Presidential Update–Calendar Committee

Hello Mountaineers!

I just wanted to update you on last week’s Registration and Calendar Committee meeting.  The committee looked at feedback from Faculty, Staff, and Students and saw that people were almost unanimously opposed to having fall break and thanksgiving break combined into one big break as well as eliminating reading day and exam week.  In the latest proposal from the committee, fall break and thanksgiving break are separate breaks like they were this past fall.  Additionally, exam week and reading day will still exist.  Something that is different about the 2012 and 2013 calendars is that the last day of class falls on a Friday.  This means that Saturday would be Reading Day and there would be no Saturday exams the following week.  The committee does not have its final recommendation yet, it is currently seeking feedback on its second proposal.

Thank you so much to everyone who sent e-mails to myself and others voicing your thoughts!  Your voice was heard in this process and truly made a difference.

As always, I welcome any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions about how SGA can serve you whether it is about the University Calendar Committee or anything else.  Feel free to shoot me an e-mail anytime!

Faithfully,

Jonathan Meisner

Student Body President

Appalachian State University

Housing Fair

This past week, members of the External Affairs committee have been very busy! Last Wednesday, the External Affairs committee ran the Housing fair. This is an annual event organized by SGA in cooperation with Off-Campus and Community Relations in which local landlords are invited to ASU’s campus in order to meet students. With a very limited amount of housing on campus, the Housing Fair is a very beneficial event that makes finding housing off campus much easier to the students who still have not figured out where they are living come next year, and as such, this event is meant to bridge the gap between students-or potential tenants- and the landlords in the area.

Mason Whitley has been organizing this event for months, and it went by flawlessly! There were several different landlords who were able to come last Wednesday and they brought information that was not only very useful to students still looking for housing, but also information that would help them pursue that available housing. Thank you to everyone who was able to help, the Landlords and university organizations involved left great reviews!

—
Lauren Estes
Appalachian Student Government
Director of Special Events
(704)771-6004

Diversity Celebration

Hey everyone!

Okay, so pretty hectic week. Hope everyone is getting through everything alright… and getting through the weather as well. Anyways, I have been working on the gathering volunteers for the Diversity Celebration Tuesday, March 23rd in the Plemmons Student Union–and did I mention it is completely FREE?!?

So, if you would like to volunteer for this exciting event or if you would like more information about the event you can go http://www.celebration.appstate.edu/ , click on the tab Volunteer Registration Form on the sidebar, put in your info and voila! Time slots are in 2 hour periods from Noon that day until 11pm that night. This is a GREAT way to get involved either by yourself or with a group of friends.

If you have any questions or just want to know what else is going on with diversity in ASU feel free to call, e-mail or stop by the office!!

—
Rachel Little
Director of Diversity
Student Government Association
Appalachian State University
828.262.6253 (office)
980.622.4141 (mobile)

Tuition Increase Petition

Hey Appalachian State!

Hope classes are going great now that the semester is in full swing. You may have heard about this petition circulating around campus. Hopefully someone has brought it up in a few of your classes or you have seen the article in the paper about it. If you’re still not sure what it is; it’s a petition collecting student support against an 8% increase on tuition for next year. The reason SGA and all of the UNC Schools are opposing this, is because the 8% does not come back to the university. You can read more about it in our president’s blog, but basically we are missing out on a valuable 6.5% increase that the university needs for improvements and instead paying an 8% increase that goes to the state’s budget.

Aside from that I am excited that a CIS group has decided to re-vamp our tailgating process with some fancy automated software for next year. Hopefully this will make tailgating an easier process for everyone involved, both administrative and for the students wishing to have a great time at our football games. Additionally I have been working hard on a sort of “tuition and fee cheat-sheet”  to make all of our tuition costs easy to understand. Hopefully when it is all done we can upload it to the SGA site for everyone to see.

So if you haven’t signed the petition yet make sure you stop by the SGA office or ask a Senator about it. At the recent ASG meeting in Winston-Salem, a count was done just to see where all the schools are at so far and the number was over 34 Thousand Students. This is both impressive and inspiring, the more students we have signatures from, the louder our voice is when it comes time to get this changed on the budget. I hope the rest of your semester goes well, and look for another update soon!

-Jake Campos

SGA Treasurer

Proposed Changes to Academic Calendar

Hey Mountaineers!

Recently there has been a lot of buzz on facebook and around campus concerning our future academic calendar. I hope that I can clearly explain what is going on concerning the University Registration and Calendar Committee.

I want you to have all of the facts and be aware of exactly what is happening and contact me if you have any questions. This is the only way to know exactly what is going on around campus and not have rumors that constantly evolve.

The committee is currently discussing the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years. There are several minor changes being discussed but the ones that students seem to have the most concerns are as follows:

Exam Week and Reading Day

The committee must create a calendar that meets the UNC-system requirement that each course have no less than 750 instructional minutes per credit hour. One of the issues that was raised was that some Professors were giving final exams on the last day of class instead of on the designated exam day. This would mean that we are not providing the minimum requirement of instructional time.

One of the possible solutions could be creating and extra week of classes and giving the final exams during the last week of classes instead of during a “finals week.” This would also give faculty members more flexibility in scheduling their exams.

Fall Break

Fall Break is the other part of the discussion concerning students. The committee discussed the idea of combining fall break with Thanksgiving break. Students would still have the same number of days off in the fall but now would have one big break rather than two small breaks. It is important to note that these are proposed changes meaning that it is just being discussed at this point.

Members of the committee are in the midst of “fact finding” which means they are reaching out to all areas of campus to get input. The changes that are listed are merely ideas at this point and students have been asked for feedback. Some of the ideas are big changes and that is why committee members have reached out for student input.

The proposal is not something that the school is simply doing and saying “end of story.” Students have been invited to the conversation because the calendar committee wants to be sure they create a calendar that is in the best interest of our campus community.

I personally do not think that the above ideas are the right solutions for issues that exist, and Student Government is currently reaching out to get student feedback beyond our own personal opinions so that we can best represent you when it comes time to meet at the Calendar Committee and provide committee members with the feedback they have asked for.

I will be attending the next committee meeting and hope to have student feedback to bring to the table. The committee meeting is at the end of the month and I will post an update on this SGA blog.

Feel free to contact me anytime by phone, e-mail, or coming by the SGA offices in the Student Union.

Thanks!

-Jonathan Meisner
Jm74403@appstate.edu
(828) 262-6254

Civic Engagement Update

Hope everyone is having a great semester thus far! 

I have recently finished the Off – Campus Student Advisory Board By Laws in order to establish a group of students that are interested in the concerns and issues dealing with off – campus community relations.  I have continued to bridge the gap between ASU and the Town of Boone by attending and participating in Town Gown, Town Council meetings as well as meeting with Town people. 

This week I will meet with the new Police Chief of Boone, Dana Crawford.  I have been determined to get as many signatures as possible for our petition against the 8% increase that the state is trying to put on our UNC – system students.

Rules Update

Appalachian State,

I hope you are all doing well out there! We have some major developments in the legislature that I wanted to let you all know about. First and foremost, the last of the Constitutional amendments will be going before the Student Senate on Tuesday, February 2nd. The Election Bylaws and Senate Bylaws are currently in the works and will be finished soon. Both senators and cabinet have worked extremely hard and put-in countless hours to see this succeed, and we are all very excited to see it pass through on Tuesday.

In addition to updating and reformatting our documents, I am seeing many new pieces of legislation that are being brought to my desk by senators wanting to make a difference on this campus. I encourage all members of the Student Senate to continue drafting and introducing their legislation. You, the students, can take part in this exciting time as well! If you have an idea, or wish to see something change here at Appalachian, please check the SGA website for information on your senator for your residence hall or off-campus representative. You can contact your senator, or just simply drop by our office on the 2nd floor of the Student Union.

Last, but certainly not least, the Rules Committee. We have had an excellent year so far, and are keeping the momentum going! In addition to screening legislation and the new Director of Special Events, the committee is currently working on re-writing its Bylaws to ensure success and a smooth transition for next year’s administration. I am extremely proud of all my committee members and the work they have done. We are all wanting to finish this year strong in order to accomplish our goals and to serve the needs of the students. Stay safe out there in the snow!

Sincerely and Respectfully,

Eric J. Holm
Chairman, Senate Rules Committee
Student Government Association

Office Update

Hey everyone! 

It’s been a while since I last blogged… but I hope your semester is going well! I know mine has been stressful with adding classes for graduation requirements, however, all is well now and soon the SGA Monday/Tuesday treats will ensue. 🙂

As of now, I have just been working on the minutes; once I figure out how to post legislation online, legislation will be popping up quickly! 

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me or come into the office! 

See you in the Senate chambers 🙂

Kelsey

Diversity Update

Hey Appalachian!

I hope everyone is have a great first week of classes. I know I’m exausted already! As I’m getting back into the swing of things here in the SGA office, I figure I should keep y’all posted on what all is going on with Diversity.

First off, we have been working hard on getting a LGBT minor here at App and it has finally been approved by ASU’s Academic Policy and Procedure on Wednesday, January 13th, and will be presented to Provost Stan Aeschelman in the near future for his approval.

Second, Kim Mitchell–who works in the CSIL office, located across the hall from the SGA office–are working on getting volunteers for the Diversity Celebration. This is an awesome, fun, FREE event held this semester that is an excellent way to get involved with diversity and diversity relateated initatives on campus. For more info, feel free to contact me!

More info will come about the Diversity Celebration!

As I always say, feel free to contact me with any comments, suggestions, or anything of the like!

Presidential Update

Hello Appstate World!

      At the January 19^th Senate meeting, I provided Senators with an update on the Board of Trustees meeting that was held in December.  Below is what I said:

      “Since our last Senate Meeting, there has been a Board of trustees meeting that I want to update you on.  The biggest agenda items concerned voting on tuition and fees as well as the campus master plan.  Because of the length of time the tuition and fees discussion took, the discussion and vote for the campus master plan was postponed until the next trustees meeting in March.

      As most of you know, the recommendation to the Board of Trustees from the tuition committee was a 4.2% increase.  This recommendation was presented to the Business Affairs Committee within the Board of Trustees, a committee which I am a member of.  Much debate took place concerning whether the increase should be the same as the tuition committee’s recommendation or whether the tuition increase should be a 6.5% increase which is also the cap set by the board of Governors.

      At a Board of Governors meeting this past fall, President Erskine Bowles spoke and stated that he felt, I quote “the days of enrollment growth funding are over”.  If this is true, and many others believe it is, then Appalachian would lose an estimated $1.9 billion dollars next year. 

      If the tuition increased from 4.2% to 6.5%, Appalachian would gain an additional $54 per student resulting in an approximate $1.1 million dollars for the university.  This still does not offset the estimated potential loss of $1.9 million dollars from enrollment funding. 

This was the argument that was used to support increasing the tuition from 4.2% to 6.5%. 

      While I recognize and respect the viewpoint of the board, I did not support or agree with this increase.  I argued several reasons for opposing raising the tuition increase to 6.5%.  Some of the things I discussed included the added burden on the middle class, many of whom are not eligible for financial aid but pay into financial aid through tuition increases because half of the increase is required to go towards funding financial aid.  This increase makes affordability that much tougher for students and their families because the percentage increase does not include the large fee increase that was also being proposed.

      I was also concerned that we would not be able to show to the Board of Governors, who will be approving the campus tuition increases, that we would be able to wisely use the extra funds.  When the tuition committee met, we only heard requests that could potentially add up to a 4.75% increase. 

      After much debate and running well over our allotted time, we elected to hold a conference call early the next week to discuss the issue further. 

      Before the conference call occurred, members of the Chancellors Cabinet worked to ensure that if Appalachian did increase tuition by 6.5%, the funds would be used wisely and in the best interest of students by generating a list similar to the one created by the University Tuition Committee.  I have every bit of confidence in our university administrators that if we are to receive a campus initiated tuition increase, it will be used efficiently and with the best interest of students.

      The Board of Trustees Business Affairs committee met that Tuesday via conference call and after more discussion, voted to propose a 6.5% tuition increase.  That Thursday, the Board of Trustees met in full session via conference call and voted to propose a 6.5% tuition increase to the Board of Governors.  While I respect our Board of Trustees, I voted against the 6.5% tuition increase.

      So, Appalachian has requested a 6.5% tuition increase.  The Board of Governors will later have the say as to whether we get an increase and what the amount is, just as the tuition committee sent their proposal to the Chancellor and Board of Trustees. 

      As of right now, the state budget currently says that all UNC-System schools will have an 8% or $200 (whichever is cheaper) tuition increase.  Unless this changes, the 6.5% tuition increase from the Board of Trustees will not be put into place.  It is one or the other. 

There are several problems that I see with the 8% tuition increase.   

      One is that the cap set by the Board of Governors is 6.5%.  This tuition increase exceeds the cap which makes planning to pay for college very difficult for many students and their families.  The reason a cap exists is so that students can plan to pay for college and be guaranteed that once they start, the tuition won’t be raised to the point where it is unaffordable to finish school.

      Another problem is where the tuition increase is actually going.  Whereas the 6.5% would go specifically to Appalachian to be used for specific things outlined by the Board of Trustees, the 8% will not come to Appalachian but will instead go to the State’s general fund and be used to help plug the state’s budget deficit.

      Basically, you will be paying more for school but will not see any additional benefit.  Appalachian has asked for a tuition increase because we need the money to continue to provide a high quality education for students.  If the 8% tuition increase goes into place and we lose the enrollment growth money for next year, I fear Appalachian will struggle to continue to improve and provide the high quality education it currently provides.  

The 8% tuition increase is simply a tax on students.  

      These are some of the many reason that students across the UNC-system have chosen to petition against the State’s tuition increase.  I hope that each of you will not only sign the petition but also work to get the word out to other students about what is happening and get them to sign the petition as well. 

      There is still time for change.  One of the drafts for this year’s state budget included the 8% tuition increase but it did not make it to the final stage of the budget.  The signatures on the petition WILL be used to help lobby against the 8% tuition increase and I hope that it can be removed from next year’s budget.  If you want to get involved with this project, please talk to Jake Campos, our Treasurer, after tonight’s meeting.

      This is one of the biggest things on the state level regarding higher education and I hope that each of you help to do something about it!”  

As always, please send me an e-mail or stop in the SGA offices in the student union with any questions or concerns!