On Sept. 28, 2023, the 62nd Senate of Madison Area Technical College made history by introducing Senate Resolution #003-Student Activities Fee Restructure.
What is Senate Resolution #003-Student Activities Fee Restructure
Resolved by the Student Senate of Madison Area Technical College, that the following article is proposed:
Who would be affected by the Student Activities Fee Restructure?
Summary of Motion—Student Senate supports restructuring the Student Activity Fee to a flat per Credit Rate of $12.30 per credit for both Occupational and Transfer students, both of which including an inflation component to increase as necessary.
IN THE SENATE OF MADISON AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Date Presented-Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023
Introduced by Vice President Kai Brito and Senator Annette Crowder, co-sponsored by Senator Cameron Wilkin, Senator Inez Pickelsimer, and Vice President Margaret Joof, referred by way of the Legislative Affairs Committee, and drafted in support of the Student Activities Board request.
A RESOLUTION
PROVISIONAL MOTION: The voting period for the referendum shall be extended by two additional days, for a total of seven days spanning from Monday, November 13, 2023, to Sunday, November 19, 2023, pending approval from the Student Activities Board.
FORMAL MOTION: To conduct a referendum of the Madison College Student body during the Fall 2023 Academic Term during the week of November 13, 2023 for the approval of a Student Activity Fee restructure of a flat per Credit Rate fee of $12.30 per credit for both Occupational and Transfer students, with an annual increase of up to 3% max per year for those credit rates to account for the pace of inflation if deemed necessary by the Student Activities Board.
SECTION 1: PRIMARY REASONING
Whereas:
1. The Student Senate is part of a 10-member group, the Student Activities Board, responsible for managing and distributing funds from the Student Activity Fee to support student life at Madison College.
2. Student Activity Fees finance various student life enhancements such as competitive student wages set at $15.00/hour on campus, including club events and our athletics, inclusive programming, the arts we hold dearly (i.e., music theater), and the Executive Leadership Team that trains and aids our student clubs.
3. The Student Activities Fee is currently calculated as 6.5% of the per-credit tuition rate, however, there are different fees set for various types of classes; Occupational program classes are set at $9.55 per credit; Liberal Arts Transfer classes are set at $12.30 per credit; and courses offered at Regional Campuses are set at $3.25 per credit.
4. Due to the long-lasting effects of the COVID pandemic and other contributing factors, student enrollments in recent years such as 2022 (7,176 FTEs) have overall declined 15% from 2019 pre-COVID levels of enrollment (8,486 FTEs), which resulted in a decrease in Student Activity Fees which are directly tied to tuition rates.
5. The 2023-2024 budgets submitted to the Student Activities Board exceeded projected revenues by $201,000, resulting in a 14.9% reduction of organizational budgets and reserve deficit spending of $25,000 to remain consistent with the SAB Reserve Policy.
6. During the fiscal year 2023-24, the budgets submitted to the Student Activities Board were $201,000 more than the projected revenues—resulting in a 14.9% reduction in organizational budgets-therefore, consistent with the SAB Reserve Policy, $25,000 was pulled from the reserve funds to enable the continuation of inclusive, active, and engaging Student Life on Madison College campuses , including securing the Student Senate’s (the chosen voice of the Madison College student body) financial future.
7. We believe this restructuring will help Student Senate better serve students and provide a more equitable and fair approach to funding their extracurricular activities, so the Student Activities Fee must be revised to enable the funding needs of Madison College student organizations that help our student life thrive.
CONCLUSION:
– Be it resolved, by the Student Senate of Madison College assembled, that:
To conduct a referendum of the Madison College Student body during the Fall 2023 Academic Term during the week of November 13, 2023, for the approval of a Student Activity Fee restructure of a flat per Credit Rate fee of $12.30 per credit for both Occupational and Transfer students, with an annual increase of up to 3% max per year for those credit rates to account for the pace of inflation if deemed necessary by the Student Activities Board.
On October 5th, 2023, voting on Senate Resolution #003-Student Activities Fee Restructure took place through a roll call vote which passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 16 (Yes), 0 (No), 0 (Abstain). This resolution is effective as of October 5th, 2023. Congratulations!