It is that time of the school year again where we take some time to look at our upcoming campus elections. Aside from the upcoming Graduate Students Association executive officer elections, this spring there are also several items up for new affirmation or re-affirmation. Please read the information below for more details. If you prefer the PDF for "download and go" reading later, I've also attached it below. Don't forget to make your voice heard during the upcoming elections!
Graduate Student Fee Initiatives and Reaffirmations - Spring 2013 Election
Two GSA fees are up for reaffirmation in spring 2013
1) Night and Weekend Parking (last reaffirmed in 2011, on a 2-year reaffirmation schedule)
The first re-affirmation on the ballot asks if graduate students wish to continue a $5.00 (includes return to financial aid of $0.42) per graduate student per quarter, (excluding summer) mandatory fee to fund annual Nights & Weekend parking passes for all graduate students. If reaffirmed, the fee will be collected fall 2013 through spring 2015 and be subject to reaffirmation in spring 2015. This sticker comes in handy for those late night reading, writing, or grading sessions.
2) Student Medical Emergency Relief Fund (last reaffirmed in 2009, on a 4-year reaffirmation cycle)
The second re-affirmation on the ballot asks if graduate students wish to continue an $0.89 per student per quarter, including summer, mandatory fee in order to provide funding for the Student Medical Emergency Relief Fund (SMERF), which will continue to fund grants for students who are not able to cover the costs of medical procedures. If reaffirmed, the fee will be collected fall 2013 through summer 2017 and be subject to reaffirmation in spring 2017. Some of the many services that the SMERF fund covers are dental and medical costs.
New proposals for affirmation
1) Health & Wellness Programs (H&W): H&W is seeking approval to include graduate students on a combined undergrad and grad initiative to fund H&W programs and services.
Cost per student, per quarter: $7.53 (including summer), $5.65 is for Health and Wellness, $1.88 is for return to aid. Of the $5.65 for Health and Wellness, a 7 to 10 percent administrative assessment and a 1.6 to 3 percent UCOP assessment will be charged on all non-capital expenditures.
Assessed to: Undergraduate and graduate students
Beginning: Fall 2013
Length of Collection: 4 years renewable; up for re-affirmation in 2017
The fee will provide funds to continue and expand Health and Wellness services. Health and Wellness will expand its selection of resources (such as condoms, healthy food, massages, and field trips) at no additional cost to students. The fee will also increase student involvement through internships, increased staff, and Health and Wellness education on topics such as sex and relationships, healthy eating, drugs, stress-reduction techniques, and wellness. The goal at Health and Wellness is to help students be physically and emotionally healthier and this fee will enable them to provide outreach and prevention efforts to reach more UCSB students.
2) Women, Gender, and Sexual Equity (WGSE): WGSE is seeking GSA approval to include graduate students on a combined undergrad and grad initiative to increase their current student lock-in fee in order to continue to support and enhance their services.
Cost per student/per quarter: $4.14 (including summer), $3.11 is for WGSE, $1.03 is for return to aid. Of the $3.11 for WGSE, a 7 to 10 percent administrative assessment and a 1.6 to 3 percent UCOP assessment will be charged on all non-capital expenditures.
Assessed to: Undergraduate and graduate students
Beginning: Fall 2013
Length of Collection: 4 years renewable; up for re-affirmation in 2017.
The Women, Gender, and Sexual Equity support fee will help maintain staff and programs including Campus Advocacy Resources and Education (formerly the Rape Prevention Education Program), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resources, Women's Center Programming, and Non-Traditional Student Services. The support fee will maintain the public spaces within the Women’s Center, Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, and Non-Traditional Student Resource Center (e.g., libraries, art galleries, meeting rooms) through the addition of new technology, library acquisitions, art gallery resources, and replacement of aging equipment. It will also help to improve current WGSE programs and services such as 1) the Campus Advocacy Resources and Education; 2) help for individuals in crisis; 3) support for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/intersex/ally communities; 4) student-initiated activities and events; 5) student employment opportunities; 6) student internships; and 7) educational programming.
Women, Gender, and Sexual Equity currently collects $4.25 per undergraduate and graduate student per quarter (including summer).
The WGSE fee increase would be in addition to the $4.25 per student per quarter currently collected, and would bring the total to $8.39 per student per quarter.
3) Recreation Facilities Enhancements: Recreation is seeking a 10-year fee to renovate Rob Gym, resurface Pauley Track, and re-turf one Storke Field play field.
Cost per student/per quarter: $15.00 (including summer), $11.25 is for the projects, $3.75 is for return to aid. Of the $11.75 any non-capital expenditure will incur a 7 to 10 percent administrative assessment.
Assessed to: Undergraduate and graduate students
Beginning: Fall 2013
Length of Collection: 10 years (after 10 years the fee will convert to $2.00 per student per quarter, reaffirmed every 4 years, to cover utilities and maintenance)
The fee will support the repair, renovation, and restoration of aging campus facilities that provide hours of weekly opportunity for students to engage in myriad instructional, competitive and recreational classes and programs that enhance the quality of campus life. Specifically, the projects will be: 1) restoration of Robertson Gymnasium, 2) resurfacing of Pauley Track (with possible other enhancements funds permitting), and 3) the addition of all-weather turf to the western edge of Storke Field. The track and Storke field projects will include lighting to provide additional programming hours particularly during inclement weather and evenings. At the end of the ten-year collection period, a two dollar per student per quarter fee will remain (to be reaffirmed every subsequent 4 years) to cover utilities and maintenance costs.
Each of the three projects will be scheduled in a pre-determined order and completed as funding is collected. Should phase 1 & 2 expenses exceed budget, the scope of the final phase of the project may be reduced to align with available funds. (Below is a description of the allocation for budget per phase of construction.)
Allocation & Phasing
- Rob Gym 2013-2014* $500,000
- Pauley Track 2014-2016* $2,000,000
- Storke Field 2016-2020* $3,500,000
*Projects may be completed sooner pending campus funding
Recreational Sports currently collects:
- $5.25 per undergraduate per quarter (including summer) through an A.S. lock-in fee for intramurals,
- $12.10 per undergraduate per quarter (including summer) through an A.S. lock-in fee for recreational sports,
- $7.00 per undergraduate and graduate per quarter (including summer) through a campus lock-in fee for recreational sports
The Recreation Center currently collects:
- $24.68 per undergraduate and graduate per quarter (including summer) through a campus lock-in fee for RecCen 1 & aquatic center,
- $34.50 per undergraduate and graduate per quarter (including summer) through a campus lock-in fee for the RecCen 2,
- for a total of $83.53 per undergraduate per quarter and $66.18 per graduate to support recreation and associated facilities.
The Recreation Facilities Enhancement fee would be in addition to the $83.53 and $66.18 currently collected, and would bring the total collected by Recreation for facilities and programs to $98.53 per undergraduate per quarter and $81.18 per graduate per quarter.
Campus Elections Commission Reaffirmations
Additionally, for your information, the Campus Elections Commission (CEC) has two current fees up for reaffirmation which include graduate students. Per CEC Guidelines, the CEC coordinates finalizing the language for these campus-wide fees.
- Women, Gender, and Sexual Equity: current fee of $4.25 per student per quarter including summer.
- Counseling & Career Services: current fee of $5.85 per student per quarter including summer.
Timeline for the Spring 2013 Election (subject to change)
- January Graduate Students Association (GSA) meeting – presentations from those seeking approval for their CEC initiatives to include grad students.
- February GSA meeting – GSA votes on whether to approve requests for inclusion of grad students on CEC initiatives (if GSA denies the request sponsors have 30 days to collect signatures and may still qualify for the ballot if they can collect the required number of signatures (15 percent of grad population)).
- February – If GSA wishes to propose any new fee initiatives of their own, the GSA president should be in contact with the Campus Elections Compliance Officer, Suzanne Perkin.
- Beginning of April – GSA publishes an online Voter’s Guide with all GSA initiatives, reaffirmations, and candidates, as well as instructions for how to vote.
- April 22-25 – Election
- April 26 – Election results received, verified, and announced. Note: Some results take longer to receive (e.g. write-in data).