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Patty Senft
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Delegates’ Agenda Discussion
Webster University Officers’ Summit – Spring 2009
Approximately 75 student leaders from the Student Government Association and student organizations attended a session on February 13 and
generated the list of 26 items shown below. They then voted for the top seven (7) items that they wanted to see discussed at the February 19 session with key university
administrators.
These student leaders, joined by the Student Government Association (SGA) and other student leaders (60 total), then met with the following
administrators on February 19 and discussed the highest priority topics. The discussion was facilitated by Heather Sweeney, president of SGA.
Administrators in Attendance
Neil George, president
Jim Staley, vice president for academic affairs
Dave Garafola, vice president for finance and administration
Deborah Dey, vice president for students and enrollment management
Larry Haffner, vice president for information technology
Faith Maddy, vice president for development and alumni programs
Karen Luebbert, vice president and executive assistant to the president
Heather Sweeney, president of SGA, began by briefly reviewing progress on the top items from last semester, including:
- Double majors listed on the diploma – in place for May 2009 graduating seniors
- Library extended hours – hours extended for midterms and finals weeks and will then be evaluated
- Textbook rental – committee explored this but it was found to be not feasible; now looking at other options to address costs of textbooks
- Expanded uses of ID card – due to many technology priorities, this will be explored in the future
- Health insurance for international students – this has returned to the list in a slightly different form
- Academic honors – a portion of this issue has returned to the list; a committee is meeting soon to look at the dean’s list and to explore options to use a GPA
alternative
- Course evaluations – discovered that there already was a plan to move the evaluation process on-line
During the Advanced Leader Retreat held February 14-15, two to three students volunteered to present each of the seven topics at the discussion
session on February 19. These students coordinated the research on each topic and developed PowerPoint presentations. These student leaders spent many hours preparing their
presentations, working late into the night to rehearse on the eve of the presentations.
Students made coordinated presentations, complete with PowerPoint and audience participation, to the administrators on each of the top seven
items. Discussion was then held on the feasibility of achieving the students’ goals for each issue.
| Item |
Description |
Votes |
| 01 |
Scholarship for Returning Students – increase the value of scholarships to keep up with the increase in tuition and/or award merit scholarships
to reward returning students for academic excellence. |
54 |
| 02 |
Student Representative on Board of Trustees – similar to Alumni Assoc. president serving on Board of Trustees |
48 |
| 03 |
Increase Access to Performance Venues – allow other groups and individual students to schedule and utilize space that is exclusively reserved
for Conservatory and CMS |
37 |
| 04 |
Insurance for International Students – allow international students to have their own U.S. based insurance policy instead of the University
policy; improve the University policy to provide good coverage when international students are back in home country; address the high cost of the required policy |
36 |
| 05 |
Graduation Honors – simplify the selection criteria for graduation honors so that students know what they have to do to obtain these honors |
35 |
| 06 |
Apparel in Bookstore – make sure all apparel sold in Bookstore is American-made |
32 |
| 07 |
Archiving Student Work – create archives for work produced by students and make it accessible to those who would want to see past work |
31 |
| 08 |
Convenience Store on Campus – create a convenience store and provide hours that would be open when food service is closed |
21 |
| 08 tie |
Sustainability – add a staff member to coordinate sustainability efforts on campus |
21 |
| 10 |
Parking – increase WVA visitor spaces; address parking lots reserved for Repertory Theater, overall use of the lots |
20 |
| 10 tie |
Textbooks – make ISBN # for required textbooks available on website |
20 |
| 12 |
Senior Administration – more interaction with students and attendance at student events |
19 |
| 13 |
Build New Athletic Building on Campus – separate student union from athletic building |
17 |
| 14 |
Hazel Road – make repairs to road that is used by student residents to get to the residence halls and apartments |
13 |
| 15 |
Expand University Center – including an expansion of Fitness Center |
12 |
| 15 tie |
Nature Preservation Areas on Campus – convert unused areas to wild grass/prairie preservation areas |
12 |
| 17 |
Improvements to Connections – Add RSS feeds to improve communication with students, address Mac and browser compatibility issues |
11 |
| 17 tie |
Public Safety – improve response time to emergencies & routine issues (i.e., parking violations) |
11 |
| 19 |
Mail system in Residence Halls – improve system for receiving mail over breaks/weekends |
7 |
| 20 |
Campus Signage – increase & improve signage, especially at campus borders |
4 |
| 20 tie |
Build New Steps/Walkway – provide paved path/steps from the Lantern Lounge exit (SV bldg) to the main intersection at Big Bend & Edgar |
4 |
| 20tie |
Soundproofing – lack of adequate soundproofing in certain venues (CMS, WMA, Stage III) restrict access to adjoining spaces when performances are
being held; improving the soundproofing would expand access to key spaces on campus |
4 |
| 23 |
Exhaust Fan on West Side of Maria – redirect exhaust fan from Marletto’s so that it does not blow directly on to pedestrians walking from
Webster Hall/Maria towards Big Bend |
3 |
| 24 |
Textbooks in Library – provide a reference copy of every required textbook |
2 |
| 25 |
Common Hours – times when classes aren’t held -- facilitate extra-curricular attendance |
0 |
| 25 tie |
Extended campus in Brazil |
0 |
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