Monday, June 22, 2009
With a full workload set to go this fall, summer gives the new Student Senate leaders an opportunity to meet new University administrators, recruit incoming freshmen and lay the groundwork to carry out their promises.
The new administration took office May 1. Mason Heilman, Lawrence senior and student body president said he and May Davis, Clay Center senior and student body vice president, had been spending four hours every Monday and Friday morning finding specific issues they want to address this fall.
Davis said the main focus for the summer was recruiting. She said senate members had spoken to incoming freshmen attending orientation and had had almost 200 express interest in serving next year.
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Set a 100 percent tuition refund for the first week of class
- United Students platforms in the 2009 elections
- Extend the textbook refund deadline to two months, which is the full period that students have to drop a course.
- Increase the amount of students on University committees from 20 to 30 percent.
- Review the plus/minus grading system.
- Increase enrollment in cultural programming by offering a Multicultural Literacy certification on transcripts. This would show one completed multicultural curriculum.
- Create a financial planning center in the Union to offer free help to students.
“Our outreach this year is something that is probably the main focus of the office during the summer,” Davis said. “Getting a fresh new bunch of senators, freshman senators for next fall — the amount showing interest is significantly higher than years past.”
Heilman said he and Davis also needed to meet new and interim administrators, recruit new senators and find the right people to talk to fulfill their campaign promises and complete a few things Adam McGonigle, Wichita senior and former student body president, was working on.
With the changes in administration occurring over the summer, Heilman and Davis have to get to know not only the new chancellor and vice provost for the fall but also those filling in for them over the summer. Davis said both she and Heilman, along with new University administrators, had been working hard to accomplish noticeable changes in their first 100 days in office.
“I mean, it’s really great because a lot of the administrators are new, not new to the University but taking on new responsibilities,” Davis said. “They’re just really excited to do what they can.”
Heilman said he and Davis were working on finding the right people in the administration to help complete their campaign platforms. These platforms include a full two months for textbook refunds, a review of the plus/minus grading policy, a revamp of the class refund policy, attaining multicultural certification on transcripts and hiring a financial planner to help students.
Heilman said he and Davis had met with University administrators on a number of issues. Those administrators include Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success, Barbara Atkinson, Executive Vice Chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical Center and interim chancellor, and Danny Anderson, interim provost.
“The hardest part most of the time is: ‘Who do we actually e-mail about this?’” Heilman said.
McGonigle said Heilman and Davis needed to work to keep student fees low and to reduce operating costs across the board by instituting changes where money wasn’t key.
“One thing I was extraordinarily impressed with was their ideas of academic changes,” McGonigle said. “To revisit plus/minus grading, and the financial planning center in the Union to get basic financial training from a free source that doesn’t cost a whole lot of money.”
McGonigle said that some of the work that Heilman and Davis were trying to finish included removing parking meters from Watkins Medical Center and keeping the four-year tuition freeze compact. McGonigle said he wanted to keep fees from increasing because of the potential tuition increase this year.
Heilman said he was happy that he got to work with McGonigle on the tuition compact before McGonigle left office.
“Being able to plan for four years really helps the families that hurt the most by it going away,” Heilman said. “We’re supportive of maintaining it, even if it means a slight increase.”
— — Edited by Jesse Rangel
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