Committee approves student trustee seat.
By T. L. Hupfer
thupfer@student.alamo.edu
Students at the five district colleges will get to vote on whether they support paying a $1 per semester fee to fund study-abroad scholarships and doubling the student activity fee.
Dr. Adelina S. Silva, vice chancellor for student success survey, discussed the survey at meetings of the Academic Accountability and Student Success committees of the board of trustees Tuesday.
On Sept. 17, the board voted unanimously to support the $1 international education fee if a majority vote from students from all five colleges supports it.
However, the name changed to the study-abroad scholarship fee to be clearer on the fee’s purpose. The fee is estimated to generate $150,000 a year and eligible students could receive up to $1,000 in study abroad scholarships.
The $1 per semester credit hour rise on the student activity fee increase was discussed in a Nov. 8 committee meeting.
Students currently pay $1 per semester hour. If the fee doubles, a full-time student taking 12 hours would pay $24 each semester.
The student activity fee funds activities and other items deemed worthy by a Student Activity Fee Committee at each college.
Silva said they will send an email to all students about the opportunity to vote. She said the email will be similar to, “here’s the link, find out what’s happening.”
She said there will also be an email sent to all employees so they know where to get information if they are asked.
The Alamo Colleges website will also have a banner and the colleges social media sites will display the proposals.
Silva said there will be two weeks of information and then one week of student voting.
The vote will be on two separate items, the study abroad scholarship and the student activity fee, and is set for March 1-7 by student email.
At the March 18 committee meeting, trustees will discuss the results of the voting.
District 2 trustee Denver McClendon worried if students wanted the increase to the activity fee.
“I wanted the students to have a voice on how their money is being spent,” McClendon said.
Silva said the students are proposing the activity fee increase and assured him the students will be voting on this before being voted on by the board.
Silva said the Student Government Associations from all five Alamo colleges collectively agreed to see the campaign through.
Whether the students vote for the increase, they are in charge of deciding how it’s spent.
The Policy and Long-Range Planning Committee approved the idea of adding a student trustee to the board of trustees. The full board will decide whether to add a student to their ranks.
The student will serve as a nonvoting student and will receive a $600 scholarship.
Applications to apply for the position are through the colleges’ SGAs.
Applicants will be interviewed Feb. 19-March 31 and one will be selected from each college.
The board will spend April reviewing the applications. The student trustee will be sworn in at the regular board meeting May 13.
This college’s SGA president Andrew Hubbard, liberal arts sophomore, said he is excited for this because it was one of his goals to fulfill during his term.
The next meeting of the full board is at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Room 101 of Killen Center.
