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Volume 72, Issue 101,
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
News Hearings come to an end Vice President Elwyn Lee ends final
day of considerations
COUGAR NEWS STAFF The Student Fees Advisory Committee convened Monday for its final day of hearings for the student service fee allocations for Fiscal Year 2008. SFAC considered reports from Learning Support Services, UH Wellness, the Student Satisfaction Survey, Central Business Office and Forensics and heard a recommendation from Vice President for Student Affairs Elwyn Lee. Learning Support Services submitted a request for a base budget of $413,305 and a $13,752 budget augmentation to allow it to raise wages for tutors. LSS tutors are currently paid $7.50 an hour, and the program would like to raise the pay to $9 an hour. Director Gail Gillan noted that over the past year, LSS has seen an increased demand for workshops and has more than doubled the number they present. It also has begun online registrations for workshops to avoid overcrowding. "One week we had 104 students show up for one workshop, but we don't want to get into that situation again," she said. UH Wellness requested SFAC maintain its budget as it continues to focus on alcohol and drug awareness on campus, among other health issues. UH Wellness received $20,000 from Robby Gordon Enterprises for alcohol education and will continue to apply for government grants. A written report the program submitted to SFAC said it focuses on six dimensions of wellness -- physical, social, intellectual, emotional, spiritual and occupational. Representatives from the Student Satisfaction Survey requested a one-time allotment for 2008 of $8,440 to defray Web hosting and advertising costs, in addition to the cost of developing the mid-March survey. "One-third of the money will go back to the students and to Student Publications (through advertising)," Executive Director of Learning and Assesment Services Patrick Daniel said. The Central Business Office requested a base budget of $61,924. The CBO is funded in part by Residential Life and Housing and operates two business offices. Forensics asked for a one-time allocation of $28,000 to renovate its office space in the University Center Underground. Director of Forensics Michael Fain requested that subsidizing the director's pay become a permanent part of the group's base funding. "This year is the first time that there was an allocation for a part-time director," he said. Lee, representing the Office of Student Affairs, made several recommendations on student fee allocations to SFAC. He suggested some organizations receive their full requests and others receive modified budgets because of financial constraints based upon projected student enrollment. Lee suggested funds be denied for the Veterans Services Office's proposed additional employee, the University Center's desired marquee, Student Publication's request for new accounting software and the Urban Experience Program's requested new printer, among other organization requests. He also suggested that funding not be granted to Campus Recreation's proposed ropes course. "It's a nice thing to do but not a priority," Lee said. Lee also recommended a 5 percent allotment be set aside to allow for possible state-mandated raises in faculty and staff salaries. Lee said the Health Center should be SFAC's first priority. SFAC has sole discretion in determining a budget to be proposed to President Jay Gogue, who will then make a proposal to the UH System Board of Regents. The board has final authority on allotments and the total student service fee. Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
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