Fee Transparency Project

Present: Lydia Jenkins-Sleczkowski, Brent Insua, Adam Selcov, Chase Hayes, Lucy Rojas, Venkatesh Nagubandi, Lisa Bishop, Elliot Lewis, May Alvarez, Esther Chung, Brynna Downey, Veronica Mitry

Approval of Agenda and Minutes
1. As of 2:41 pm there is no quorum so the committee can not approve agenda and minutes.
2. Adam motions to approve the agenda at 3:18 pm (after we have quorum). Chase seconds the motion. No objections.
3. Adam motions to approve the minutes at 3:19 pm (after we have quorum). Chase seconds the motion. No objections.
Announcements and Updates
1. Announcements
  1. Lydia shares that both Lydia and Adam will not be students at UCSC in spring quarter. Lydia is going abroad and Adam is graduating at the end of winter quarter. Therefore, we will need to elect a Chair and Vice Chair for spring quarter. We hold nominations at the Sunday, March 1st meeting and then vote at the Tuesday, March 3rd meeting.You can be nominated even if you are not present at Sunday’s meeting. Lucy is available to discuss these opportunities as well.
2. Lunch selection for March 1st meeting
  1. Weekend meeting is confirmed for this Sunday, March 1st from 1:00 - 4:00 pm at Cowell #223.
  2. Vivas Menu
  3. Order Form
Funding Call
1. Materials and Resources
  1. Numbered Folders
  2. Rating spreadsheet
2. #38 - Lucy would like to revisit to clarify appropriateness of funding an honorarium (see 2/18/20 minutes). Discussion regarding the discussion; the minutes are edited to reflect the discussion.
3. #39 Supporting STEM Graduate Student Training and an Undergraduate Transfer Student Workshop - tabled from last meeting
  1. $52,500 for one year
  2. SSF
  3. Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators (ISEE), Professional Development Program (PDP) and the Workshops for Engineering & Science Transfers (WEST)
  4. Brynna shares via email: “Since the SFAC grant would be offsetting the fees per student to cover the salary of the staff member, we can pick how many students' fees we want to cover. it's $3500/student, so if we covered say 7 students, that would be $24,500.”
  5. Adam says that the impact may be high but the number of students impacted is low. He also has concerns about funding half of a position.
  6. Discussion regarding the budget document. There is confusion what is being asked for.
  7. Adam unofficially motions to not fund. May is in support. We will come back and vote on this item when we reach quorum.
  8. [after quorum] Adam motions to not fund. Chase seconds the motion. No objections.
4. #11 The MINT (Matriculating, Influencing, Networking, Triumphing) Program - tabled from last meeting
  1. $45,145 for one year
  2. SSF or M7
  3. UCSC Women’s Center
  4. Brynna shares via email: “I am so confused where the $45,000 came from on the budget. Because there is zero clarification on what it would be going towards, I think we should only fund the $2,050 that is itemized.”
  5. Adam says that this proposal is confusing and the budget document is incomplete. There is a line item for $2,000 and then a total of $45,000.
  6. Chase says that the budget does not match the proposal. And that he has a note about “awards.”
  7. Adam suggests that we not fund this.
  8. Elliot says that she understands where Adam is coming from but it can be difficult to say no.
  9. Elliot says that she agrees with Brynna that we should fund the portion that is clear, the $2,050.
  10. Brent supports the suggestion that we not fund.
  11. Discussion regarding whether student scholarships are appropriate.
  12. Elliot supports not funding.
  13. Chase points out that the proposal mentions hiring a graduate student but that information is not reflected on the budget document.
  14. [after quorum] Lydia explains that we are uncertain about scholarships being issued with student fees. Consensus was to not fund.
  15. Adam motions to not fund. Second from May. No objections.
5. #37 ARCenter Accessible Automatic Doors
  1. $46,455 for one year
  2. SSF or M7
  3. Student Achievement & Equity Innovation
  4. Brynna shares via email: “If it's a state-run building, should the state be funding automatic doors? Otherwise, I think that automatic doors are necessary for the ARCenter, so I would like to fully fund this.”
  5. Adam says that if this is an accessibility issue, the campus should pay for this. If this is an add on, we should not fund.
  6. Discussion regarding the proposal and the reasons proposed that he automatic doors are needed.
  7. Lucy proposes that Seismic Life Safety fee as a potential source for this project. Lucy will get more information.
  8. Adam motions to table. Chase seconds the motion. No objections.
6. #26 Community Development Internship Program
  1. $203,600 for three years
  2. SSF or M7
  3. Renaissance Scholars and Black Mens’ Initiative
  4. Adam suggests that we only consider one year of funding, as a starting point. 25 interns per year is proposed. Adam suggests that we do about $10,000 for a group of interns.
  5. The third tier is $49,000.
  6. Lisa says that last year we funded half of the program for one year for $44,000.
  7. Brynna says via email: “Their numbers aren't adding up. Their third tier option, $49k for 15 scholars and 2 coordinators should be $54k (15 ppl*$3600) + however much the 2 coordinator stipends are (because it's not listed...). I think we should fund 10 scholars at $3600 each = $36k.”
  8. Brynna suggests that we provide a block of funding for internships.
  9. Chase says that the proposal says if the internships are not funded, they will discontinue the program.
  10. May says that the budget is confusing.
  11. Chase motions to not fund. Adam seconds the motion. No objections.
7. #44 Student Alumni Inspiring Leadership (SAIL) Mentor Program - Table to next meeting
  1. $8,880 for one year
  2. SSF or M7
  3. Asian American/Pacifc Islander Resource Center
8. #50 Internship Development and Expansion - Table to next meeting
  1. $41,185.00 for one year
  2. SSF or M7
  3. Career Center
9. #17 Sexual Health & Wellness Vending Machine - Table to next meeting
  1. $7,000.00 for one year
  2. SSF or M7
  3. College 9 & 10 CoCurricular Programs
10. #41 Mental Wellness Workshops for Muslim Identifying Students at UC Santa Cruz - Table to next meeting
  1. $4,200 for one year
  2. SSF or M7
  3. Muslim Student Association (MSA)
11. #47 Right Livelihood College at UC Santa Cruz: Linking students with ‘Alternative Nobel’ laureates - Table to next meeting.
  1. $30,900 for one year
  2. SSF
  3. Right Livelihood College at UC Santa Cruz
12. #25 Center for Racial Justice Staffing - Table to next meeting.
  1. $105,000 for one year
  2. SSF
  3. Center for Racial Justice, Humanities Division
13. May motions to table the remaining proposal discussions to
Referendum Presentations & Discussion (3:30 - 4:30 pm)
1. Lydia welcomes the group.
2. Student Success Hub Facilities Fee
  1. Presentation
  2. Ballot Statement
  3. Budget
  4. Presenters include: Ryan Hardin, Mackenna Perez, Liam Cox, Mia Boak
  5. Broader goals for the project - permanent space/put down roots, to meet the growing student demand for recovery, basic needs, and counseling & case management services.
  6. Stigma is real - the hub would create a central location for students for support and ease of services.
  7. Data is provided on the number of unique students served (see slides 6, 7). 44% of EOP students access Slug Support and the Pantry. Ali Hayes that the group can share some additional data.
  8. If the fee passes, there would be permanent space for these programs to put down roots.
  9. Kresge Renovation Project - information provided on the funding streams for the various aspects of the Kresge project.
  10. The fee is $25.00 per student, per quarter - starting Fall 2024. Reduced to $10 per student per quarter after 30 year debt is paid off. The fee applies to undergraduate and graduate students.
  11. Questions
    1. Adam thanks everyone for coming in. Adam asks what are the outreach efforts to increase the “yes” votes. Mackenna responds that we want to add to the narrative, in terms of focusing on the benefits of having the services being co-located and that students who need multiple services are not re-traumatized. This will help create more support for students. Mackenna says that there will also be focused on obtaining feedback from graduate students on how we can best support graduate students with these resources. Mariah Lyons (Slug Support Director) adds that we are excited about having more integrated case management services. This format will be more trauma informed. Gary Dunn, Director of CAPS, shares that the team has already discussed exciting opportunities to collaborate. For example, there could be a “Let’s Talk” session daily, there will be space for the CAPS Peer Educators. Kednel Jean, Basic Needs Director explains that this is a dream come true to have a center for basic needs that is a “hub” for so many critical student services.
    2. Chase asks about the student success advisory board. Discussion.
3. Campus Sustainability Office Fee - Measure 45 Amendment
  1. Presentation
  2. Ballot Statement
  3. Budget
  4. Guests: Kristen Lee, Elida Erickson, Sana, Deanna Sikes
  5. Sana explains that she has been working in the office since her sophomore year. She is helping on the Measure 45 campaign. Kristen Lee is a professional staff member in the Campus Sustainability Office.
  6. What is Measure 45? Sustainability Office Fee. Current $2.75 undergraduate student fee. It was passed in spring 2009. The Sustainability Office is looking to renew Measure 45 which is scheduled to sunset this spring.
  7. Measure 45 funds hourly paid undergraduate student positions, the annual sustainability & social justice inter-organizational retreat, campus sustainability plan fellows. Also, a small portion pays to staff salaries.
  8. Since 2010, 268 students have been employed, 25 students have been sent to professional development conferences, almost 1000 students have attended the inter-organizational retreat.
  9. Impact of student interns - last year Climate Action Team engaged 1,418 in the Cool Campus initiative which focused on reducing carbon initiatives. Other programs include Green Labs, Green Office, Zero Waste, Carbon Fund, Education and Outreach.
  10. Recently, a food diversion program was developed. Sana spear-headed this program. Over 24 weeks with 10 students, they collected almost a ton of food that was diverted from the landfill to the SUA Food Pantry. 100% of almost 2,000 pounds of food was distributed within 24 hours of being collected.
  11. In 2016-2017, 23 labs were certified as “Green Labs”
  12. Students gain skills from working in the Sustainability Office.
  13. Measure 45 funds conference participation, including the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference.
  14. 69% of the fee measure went directly to student pay and benefits.
  15. The fee is $2.75 per quarter and will increase by $.25 in year 2 and $.14 per year each year thereafter.
  16. On the 2019 opinion poll, 74.5% stated that they would vote in favor of passing Measure 45.
4. Discussion and Next Steps
  1. SFAC will discuss at our March 1st meeting with the goal of voting on statements on March 2nd.
Adjournment
1. Chase motion to adjourn. May seconds the motion. No objections.

Next meeting: Sunday, March 1, 2020, 1:00 - 4:00 pm, Location: Cowell 223