Minutes student Activity Fee Board Meeting Friday, December 4, 2009 404 Old Main Attendance: Board Members
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Student Activity Fee Board Meeting Friday, December 4, 2009 404 Old Main Attendance: Board Members: Jack Rayman, Senior Director, Career Services; Chair, Student Activity Fee Board Nick Borsuk, CCSG President Mark Calore, CCSG Representative Mary Edgington, Senior Director, Union & Student Activities Roger Egolf, Faculty Senate Committee on Student Life, Penn State Lehigh Valley Gavin Keirans, UPUA President Michael Kenney, CCSG Representative, Altoona
Michelle Matzko for Alfonso Mendoza Mark Cannon for Justin Weiner Rod Buanafina for Mark Donovan Josh Crawford for Maenna Hassell Theresa Bonk for Kathie Flanagan-Hertsek Absent: Ken Miller, (John Fontecchio was to attend but there was an issue with Polycom) Jay Arcuri, Assistant Director, Central Office for Commonwealth Student Activities
Heide Port, Administrative Support Assistant, Union & Student Activities Welcome and Roll Call Roll call was taken. Adoption of the Agenda A motion to accept the agenda was made by Michelle Matzko and a 2nd by Gavin Keirans. All were in favor. Adoption of the Minutes A motion to accept the agenda was made by Gavin Keirans and a 2nd by Mary Edgington. All were in favor. Announcements by the Chair Jack Rayman stated that it would be helpful if we knew who the substitutes were going to be prior to the meeting. SAFB created a policy that states that notification of substitutes should be communicated to the secretary and chair the Monday preceding the meeting. He continued that in the future we should not seat people if they do not follow this policy. Agenda items must also be presented by the Monday prior to the board meeting. Jack solicited information from Damon Sims and Al Horvath on the fee schedule for next year. Damon Sims recommended using a percent increase similar to what the Facilities Fee Committee currently uses. Another option would be to follow the consumer price index. Some other things to think about would be the history of the activity fee at Penn State. There is a value in raising the fee incrementally each year instead of a large lump sum periodically. Public Comments (10 – 15 minutes) No comments from the Gallery except for some “Holiday Greetings”! Discussion Items Item 1 – Proposed Handbook Revision (see green handout entitled, CAMPUS ALLOCATION COMMITTEES) Roger Egolf stated that this definition looks good but he doesn’t agree with removing the last sentence. He felt that if there was a problem, this would give provide an avenue for resolution. Nick Borsuk discussed that they added the statement “priority should be given to the student chairs choice”, so in essence, the avenue for resolution is there. Michael Kenney said this looks fine and will serve the campuses well. Mark Calore asked if need be could they take any appeals to the SAFB? Nick Borsuk stated that no, not the way it currently reads. It is ultimately the student’s decision. Theresa Bonk stated that if there is a problem, the chancellor is usually involved in the committees so the last sentence would be redundant. A motion to adopt the definition change for the handbook was made by Mark Calore and a 2nd by Mark Cannon. All were in favor. Item 2 – Fee Increase There has been thus far no formal discussion of a fee increase previously. Gavin Keirans stated that he does not support following the same rate change as the tuition increase. Jack Rayman asked to hear from each of the groups. CCSG will be meeting during the weekend and this topic is on the agenda to discuss. They will bring that information back to the next SAFB meeting. Nick Borsuk stated that if we follow the CPI, there would be no increase since the CPI is not increasing for the current year. Josh Crawford would like to follow the CPI but if there is a need to increase to help with shortages then yes, he would support a minimal increase. Mary Edgington stated that all need to be aware that other programming costs are increasing, for example speaker fees and concert production costs. We did not increase the fee last year so at some point, these increases will catch up. If we continue with no increase, there could be a time when a large increase is necessary and this should be avoided if possible. Michelle Matzko stated that GSA would like to see the fee stay the same. It was discussed that there are different CPI’s and which one should be followed. Theresa Bonk echoed Mary’s comments that the entertainers costs and travel are still increasing. To continue on the same path, an evaluation would need to occur to see if an increase is needed to accommodate those additional costs. Theresa also stated that the DSA’s are against an increase. Nick Borsuk supports the tier system but would be interested to see what the University Park campus chooses to do. UPAC is in the process of pulling numbers to see where we are this year in terms of money for the proposed events, etc. compared to previous years. Jack Rayman asked about an audit. UPAC is not being audited but UPUA and GSA will be audited to see if they are using the money that was allocated to them in a wise manner. Josh Crawford stated that an audit of those organizations would greatly help determine whether more money is needed for the SAF. Theresa Bonk stated that most campuses are at the top tier but there are three campuses that are not. Nick Borsuk stated that there needs to be some flexibility to adjust the tiers for individual campuses based on their needs. Mark Calore asked what has happened with the fees previously. At their campus, they added a facilities fee and increased their fees. Nick Borsuk stated that by adding the facilities fee that some items have been moved and are being taken care of by the facilities fee instead of the student activity fee. We need to wait for more information. GSA stated that they do not need an increase in funding. Gavin Keirans stated that the increased funding has helped them tremendously. The audit that has been requested may not be an accurate report of the money spent. They have many upcoming events in the spring. There was a discussion of the audits. Item 3 – Exception On Page 13 of the Handbook Nick Borsuk brought up the exception on page 13 at the bottom. He said that the presidents at the campuses are saying that they are not getting this 4%. Jack Rayman asked if they are asking for a policy to be created. Nick Borsuk will be asking all the campuses whether this is happening or not. A discussion ensued and the outcome was that a reminder needs to be sent to the campuses to follow this exception as listed. Nick Borsuk will be sending an email to the presidents and Theresa Bonk will send an email to the DSA’s. Roger Egolf didn’t understand this rule. Who controls these funds and monitors them? Theresa Bonk stated that the SGA’s used to get money from University Park but now they receive the money from the SAF. Each year they should be getting a 4% increase but the problem has been that these funds are being recycled. Theresa stated that in her email she will reiterate that this money is not to be given back when recycling is requested. Jack Rayman asked if this should go to a subcommittee. (No answer was given) Roger Egolf felt the statement was confusing. Nick Borsuk stated that it was clear. Mark Cannon reminded everyone that this was already passed and the discussion is whether to send out a reminder or not. Roger Egolf suggested that when everyone on the current board is gone, the new board members may not understand it. The majority felt that the information would be passed down to new board members and this would not be an issue. Open Discussion
Recommendations Nothing at this time. Mary Edgington moved that the meeting be adjourned and Josh Crawford seconded at 4:22 p.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by Heide Port. |