Fee Transparency Project

Attendees: Brent Insua, Lydia Jenkins-Sleczkowski, Lucy Rojas, Fiona Weigant, Isaac Karth, Lisa Bishop, Venkatesh Nagubandi, Rojina Bozorgnia, Brynna Downey, May Alvarez, Veronica Mitry, Sue Harriman, Courtnie Prather, Clint Angus, Cristen Babik

Approval of Agenda and Minutes
1. Rojina motions to approve the agenda, May seconds. No objections, motion passes.
2. Rojina motions to approve the minutes, May seconds. No objections, motion passes.
Announcements and Updates
1. Announcements
  1. Campus Elections
    1. Voting started on Monday and will continue until the 20th. The elections website is posting the voter turnout daily. There are referenda, SUA/GSA elections, and an opinion poll. If you are interested, please help promote voting during this time.
    2. Help promote voting using these images. Note from Lucy - some of these are general “get out the vote” announcements and some are specifically in support of Measure 75.
  2. Feedback from Kimberly Register re: CARES Act follow up question related to “double dipping”
    1. It is highly doubtful any programs supported by campus-based fees would qualify for the institutional portion of CARES act funding. This is because those funds are to be spent in support of significant changes to delivery in instruction. Campus-based fees are prohibited from supporting instruction per PACOAS 80.
  3. Any other questions for Housing & Dining?
    1. Please contact Brent, Chase, or Lucy if you have questions for next week’s guests.
    2. Fiona asks if we can revisit the exact reasons why SFAC is inviting these specific units to speak? Will there be a reporting out, or learning document that will be shared with the student body?
      1. Lucy says that the committee discussed in the beginning of the quarter that there would be no campus-based fee refunds. This can help the committee share with other students the reasons why these fees are being charged.
      2. There could be a surplus next quarter for some units. As a committee, fee-funded units could have an advisory group to consult about their services and use of student fees.
      3. Isaac shares that he is still getting questions from students about the services that are paid for through student fees. These meetings have been helpful for Isaac to relay information back to his space. He is continually reporting back to graduate students.
      4. Brynna expresses that members should not wait to be asked when sharing this information. SFAC could be proactive and share a brochure or flyer with the results of these conversations.

Isaac agrees that this could be very helpful.

- - - 1. Fiona wants to ensure that this information is returned to the student body.
      2. Brent and Chase have been working on general communications, but SFAC can take extra steps to outreach specific information to the campus.
    1. May asks how Housing will handle Fall quarter if it is remote, and with retaining student RAs and student employment if it follows a hybrid model?
    2. Lucy reminds the group that SFAC minutes are public, and can be shared with students regarding the units that the group is meeting with.
      1. Brent agrees that this can be shared with SUA/GSA spaces especially.
  1. Other Announcements
    1. No other announcements.

Debrief TAPS Visit
1. Discussion and any possible action items
  1. No other discussion regarding last week’s visit.
Visit with Athletics & Recreation (3:15 pm)
1. Introductions
  1. Sue, Cristen, Clint, and Courtnie, and SFAC members introduce themselves.
2. Questions
  1. Tell us about the impacts of COVID-19 on operations? How have you adjusted operations in response to the pandemic?
    1. Sue shares that A&R staff are continuing to meet weekly regarding virtual/remote programming and planning for the rest of the quarter. They have come up with a variety of virtual programming, including Group Exercise, Slugs in the Kitchen, and intramurals. They have continued and increased facility maintenance and improvements. A&R is also planning for what the summer may look like beyond the physical operating hours. They want to continue offering virtual programming through summer, and plan for what fall may look like. COVID-19 has helped teach how to be more efficient in how they spend funds, and be effective with programming offered. When operations return to normal, they plan to continue virtual content as an investment into the total experience students are having— this is a positive outcome from the current operations.
    2. Courtnie works with student employees. A&R has tried to retain 107 front desk student workers and over 100 other student employees and protect financial stability. They have coordinated with SHR and tried to pay students as long as possible. There was no remote work to be done, but they wanted to continue to pay students. They asked students about their work and assessed feedback to create a curriculum called Connection to the Complex. They are connected to learning outcomes. There is mentoring, and have a 50% participation rate. They are trying to especially focus on professional development, and have connections with Career Services and other campus partners.
    3. The front of the house student staff are being asked about their insights on safety when the community returns. They are forming a strategic plan for returning to the facility.
  2. Tell us about your current service levels, how many students are you serving? Have any students been turned away?
    1. They are currently serving thousands of students. They are open to all students and are all free, with the exception of waitlists and ability to participate— there are no other deterrents to programming. The physical facilities are open, with distancing protocol in place.
    2. Clint shares that they did an assessment for staff and student staff for what offerings might be beneficial. A&R went with about 5 virtual programming offerings. They have had good engagement in these programs, thousands have signed up and participated since their launch. They are still working through technical logistics, and as they are figured out it can open up more offerings in future quarters. Clint believes that these virtual offerings will continue to be in demand, and is a great outcome considering their circumstances.
  3. How are student fees being used this quarter (i.e. Intramural Fee, Athletics Fee, etc.?)
    1. Sue shares that there are both CBFs and miscellaneous fees that students regularly pay.
    2. Since going virtual, coaches and athletics have continued to do social media recruitment and do online practices. They are also doing virtual programming, conditioning, sports medicine people online. There are no additional fees for students, and staff are still compensated and paid.
  4. Do you anticipate any surplus of student fees this quarter?
    1. Cristen shares that she has learned a lot about A&R’s fee structure and budgeting. If A&R only collected CBF revenue, they would operate at a deficit. Participatory miscellaneous fees help offset this as a combination effect.
    2. A&R admin does not know yet if they will have a fee surplus.
    3. Sue adds that they are being asked to do budget projections. Free programming still pays instructors, but they hope that expenses and revenue are close to breaking even. Miscellaneous fees were recently published, but it is unknown how they will end by spring quarter.
    4. They might need to purchase things they don’t typically use to keep people safe and promote physical distancing. These expenses are being tracked separately, and not combined with current programming expenses. For example, the East Field House doors need to be replaced, and they need to make changes to these doors based on community spread measures.
  5. How have costs increased due to COVID-19? What are your projected revenues losses?
    1. Cristen says that they are not sure yet.
  6. Short term/long term financial impacts?
    1. This has allowed A&R to look at finances, operations, and accepted funding and forced efficiency with future resources.
  7. If remote instruction format continues past spring 2020, what does the future of Athletics and Recreation look like for students, will/could fees be reduced?
    1. Sue says that A&R does not have control over changing referenda and fees. Miscellaneous fees are similar. They are looking for ways to continue to not charge students more than what they are already paying. They cannot change set fees, but can try to not charge fees.
  8. Any topics/issues you would like to consult on?
  9. Sue says that they are narrowing down on programming and how it is offered. This has given an opportunity to look at summer programming and supplement students taking summer classes. They are thinking about this a lot, and they want to meet these needs. This fall, A&R hopes to hire a full-time fundraiser to help offset the cost of programming and fees.
  10. Questions from the committee
    1. Isaac thanks A&R for coming, and shares that he learned a lot from this consultation. He suggests looking at ways to share this information more broadly. These seem to be great uses of student fees, and are returning back to student services. Is there a summary of general expenses, that can be shared with other students?
      1. Cristen says that they are tracking direct COVID expenses. They are keeping these expenses at a minimum. In the future, health measures may increase costs greatly, such as cleaning wipes and water fountains.
      2. Isaac thinks that concrete numbers could be helpful. Cristen says that this reporting is monthly.
    2. Fiona comments that she likes this programming, but isn’t sure if this information is being relayed to graduate students. Staff also seem to be utilizing this. Students may want to see that these services are reaching and serving paying customers. This could be helpful for students concerned about fee payments, and show that the body is still being served. Summer students would be very interested in remote activities. Numbers of participants could help this evaluation, and end of quarter surveys can help track these services’ impact.
      1. Sue wants to show these numbers, and costs associated with these statistics.
    3. Lisa asks if any services offered this spring that would not be offered in fall if it is remote? Sue responds that everything would be able to stay through fall, and could be added to. They could also look at better uses of space. Some things are out of their control, such as NCAA athletics. Programming and training can adapt to continue around education needs, and be ready to start when operations return to normal. There are opportunities in the future to make these decisions. There will be no cut, only more services offered.
    4. Brent asks on behalf of Elliot if students are still being compensated? Sue says yes, they got up to 128 hours of COVID pay. Some are staying voluntarily involved and engaged, and have a job when they return. There will also be adaptations, such as rental equipment that can keep students employed. Marketing/ advertising, video work, admissions, NewSlug student employees continue to be involved and paid.
Adjournment
1. Sue says that she would love to continue SFAC consultations more regularly.
2. Isaac motions to adjourn, Brent seconds. No objections, motion passes

Next meeting: Wednesday, May 21st @ 3:00 pm.

Guests: Sue Matthews and Bill Prime (Housing and Dining)