Campus-specific student fees are proposed and voted through by way of a referendum during SUA elections. Stringent budget cuts have turned student fees into one mechanism to keep on-campus organizations, student facilities, student health and a number of other student services afloat. For most measures, 33 percent of the total revenue goes back to financial aid.
The last two student fees to pass were voted on in 2011 — Measure 49: Cultural Arts and Diversity fee and Measure 50: Measure to Increase Student Voice. Since then, nine measures have been proposed, but none have passed.
Currently, a two-thirds majority under the current 25 percent voter turnout threshold is required to pass a fee. Due to low voter turnout, SUA petitioned to lower the voter threshold from 33 percent to 25 percent and Chancellor George Blumenthal approved. This year, there are three measures being proposed. Check out our run-down below.
MEASURE 61: CruzCare Access for All
WHAT: A permanent $110 fee mandating all undergraduates to pay for CruzCare, granting them access to on-campus health services. Currently, students with UC SHIP pay $805 per quarter, while those with a third-party health insurance provider can elect to pay $90 per quarter for CruzCare. The proposal states some expansions to services planned if the fee passes, including hiring staff and improving processes for scheduling appointments.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
An increase does not make sense for students already covered by UC SHIP, since the $90 quarterly fee taken out of UC SHIP for CruzCare is less than the $110 proposed fee.
It would save money for individual students by preventing emergency medical expenses that are costly and unpredictable.
It would increase access to health care for students — about 5,000 students don’t have access to on-campus services.
MEASURE 62: Athletics Operations Enhancement Fee
WHAT: An extra $117 per quarter to provide financial support for NCAA sports, including salaries and benefits for coaches, assistant coaches and support staff as well as funding for travel, uniforms and equipment. The fee is expected to generate $3,548,245 per year to be used to support the program.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
If the measure doesn’t pass, athletics will be phased out in two years, making UCSC the only UC without an athletics program.
For student athletes, sports play an integral role in their retention at the university.
Already battling an increase in tuition and lack of affordable housing, students will struggle paying the additional $351 annually.
About 260 students participate in NCAA athletics.
MEASURE 63: Amendment to Measure 30: Strengthening Access to Learning Support Services
WHAT: A $5.36 increase per quarter that allows Learning Support Services (LSS) to hire 150 new tutors, doubling the existing number of tutors and making for a total fee of $12 a quarter. LSS services include subject and writing tutoring, drop-in assistance and Modified Supplemental Instruction (MSI), offered for about 45 upper and lower division courses.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
MSI and LSS provide invaluable academic resources and support for students. If you go to a tutoring session once or twice a quarter, it pays for itself.
The measure would create a substantial number of on-campus job opportunities for students.
MSI and LSS are basic educational services the university should be responsible for funding, not students.
Class sizes continue to increase but additional support, like support given by TAs, remains minimal.
SUA Constitutional Amendments
The SUA has proposed versions of this year’s changes for a few years in a row now, but the changes have not passed due to low voter turn out.
Below are highlights of the changes:
- Changing of names for positions from Chair/Vice Chair to President/Vice President
- For example: President, Vice President of Internal Affairs, Vice President of External Affairs,Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, Vice President of Student Life
- Addition of a Parliamentarian
- Takes some of the responsibilities that currently reside under the chair’s position
- “Shall serve as the Presiding Officer in all meetings of the SUA, unless the Parliamentarian cannot remain impartial, in which case, the SUA bylaws shall outline who shall serve as Presiding Officer for the issue in question.”
- “The Parliamentarian shall be elected by the last meeting of the SUA in Spring Quarter, for the term outlined in Article III, Section B5, in a manor outlined in the SUA bylaws.”
- “A Parliamentarian is an expert in rules of order and the proper procedures for the conduct of meetings of deliberative assemblies. Parliamentarians assist organizations in the drafting and interpretation of bylaws and rules of order, and the planning and conduct of meetings.”
- Takes some of the responsibilities that currently reside under the chair’s position
- Removal of the Organizing Director Office
- Current responsibilities for the Organizing Director:
- “Primary student government organizer on internal and external campus issues.” These responsibilities have been moved to the Internal Affairs and External Affairs, respectively.
- “Organizes and recruits students to attend programming sponsored by the Student Union Assembly.”
- “Creates and maintains contact with student organizations and the Student Body at large.”
- “Makes and facilitates connections between campus movements/issues and those of the UC system as a whole.”
- Current responsibilities for the Organizing Director:
- Addition of a Student Life Office
- “Works to improve communication and advertising with in the whole SUA.”
- “Organizes and recruits students to attend programming sponsored by the Student Union Assembly.”
- “Works with other officers to create publications that further promote the purpose of the SUA.”
- “Makes and facilitates connections between campus movements/issues and those of the UC system as a whole.”
- “Be the main coordinator of SUA’s involvement in Summer Orientation and move-in week.”
- “Provides Programs and Activities for the student body.”
- “Builds relationships between the SUA and organizations, specifically sustainability, SOAR, student media, department, college, OPERS, and all other student organizations.”
- “Works with SUA entities on publicizing and improving outreach events; for example, making events sustainable, making events accessible, and communicating SUA events to the student body.”
- “Works on long range development plan of campus life at UCSC including but not limited to improving athletic programs, music and arts facilities, Student Union, programming and organizing spaces, and the amphitheater.”
- 5 more representative spots for student organizations
- “If an organization ceases to exist, or wishes to not have a voting Representative in the SUA for a year, the SUA President shall administer an application process in Spring Quarter by means of an application review commission and select organizations to have a voting Representative to the SUA for the following year for the vacant seat(s).”
- “This process shall also apply to the five seats that do not have an assigned organization.
- “Any organization that is registered with a unit on campus and is student run is eligible to apply for the vacant seat(s).”
- “The commission’s selection shall be confirmed by 2/3rd of the voting membership of the SUA. If there are not confirmed organizations for vacant seats by the last SUA meeting of Spring Quarter, the application process may be reopened for vacant seats in the following Fall quarter.the seat shall remain vacant for that year.”
- “The confirmed organization(s) shall have the right to that seat for the year (starting July 1st and ending June 30th) for which they applied and were confirmed for. In no circumstances may the confirmed organization lose the right to appoint a representative during the year.”
- Clearer procedures for vacancies of officer positions
- A finance board
- “The Finance Board: Promotes fiscal sustainability of the SUA through continued oversight of expenses and funding practices to ensure responsible use of funds afforded to the SUA.”
- “The President shall serve as the Chair of the Finance Board. b. Each College Government shall have the right to appoint one voting representative to the Finance Board.”
- “The Board will maintain accurate fiscal and spending information from both the Assembly and the Executive to ensure transparency and assess the budget allocations for future years.”
- “The Finance Board: Promotes fiscal sustainability of the SUA through continued oversight of expenses and funding practices to ensure responsible use of funds afforded to the SUA.”
- Allows for typographical errors to be corrected without going through elections
- “Typographical, grammatical, or formatting changes to this constitution shall not be considered an amendment, and may be proposed by the Executive to the voting membership of the SUA.”
- “If a consensus of the voting membership of the SUA does not confirm the proposed changes as typographical, grammatical, or formatting, the voting membership can call the Constitutional Interpretation Commission (Article VI) to approve the proposal by consensus.”
