The fifth meeting of the Student Senate for 2008-09 was convened in Studio C, Rarig Center, on Thursday, April 30, 2009, at 11:33 a.m. Coordinate campuses were linked by ITV. Checking or signing the roll as present were 33 student members. Chair Ryan Kennedy presided.

Pamela Stenhjem, Chair of the Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators (CAPA), said that the committee is in the middle of succession planning for next year’s officers. Most of the executive committee will be continuing, but there will be a new chair, Sarah Waldemar.

CAPA is sending a letter to the administration regarding the Regents Scholarship program. This scholarship currently allows employees to take courses for free and receive a degree. Because of budget constraints, employees will be assessed 25 percent of the cost. CAPA is divided on the issue. Staff who use the benefit are opposed since many say that they will no longer be able to afford to take classes. Staff who do not use the benefit feel that it is acceptable change instead of cutting 44 jobs to save the $2 million through this reduction. The letter asks that the issue be revisited when the economy improves.

The Outstanding Unit award will be decided today. Media publicity is being sought to bring attention to the unit and the award.

In closing, she said that she appreciates the active work of the Student Senate. If CAPA can be of assistance, please let them know.

There was no report.

Ryan Kennedy, Chair of the Student Senate/Student Senate Consultative Committee (SSCC), said that this is his last meeting as chair. He thanked everyone for their great participation and attendance this year. The Student Senate made great strides in its efforts and he looks forward to this being continued by next year’s senators.

Crookston – Marshall Johnson said that elections are complete with a record turnout with one-0third of the eligible students voting. Faculty and staff awards were also presented last week. At the last forum a Maroon, Green, and Gold recycling initiative was approved. This addresses two concerns. First, club allotments will be tied to maintenance of a recycling station on campus, which will also bring recycling to more areas of campus. Second, this program will help with funding issues, without raising student fees, as the number of clubs increase. Crookston will also be competing the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) annual competition. CSA has revamped its student organization handbook. CSA appreciates the work of the Student Senate and the dialogue between the campuses.

Duluth – Jonathan Lundberg said that elections have been completed for next year. Yesterday the smoking survey results have been recognized as valid by the Chancellor, so now work is starting on a policy revision. Lastly, SLC has been reabsorbed into UMDSA.

Morris – Kathy Julik-Heine stated that elections took place last week. A working group composed of members of MCSA and the Academic Support Services Committee is looking at the technology fee allocation process. Currently the process is completely student-run, but the working group considered more faculty advising in this process. A new process and committee composition has been proposed. Research is being done on a smoking ban by collecting data from other colleges with a ban. A survey is being conducted on student habits.

Graduate and Professional Student Assembly – Jeffery Anderson reported that board elections have been completed, an annual conference was last weekend, a Twins game outing was last night, and a Washington DC lobbying trip has been completed.

Minnesota Student Association - Mark Lewandowski noted that MSA’s free tax preparation program has ended. The Lend a Hand, Hear the Band concert was a few weeks ago. General elections are complete and board elections will be next week. MSA also helped with the Tony Diggs Student Group Excellence Awards.

The two of us serve both on the Student Senate and the Senate Committee on Finance and Planning (SCFP). Over this year, we had several brainstorming sessions and met with a few administrators. We’d like to bring some topics to your attention. (We emphasize we are not reporting on behalf of SCFP nor other committee members.)

Meetings. We met with Richard Pfutzenreuter (vice-president and CFO) on December 17, to talk about the prospects for tuition increases (as a follow-up on the Student Senate resolution on a tuition cap, December 4), student participation in setting priorities early on in the budget process, and fee consolidation. Upon his suggestion, we also met with Kathryn Brown (vice-president and chief of staff) and Lynn Holleran (her assistant) on April 2. We discussed the same topics and ways to help students have a better understanding of how decisions are made. We talked briefly about the Graduate School debacle. Both meetings were very constructive (more on that later).

Tuition increases. In both meetings we were reassured the administration will do its best to keep tuition increases as low as possible. However, only after the state budget is settled will it be possible to know the exact value. A factor to be taken into account is that the stimulus funds are one-time money, meaning that in 2012 the budget levels will drop further down. So, on all budget decisions (including tuition levels), the administration will have to balance pain now against pain in the future. Recommendation. We strongly encourage the Student Senate to keep in close contact with students serving in SCFP over the next several years.

Fees. As you know, the Board of Regents has asked the administration to review the current situation and study consolidation options. Some of the current fees were created, in part, to allocate specific amounts to specific uses and to communicate what those uses were. Over time, some fees have slowly drifted from their original use and additional fees were created. There’s a delicate balance between rolling all fees together (to better represent the total cost of education), not appearing to increase tuition by a third (even when the total cost is unchanged), and ensuring specific amounts are indeed allocated to particular uses. Recommendation. We did not have time to follow up on this matter recently and encourage the Student Senate to stay in touch with Vice-President Pfutzenreuter as the matter evolves.

Student involvement in budget decisions. Students are already involved in the budget process: we have several representatives to the Board of Regents, as well as in several Senate committees and other key positions. Some years ago, in response to requests by students, administrators started meeting with student leaders early in the academic year (before the budget process starts) and during the year (for example, several administrators have met with the Student Senate). Recommendation. We think the next step is to initiate regular discussions with administrators at the college and campus level. Our impression is that the central administration would welcome such discussions, but can’t realistically force them to take place. Rationale. The two of us believe further student involvement would help demystify the (extremely complex) budget process and make everyone aware of the competing priorities of different stakeholders. The more they are part of the process, the more students can take ownership of the outcomes—enabling them to be stronger advocates for the U.

One-on-one meetings. We found our meetings with administrators to be an effective means to communicate specific concerns and gather specific information. Recommendation. Have specific students be contact persons with specific administrators and aim to build such relationships with as many administrators as possible.

Policy meetings with administrators. Helpful as they may be, one-on-one meetings only go so far. For larger policy changes, once all information has been gathered (e.g., from several one-on-one meetings), we need to have everyone sit around the same table and discuss the big picture. Recommendation. Establish regular meetings of student leadership and administrators (maybe also University Senate leaders), for broader policy discussion. Though superficially similar to the existing concern forums and town-hall meetings, the meetings we propose would be work meetings, specifically aiming at establishing a roadmap for policy change, and complementing the student leadership retreats discussed at the last Student Senate meeting. We think such retreats can be important to identify common goals, maintain cohesiveness, and help everyone stay aware of everyone else’s efforts.

Student leader networking. The two of us happen to serve in the Student Senate, as well as SCFP and either MSA or COGS/GAPSA. This made it easier for us to connect (some of) the dots. As we all discussed at the last Student Senate meeting, personally knowing other student leaders can make the difference. The chances are high that other students serving in Senate committees will occasionally come across important information they wish to communicate to someone, but do not know whom to communicate it to. Recommendation. Create a mailing list (similar to the ones already in existence) including all student senators and student members of Senate committees (who could opt out if they so wished). Other interested students could opt in. This list would be used solely for short reports (e.g., on topics discussed in a small meeting) or queries (e.g., looking for other students with expertise in a specific topic).

Submitted April 15, 2009

A senator said that information dissemination to the greater student body is needed.

Mikael Moseley, a student member of the Finance and Planning Committee, said that transparency is a key to coordinating the efforts of students. Work needs to be done on better distributing information.

A senator said that at a previous institution, the student government had a retreat twice a year to share information and it worked well.

Another senator said that an email list would be a great way to share information with students who choose to opt-in.

Ryan Kennedy, Chair of the Student Senate/Student Senate Consultative Committee (SSCC), said that time was spent on this topic at the April 2 meeting. Most of the discussion focused on communication between student governance groups. This discussion could be continued, or today’s focus could be how to make student governance stronger with the administration, communities, and state legislature.

Q: Can a written response be received for each Student Senate action taken?

A: The administration does respond to each item approved by the Student Senate. Resolutions do not require approval, but comments on the resolutions are almost always received.

Q: Are Student Senate actions sent to the Student Representatives to the Regents?

A: This is not done, but can be.

A senator suggested that coordination with the Student Representatives to the Regents be done through the Student Senate. Student Representatives to the Regents usually only see the end of the decisions, while work is being done through the campus assemblies and Student Senate. Sharing of ideas and concerns should take place by all organizations.

A senator proposed that a website for student senators be created that would allow for on-line chats, open to only senators, and then a public concern area. Dedicated maintenance would be an issue for the site.

Q: Are written reports from student senators communicated to other student associations?

A: There is not a formal process for written reports for student senators or between the student governance organizations. Student Representatives to the Regents submit a written report twice per year to the Regents. The CSA President sends a weekly email to all students, but nothing written is done at the other campuses. Some colleges may send emails to their students, but likely do not include any information on student governance. Written communication from the GAPSA executives are tied to their stipend. An email with short links are sent, with the full text on the website.

A senators said that some colleges have oral reports from their senators to provide accountability to their constituency.

Q: Are coordinate campus student association minutes on each campuses website?

A: Yes.

Whereas, many issues in Student Government take more than one year to fully complete; and

Whereas, each year many new Student Senators spend a great deal of time learning the University’s intricate governance system; therefore be it

Resolved, the Student Senate Chair appoints at least three Student Senators by May 15 each year to serve as mentors to new Student Senators; be it further

Resolved, the appointed Student Senate Mentors can be either a returning Senator or an exiting Senator that will be a student through the following fall semester.

Approved by the Student Senate Consultative Committee on April 17, 2003

Ryan Kennedy, Chair of the Student Senate/Student Senate Consultative Committee (SSCC), asked for a minimum of three volunteers to serve as mentors for next year.

Q: When would volunteers be needed?

A: They are mostly needed for next fall when the Student Senate process starts and senators have questions.

Jeffrey Anderson, Kathryn Barron, Missy Gettel, Mark Lewandowski, and Alexander Schostag agreed to serve as 2009-10 Student Senate Mentors.

Kathy Julik-Heine, a student senator from the University of Minnesota-Morris, was elected Student Senate Chair.

Kia Adams, Xander Castro, and John Worden were elected 2009-10 Twin Cities undergraduate Committee on Committees members.

Jeffery Anderson and Mark Lewandowski were elected 2009-10 Twin Cities members of the Student Senate Nominating Committee.

A senator said that the Juneteenth organization will hold their celebration on June 14 at Boom Island Park. This organization is in dire need of volunteers to help set-up and clean-up. A flyer for the event was distributed.

Another senator said that the Graduate School report will be discussed at today’s University Senate meeting. If a Graduate School senator cannot attend this meeting, please let him know as there are alternates available for this meeting.