Fee Transparency Project

Present: Lydia Jenkins-Sleczkowski, Adam Selcov, Sue Carter, Lisa Bishop, Brent Sua, Esther Chung, Venkatesh Vagubandi, May Alvarez, Elliot Lewis, Isaac Karth, Yuhao Chen, Fiona Weigant, Brynna Downey, Chase Hayes, Lucy Rojas

Approval of Agenda and Minutes
1. Adam motions to approve the agenda; May seconds the motion. There are no objections. Motion carries.
2. Esther motions to approve the minutes; Yuhao seconds the motion. There are no objections. Motion carries.
Announcements, Updates, Lunch
1. Lunch
2. Announcements
  1. No announcements
3. Debrief visit with Chancellor Larive
  1. Lydia reminds the group that we met with Chancellor Larive two weeks ago. Lydia sent a thank you email to Chancellor and Associate Chancellor Anna Finn, along with the last three years of SFAC funding allocations.
  2. Fiona shares that she saw Anna last week and she expressed appreciation for the visit.
4. CSF Meeting - January 25th & 26th
  1. The next CSF meeting will be held at UCLA. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please let Lydia know as soon as possible. Adam adds that if you haven’t already taken a trip during college, it is an amazing opportunity to travel with other SFAC members.
  2. Interested attendees: Lydia, Chase, Elliot, Venkatesh, Yuhao, Brent, Adam (maybe).
  3. Adam shares that there is a CSF conference call this Sunday at 7:00 - 8:30 pm. An agenda is forthcoming and will be shared as soon as it’s received.
  4. Fiona suggests a clear criteria for selecting attendees should we not be able to take all interested members.
5. Winter Quarter Meeting Time - Please fill out the Poll
  1. We are hoping to have one meeting during the first week of Winter Quarter 2020. We want to meet and prepare for the funding proposal review process. The meeting we will discuss the metrics and the evaluation process, then we will adjourn for a few weeks to read, review, and evaluate proposals.
  2. Please fill out the poll as soon as possible with as many available times that you have.
6. 2018-2019 SSF & Measure 7 Reports
  1. Lisa explains that as part of the SSF guidelines from UCOP, it outlines that we are required to publish a SSF report that reflects how the SSF is allocated. This year, Lisa did some research and formatted the reports to be more aligned with format that is used at other campuses.
  2. Lisa explains that she’s open to receiving feedback on any ideas to better present the information. She will be setting up a report template in the Infoview system.
  3. Lydia invites everyone to review the reports and come back ready to discuss in Winter Quarter. Also, if there are any concerns or questions
7. Arts Division Request
  1. Arts Division contacted Lucy last week and has proposed an amendment to their allocation from last year. The committee reviews the request.
  2. Adam motions to approve. Issac seconds the motion. No objections. Motion passes. Lucy will send an amended funding memorandum.
8. Funding Call - please remember to document any consultation meetings.
  1. Lydia reminds members to keep track of the funding call process and any consultation meetings with prospective authors.
Visit with Assistant Vice Chancellor for Career Success, Jennifer Baszile (2 - 2:30 PM)
1. Group begins with introductions.
2. Jennifer begins with a question - in terms of career preparation and career success, what changes do you want to see, what improvements need to be made?
  1. May shares that she would like to see more panels with professionals in the arts; there are so many.
  2. Venkatesh says that he is a STEM major and he would like the opportunity to learn more practical skills.
  3. Adam says that each major should have a good base of internships that are offered. Adam says that many of the classes that are specialized are only offered through one course -like marketing. Could more classes be offered or could there be more workshops.
  4. Isaac says that every external review he has seen in his school reflect that we need to hire more faculty. We need more permanent faculty hires; administration is reluctant but bringing down class sizes is key. It is difficult for faculty to give students recommendations and help them make industry contacts when they can’t get to know them in a 400 person class.
  5. Fiona adds that we need more academic advisers with career preparation training, who can help advise students on career pathways. We need a better plan, more faculty and staff/advisers. It is difficult for faculty to write letters of reference with such large classes.
  6. Yuhao says he would like to see more support for international students.
  7. Brynna says that for graduate students who are pursuing academia, it is difficult to know the best processes to follow toward post doc pathway. Departments are not engaging with students about the post doc pathway. Isaac adds that the academia job market is different than regular job market. Fiona adds that the CITL is working on something related to this.
3. Jennifer frames why she is here at UCSC
  1. A little more than a year ago she was sitting in her office in Hartford, Connecticut and she was contacted by a recruiter.
  2. Jennifer is drawn to this work because of what is trending in higher education and the convergence of those trends with who is coming to college right now. For a long time that conversation focused on access - getting through high school and getting admitted. Now, we are in a period where the experience of students in college is focused on student success - how long does it take a student to graduate, they performance, etc.
  3. In 18 months to three years, focus will be on post graduation outcomes. Cost of higher education is rising every day. UCSC has a lot of opportunities to do a lot of positive work in the lives of students.
  4. Career Success is a practice and a philosophy - not just a location on the third floor of the Bay Tree Conference Center.
4. Jennifer shares areas of focus and redirection at the Career Center, and priorities for the office.
  1. Old systems of networking do not match the experience and needs of our students, who are more socio-economically diverse, who have diverse and intersecting identities, age of students coming to college is changing. Model of higher education is in flux. Career is not a “nice to” it’s a “have to.” We need to have pathways, information, education to serve the entire student body. We have to make resources, training, workshops available to the cross section of this campus. How can a staff of 15 serve 19,000 students who are her? The team needs to be more creative and innovative in how it serves students.
  2. Team needs to focus on creating more internships, more student jobs (especially given the cost of living in Santa Cruz). Team is data driven.
  3. Jennifer explains that the alumni community is very interested in being engaged, along with many partners in our campus community and the outside community.
  4. We need to resonate with students in a way that compels students to show up. We can’t speak to every discreet interest but we need to be able to speak to a broad spectrum of students.
5. Comments and discussion
  1. Adam asks about the maximum number of hours a student can work. Jennifer responds that data shows that there is a balance between work and academic performance. That number is around 20 hours. When rent was not what it isn’t now in Santa Cruz, maybe that made sense. Students will be hearing more the Career Center about how the convention model of student employment doesn’t match with students needs, cost of living and cost of education. Her team is working on proposals to address this. Here is the opportunity - we are in a great part of the country to address this issue. In Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley, there are many models and possibilities.
  2. Lydia asks if there is an accomplishment that Jennifer is really proud of since she has been here. Jennifer is really proud of how many students she has met with, student groups she has engaged with. This is what draws her to the work. Many of her team members are new; they have faced a number of daunting challenges in the last few months. We have doubled the size of the peer education program, created a new student onboarding and information session, expansion of CUIP program, re-imagining the physical space at Bay Tree and out and about on campus.
  3. Lisa shares that the schools where her children went to school were very good about internship placement, but they were unpaid. Can the Career Center help students navigate this? Jennifer responds that there are more conventional internships, 10-12 weeks in the summer. There are also micro-internships with a shorter, more condensed internship experience. There is also a discussion on “badging” - learning how to take your experiences as students and speak about them in a compelling way to prospective employers.
Summer Fees - begin discussing the final process (goal is to vote at the December 4th meeting)
1. Link to results of Summer 2019 survey.
  1. Lydia explains that we have the results of the survey that was sent out a few months ago, collecting information from units who receive funding from summer campus based fees.
  2. Are there any questions or any comments?
2. Summer 2020 Estimated Revenue
3. Discussion
  1. There is some discussion on TAPS and ridership numbers.
  2. Isaac asks about row 32; how is the headcount calculated?
  3. It is mentioned that Student Media Voice is counting the number of publications not students served.
  4. Highlighted colors: blue indicates no one submitted a survey. Orange indicates that the fee is not charged in summer. Green are facilities with debt service.
  5. Lydia asks if there is anything we have questions about? Are we ready to set fee level?
  6. Lisa provides a recommended fee level for summer 2020 (see document for more details).
  7. Question: is the fee charged to online classes? Yes. Discussion. Lucy explains Silicon Valley student issue. Isaac expresses concern that this can be a divisive issue.
  8. Chase says invite TAPS and LSS to visit with us and explain why they receive 100 percent. Lucy explains that the funding levels were set by SFAC with recommendation by Planning & Budget, not the units.
  9. Fiona’s comments that we should be careful about discussion and possibility of cutting funding to units.
  10. Isaac says that there is not enough questions/concerns to hold off voting at this time.
  11. Venkatesh says we could benefit from the opportunity for more discussion.
  12. Isaac moves that we ask all programs that receive summer funding to give us information about how they would change fee structure in 2021. Second by Venkatesh. Motion carries.
4. Isaac motions to approve 2020 fees at the $293.78 level with the expectation for 2021 (see 4.c.xii). Brynna seconds. Motion carries. As soon as funding call is finished, the committee will invite guests to discuss possible restructuring.
Adjournment
1. May motions to adjourn, Venkatesh seconds. Motion carries.