Senate Bill 11-12-12
| Bill ID: | 11-12-12 |
| Name: | Proposal to Change the Committee on the Review of Student Fees (CRSF) Operating Procedure |
| Proposed: | 10/05/2011 |
| Sponsor: | Anna Bedford, GSG President & Kaiyi Xie, SGA President |
| Proposal: | CRSF is currently an advisory body with purview over changes to student fees made up of 4 undergraduate students, 2 graduate students, and 7 faculty/staff (including chair). However, there are serious flaws within the operating structure. There is a severe lack of transparency and accountability that contravenes the values of shared governance the University of Maryland and the Senate holds dear. Deliberations are all held in private, the committee is not given any way to track how student fees are being used once they have been approved, the committee cannot reduce or amend any fee proposal, even if the unit has failed to do as the committee required, and there are no clear guidelines on the amount of authority given to the committee. In addition, the chair is not an elected position within the committee but maintains a right to vote when it will make a difference. It is difficult to have a sense of the full history of the committee, because records are not well kept, however, we believe the chair has had reason to vote on several occasions, but has never voted with the majority of students. For this reason the committee is effectively constituted with a minority of student votes. Transparency - Members of the committee ought be given adequate time to prepare and research the proposals. Last year they were given only 2-3 days with the binders before the meeting, which was not enough time to study the proposals or to share with their constituencies. - Detailed meeting minutes ought be made available to all members of the University community. Currently, only vote tallies are kept without any describing substance or context of the discussion during which the votes took place. This is particularly important for the student members who often rotate off after a year and will not have access to the history of fee discussions, such as the stated purpose for which a new fee was created. Accountability - Each division requesting any student fees ought set up an open and transparent student advisory board that is inclusive of many different constituencies and campus governing bodies that oversees the fee proposal before it reaches CRSF. This is a policy of the CRSF but it is not enforced and several units, including Athletics, the Health Center, and Nyumburu are allowed to levy fees without giving affected constituencies a chance for input. - The committee ought be able to see how the previous year's student fee in a particular unit/department was spent and if it was consistent with the manner in which the fee was proposed to be spent. - The committee should have clearly stated guidelines in which its authority and purview is clarified, and then made available to the campus community. - The committee should have the power to elect its own chair in order to make the process more fair and equitable |
| Active? | No |
Status
| Status: | Completed |
| Completed On: | 04/15/2013 |
History
| Status: | Complete |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate |
| Received: | 2013-02-27 |
| Decision Date: | 2013-04-04 |
| Decision: | The Senate voted in favor of the report. |
| Next Step: | Presidential Approval |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2013-02-15 |
| Decision Date: | 2013-02-22 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to place the item on the March 6th Senate Agenda. |
| Next Step: | Senate Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Student Affairs Committee |
| Received: | 2012-04-30 |
| Actions: | At its May 7, 2012 meeting, the Student Affairs Committee agreed that the previous recommendations should continue to be considered, but the 2012-2013 committee should conduct any further deliberation. The Committee also agreed that it would be effective to meet with Robert Platky, Assistant Vice-President and Director of the Office of the Budget, again to determine the impact of the administrative changes that were made early in the 2011-2012 academic year. The committee also discussed the effectiveness of having Chair Rachel Cooper speak to the new committee about the timeline and work completed during the 2011-2012 academic year. At the first meeting in the fall of 2012, the Student Affairs Committee reviewed the charge and the work of the previous committee to gain an understanding of the issue as it stood. On October 8, 2012, the Committee met with Robert Platky, Assistant Vice President and Budget Director, to discuss how the CRSF and the fee process had changed since the original proposal had been submitted. In particular, the committee discussed the new Board of Regents policy regarding student involvement in fee decisions. The committee discussed remaining concerns and the previous committee recommendations at its meeting on 12.10.12. On 12.10.12 and 2.11.13, the committee considered new recommendations on the operating procedures of the CRSF, and voted to forward its report and recommendations to the SEC and Senate. |
| Next Step: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) Review |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate |
| Received: | 2012-04-12 |
| Decision Date: | 2012-04-19 |
| Decision: | The Senate voted to return the item to the Student Affairs Committee for further review |
| Actions: | The Senate voted to return the item to the Student Affairs Committee. It did not give the Student Affairs Committee a new deadline for completing their review of the proposal. |
| Next Step: | Student Affairs Committee Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2012-03-30 |
| Decision Date: | 2012-04-05 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to place the item on the April 19, 2012 Senate agenda |
| Next Step: | Senate Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Student Affairs Committee |
| Received: | 2011-10-27 |
| Decision Date: | 2012-03-30 |
| Actions: | On December 9, 2011, the Student Affairs Committee met with Rob Specter, the Vice President for Administrative Affairs, Rob Platky, Assistant VP of the Office of Budget & Fiscal Analysis, and Ann Wylie, Provost to get background information about the creation of the committee and the process. On January 30, 2012, the Student Affairs Committee reviewed data collected and information from the past meeting. On February 15, 2012, the committee met with the proposers, reviewed peer institution information, and met with Rob Platky regarding possible recommendations. The SAC met on March 5, 2012 and approved three recommendations to the operating procedures of the CRSF. |
| Next Step: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2011-10-17 |
| Decision Date: | 2011-10-24 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to charge the Student Affairs Committee with reviewing the proposal |
| Next Step: | Student Affairs Review |
| Related Files: |