SFAC Meeting

Friday, March 27, 2020

3:00-4:00pm

Via Zoom

MINUTES

SFAC Members:

• Arden Childers, AS Vice President for Finance; SFAC Co-Chair
• Katryna Johnson, AS Senator for Sustainability; (absent)
• Melissa Ann Kadar, Exec VP of AS;
• Elias Lopez, Designee for VP for Student Affairs, and SFAC Co-Chair;
• Lisset Rico Caballero, AS Senator for Undeclared; (replacing Emily Miller, AS VP for External Affairs)
• Leonel “Leo” Navarro, AS Senator for Business and Econ and designee for AS President;
• Elizabeth O’Brien, as designee for Joyce Lopes, VP for Admin. & Finance; 
• Dr. Hollis Robbins, Dean, School of Arts & Humanities as designee for Provost, VP for Academic Affairs;
• Laura Watt, Chair of the Faculty; (absent)
• Hilary C. Smith, Research Services & User Experience Librarian; Student Affairs Committee Rep 

 

Non-Voting SFAC Members:

• Hayley Avery, Budget Manager, University Budget and Planning 
• Erik Dickson, Executive Director, Associated Students;
• David Crozier, Director of Financial Aid; (absent)
• Sue Hardisty, Administrative Assistant, VP for Student Affairs Office
• Laura Monje-Paulson, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs

Meeting commenced at 3:07pm by Arden Childers, Co-Chair of SFAC.

AGENDA

1. Welcome

Childers welcomed everyone. Some time was spent trying to figure out how to change the host on the meeting. When Dickson gained control as a host, he pulled up a Zoom meeting etiquette document to establish some rules for conducting the meeting. Childers asked members to use the participants window to raise their hand to get on speaker’s list. If not recognized in speaker’s list, he asked members to just unmute themselves or simply raise their real hand to be recognized.

2. Approve Minutes of March 6, 2020

Childers called for changes or additions to the minutes; hearing none, minutes were unanimously approved.

3. Set Date to Receive and Review CPI report (Oct. 1)

Article 5 of the Fee Policy (E.O. 1102) mandates the campus president to provide to the fee advisory committee a report of all fees in Categories, II, III, IV and V.  This report is typically available in August of each year. SFAC is asked to establish a date by which to have received and reviewed this report so that the committee may make recommendations as to the CPI that is applied to campus-based fees in time to be in effect for the following academic year.

Annual CPI is applied to campus-based fees when the CPI is released around January 15 of each year.  

Childers expressed some concern that Oct. 1 is too soon to bring the new student members of SFAC up to speed on all the different campus based fees and what the report is revealing in terms of the health of campus-based fees and whether or not a CPI needs to be applied to a particular fee for the upcoming year or not.

Kadar suggested that training could begin in August when the committees are formed. The report could also be included in the training binder and presented to the IRA and SFAC at their first meeting along with other training materials.

A vote on this item will make it part of the record so next year’s committee can plan to make this one of the first items of order. The date should coincide with IRA’s timelines for new and existing program applications. Kadar shared that new applications end on Nov. 8 and immediately after that existing program applications are accepted. Caballero suggested making sure that IRA and SFAC calendars are coordinated so both committees can meet necessary deadlines for implementation the following year.

Childers proposed that SFAC recommends Oct. 1 date as the deadline to review August report to the Chancellor’s Office and decide how to make recommendations for following year.

This would simply be a target date to get put on the agenda.

Childers motioned to establish Oct. 1 as the date by which SFAC will have received and reviewed the annual campus-based fees report that is provided to the Chancellor’s Office.

By show of hands: All approved; none abstained.

4. Finalize Course Fee Request Process

Dickson prefaced the discussion by turning the committee’s attention to the SFAC minutes of

2-28-20 where the committee identified two key questions to be answered in the Course Fee Request process:

1. What materials are provided by the university and what “Exceptional” expenses will the course fee cover?
2. What additional sources of revenue will the course apply for or use to cover the additional expenses, such as IRA Fee, category 4 fee, etc.?

Dickson then reviewed the form with the committee.

Members agreed that the form may only be submitted by a department chair or school dean and that only one fee request per form should be submitted at a time.  They also agreed the form should make it clear what the anticipated outcomes are for the “exceptional materials or services” in enhancing the course objectives.

Recommended edits include:

• Drop down menu with list of academic departments
• Add another drop down menu with list of schools
• Add “Submit another application” at end of questionnaire

Q74 makes SFAC aware if a new course fee is for something that was previously provided by the university.

Q144 makes SFAC aware if a course is receiving other funds in addition to the course fee.

Caballaro asked about batching new course fee requests separately from course fee adjustment requests. Dickson explained that a course fee is different from IRA fees. Once approved, a course fee stays in place until a review reveals the course is no longer offered or the materials or services themselves are no longer offered. The Course Fee Review Subcommittee is reviewing all course fees, particularly those that have large unspent balances. The subcommittee will report back to SFAC on April 10 with a list of recommendations, including ending fees for lack of use.

Action: Childers called for a motion to approve the course fee request process. Kadar moved, Johnson seconded.  All approved, none abstained.

One last recommendation from Lopez was to set up the form so that no one but a department chair or school dean be allowed to submit the form.  Dickson confirmed it is set up that way and that the form will be going to Lopez, so if there are any issues with how the form works, they can troubleshoot them together.

Meeting concluded at 4:08pm. 

Minutes submitted by Sue Hardisty