2-16-21 SFAC Minutes

Student Fee Advisory Committee

Minutes

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

 

AGENDA

1.  Welcome                                                                                                            

2.  Approval of February 2 Minutes (Action)                                                

3.  Update: IRA Additional Funding Recommendations (Informational)                                                                                      

4. Course Fee Audit Update                                                        

Members

Jonathan Juarez

Laura Monje-Paulson

Noelia Brambila (absent)

Briana Sanchez

Melissa Kadar

Emily Miller

Hollis Robbins

Jeffrey Reeder (absent)

Elizabeth O’Brien

 

Non-Voting Staff to the Committee:

Sue Hardisty

Erik Dickson

Hayley Avery (absent)

Hilary Smith

F. Shanon Little

1. Welcome.

Meeting was called to order at 12:06 pm by Co-Chair Juarez.

2. Approval of February 2 minutes.

Minutes were approved with no changes.

3. Update: IRA Additional Funding Recommendations

The recommendations for additional funding to 2020-2021 IRA programs were approved by President Sakaki as presented and programs were notified of their additional awards last week.

4. Course Fee Audit Update

Hayley informed the chairs that there are only three course fees that have fallen below the 50% 5-year average spend down requirement which means that only these three course fees need to be audited this year. As she is now out on maternity leave, she proposes to meet with the course fee audit review subcommittee on April 15 and April 21 and report to SFAC by the April 27 meeting.

Dean Robbins took the opportunity to check in with student members on the committee. She reported that the theatre arts teachers are trying to start in person classes and she said it’s been quite bumpy. Continuity and Facilities Planning has a tough job with cleaning spaces between uses. Faculty are frustrated that they are not delivering the experience they envisioned. Multiple space changes frustrate both faculty and students. She thinks it might be helpful to get some information out to students to let them know that efforts to deliver in- person teaching is happening and to inform them of the challenges that are out of our control. (Embodied Acting class.)

Monje-Paulson suggested creating a space/infrastructure that would allow for informal conversations with students (perhaps a series of virtual Town Halls)? There is, of course, a risk that these will turn into verbal attacks against campus administration.

Dickson noted that SSU is not seen as a communicative campus, though student members acknowledged that students often don’t read their email.

Do the students in this class know that they are some of the rare cohort that are even allowed an on-campus experience? For our AS members who sit in our meetings, they represent student voices so they have a responsibility to communicate back to the students. Create an infrastructure for an informal conversation with students, similar to a Town Hall? Students do not see SSU as a communicative campus. How do we change the culture of communication on this campus? No further discussion.

Meeting adjourned at 12:22 pm.