer to build and cost more per bed, $60,000 compared to $20,000-$30,000 in other dorms.

He then turned to the increase of crimes and alcohol in the dorms. The University must create initiatives to curb this behavior and create an atmosphere of zero tolerance. The statistics are also misleading since many people cited for drinking on campus have no University affiliation. If students have any ideas, please forward them to him or Robert Jones.

President Yudof stated that half-price tuition was implemented with the switch to semesters to encourage students to take more classes. Since then, it appears that the program is doing well since 70% of Twin Cities students utilize it. The average course load is also up, although faculty would prefer that it stay lower. Different approaches have also been considered, such as different discounts at certain credit levels or changing the course cost depending on the course level and enrollment. He then said that he would like to advertise this effort more, perhaps by placing it on one screen during web registration. For the coordinate campuses, he would like it to apply, but Duluth has rejected the concept and Crookston feels that its students already take enough credits to not make it much or an incentive.

3. 2001-02 SSCC CHAIR ELECTIONS

Khaled Dajani was elected SSCC Chair for 2001-02.

4. SEARCH COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS

The following students were approved for this search committee: Dan Herrboldt and Amy Myrbo. COGS is still looking for a representative.

The following students were approved for this search committee: Michelle Lopez, Brian Wiedenmeier, Rita Snider, and Soo Moon.

5. OTHER BUSINESS

With no further business, Jason Reed thanked the members for their service this year and adjourned the meeting.

Becky Hippert
University Senate