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April 29th, 2025

3:00 – 4:30 pm

AgendaMinutes

Meeting Started at 3:01pm

Present: Mel, Marshall, Lisa, Trey, Katie, Wahaj, Cheryl, Lauren, Shirley. Tanisha, Lucy, Manel

Guest: Tchad Sanger, University Registrar

  1. Welcome and Introductions

    1. Members introductions: Name, Pronouns, Year, Major, and Space.
    2. Order: Cowell, Stevenson, Crown, Merrill, Kresge, Porter, Oakes, RCC, C9, JRL, GSA, GSC, SAB, Provost, SUA, Lisa, Lucy

  2. Approval of Agenda & Minutes

    1. Approval of April 15th Agenda and April 13th Minutes
    2. Approval of April 24th Agenda and April 15th Minutes
    3. Approval of April 29th Agenda and April 24th Minutes
    4. Marshall motions to approve agendas, Mel seconds. No objections; motion carries.

  3. Public Comment

    1. No public comment made

  4. Announcements & Updates

    1. Member updates - No member updates

  5. Graduation Cords

    1. https://www.tasseldepot.com/hccarm.html
    2. Marshall motions to reserve $50 for graduation cords, seconded by Mel and Katie. No objections. Motion passes.

  6. CSF Spring Debrief

    1. The spring quarter CSF meeting was held last week at UC Irvine. Marshall and Trey attended the meeting.
    2. Very strong recommendation from Regents for an added separate fee to upgrade software for Cruzcare, which is known as a “health tech fee.”
    3. Tuition Stability plan: Every year, tuition and fees goes up by set amount, Regents want to remove cap to allow it to increase to any value
      1. Would put a higher burden on students
      2. CSF would like to maintain the cap
      3. Rationale that removing the cap would give UC higher bargaining power

  7. SFAC Chair/Vice-Chair Elections

    1. Elections Overview
      1. Takes place over two weeks, today is initial nominations
    2. Chair/Vice-Chair Roles/Responsibilities
      1. Chair must be able to travel and oversee decision making, meet with administration
      2. Vice Chair supports Chair, recommend going to more CSF meetings, also meets with administration
    3. Nominations
      1. Mel nominates herself for Vice Chair
      2. Marshall nominates everyone who is staying for Chair and Vice Chair
      3. Wahaj declines nominations
      4. Trey declines nominations
      5. Shirley declines nominations
      6. Cheryl declines nominations
      7. Mel nominates Marshall for Chair
      8. Mel and Marshall accept the nominations
    4. Voting Next Week
      1. Next week we will vote for the Chair and Vice Chair for next year.

  8. Funding Call

    1. Tracking Sheet
    2. Updates
      1. Discussion: SUA: Proposal to request $100,000 of carryforward be allocated by SFAC
        1. Mel and Marshall will be reaching out to Nareh to discuss this idea in advance of asking to be added to the agenda via the Parliamentarian.
      2. What we held in reserve at the beginning of the funding call:
        1. $34,200 EMH - Reserve
        2. $51,311 SSF - Reserve
        3. The newly revised available funding for the year will incorporate the EMH reserve of $34,200
    3. Tiered reduction
      1. Marshall has developed a code to reduce the funding earmarks based on a tiered system. The results of applying the reductions are reflected in the tab titled “Processed.”
    4. Deliberations
      1. There is support for the final allocation earmarks following the application of the reduction process. The SFAC … outcome is set…..they will decide to go to SUA first before making a final decision - goal of making decisions around week 8.

  9. Discussion on TAPS Letter

    1. 2025 Letter - Draft to review
      1. Feedback on the letter. Marshall asks Wahaj if there are any specific concerns from graduate students to note in the letter? Wahaj mentions parking is an issue.
      2. Marshall asks that an addition be made to refer to being more proactive about planning for part replacements.
    2. Response from Dan (to questions we developed on March 11th)
    3. Trey motions to approve the letter to TAPS. Cheryl seconds the motion. No objections. The letter will be sent to the Director, Chancellor, and other appropriate people.
    4. Of the 10 campuses, 7 campuses have a document fee.

  10. University Registrar Tchad Sanger (4:00 pm) - Document Fee

    1. In preparation for Tchad’s visit, LIsa explains the role of the Misc Fee committee and process.
    2. SFAC is being asked to provide consultation on this topic based on guidance from UCOP because this would be the first mandatory miscellaneous fee on our campus.
    3. Tchad begins that about 10 years ago, UC Berkeley moved toward having a document fee. It was a new idea to switch the model from a “per transaction” fee to a “lifetime fee.”
    4. Return to Aid is built into the fee.
    5. Students request documents during times of need, life transitions (graduation, job searching, graduate school).
    6. Incoming class would be charged the fee and every other student will be grandfathered in.
    7. A few years ago, Registrar was producing about 28K transcripts per year, and now it’s 18K. Tchad expresses concern that students may not be pursuing opportunities because of costs.
    8. Tchad reviews the list of services that would be included with the fee: certificates of completion, enrollment verification, transcripts, ceremonial diploma, diploma replacement in alignment with gender recognition and lived name practices. Some late fees would be eliminated as well.
    9. All regular mail costs would be covered.
    10. Some special fees associated with diploma replacement, shipping, digitizing documents.
    11. Questions
      1. Marshall asks about oversight for the fee given that this is a new fee structure for the campus. How will the Registrar ensure carryforward does not accumulate?
        1. Tchad says that the Misc Fee process will create oversight and accountability. There will need to be an adjustment in the second year following a year of operation and learning more about usage. The year 1 amount is based on analysis but it’s an educated guess and will likely need to be adjusted.
      2. Lisa says that Misc Fees are monitored regularly. Every year, if there is excess, will the Registrar come to the Misc Fee committee to adjust the fee based on the actuals. Tchad explains that this model puts the Registrar’s Office in a more stable position to plan financially. The goal is to “zero” out each year. They do not plan to accumulate carry forward.
      3. Tchad explains that a referendum would be risky because it would not make the adjustments to the fee each year as flexible as the Miscellaneous Fee process - which can better align the actual costs to the fees charged.
      4. Tchad suggests that he could come back to the SFAC with updates in the future.
      5. Marshall asks if Tchad would be open to regular review by SFAC? Tchad says yes and Tchad says that the Registrar is instrumental to virtually every technology solution on campus that touches students. He would be open to looking at funding special projects that would benefit students.
      6. Tchad explains that the fee would be charged for the first time to the incoming class in fall 2025.

  11. Adjournment

    1. Meeting adjourned at 4:30 pm

Upcoming Guests/Topics:.

  1. Student Fee Summit
    1. Google Doc
  2. Campus Based Fees Review for summer session, FY 26
  3. Planning for Next Year’s Funding Call
    1. Multiple different pools of money for different initiatives (i.e. money only for programs affecting off campus students, etc.)