Student Success Fee Allocation Advisory Committee Background

Background

On February 29, 2012, Cal Poly students ended a month-long advisory consultative process on the Student Success Fee, recommending that the President and Chancellor approve a fee that all students pay as a cost of attendance. There are two primary purposes for the Student Success Fee. The first is to fund initiatives that increase access to classes and laboratories, increase retention and graduation rates, and increase interdisciplinary learn-by-doing experiences. The second is to fund increased activities and efforts towards student enrichment and development, enhance campus diversity and multicultural competence, support for student athletes, and additional counseling for students in the health center. An influential component of the successful passage of the fee was the assurance that a Student Success Fee Allocation Advisory Committee (SSFAAC) would be created to advise the University President how to allocate the generated revenue based on institutional priorities.

Committee Purpose and Role

The SSFAAC serves in an advisory capacity to the University President. The committee’s purpose is to gather input from students and Cal Poly’s leadership about Student Success Fee-related priorities and needs in their respective area in order to provide funding recommendations to the President.

Committee Composition

• ASI President (co-chair)
• Senior Vice President for Administration & Finance or Designee (co-chair)
• ASI Board of Director – Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (1)
• ASI Board of Director - Science & Mathematics (1)
• ASI Board of Director - Architecture and Environmental Design (1)
• ASI Board of Director - Orfalea College of Business (1)
• ASI Board of Director - Liberal Arts (1)
• ASI Board of Director - Engineering (1)
• Academic Sentate Chair or designee (1)
• Provost or Designee (1)
• Student Affairs Representative (1)
• Provost's Office Representative (1) – non-voting
• Vice President Administration & Finance Office Representative (1) – non-voting

Summary: 11 voting members, 7 of whom are students, and 2 non-voting members. A quorum exists if at least one co-chair is in attendance and at least five voting members are present.

Each voting member of the Committee will serve a one-year term and may serve up to two terms (with the exception of the Senior Vice President for Administration & Finance or Designee who serves continuously as co-chair). Divisional representation will be rotated annually.

Process and Guidelines

• University Budget and Fiscal Planning will prepare Student Success Fee (SSF) budget projections for any available one-time and/or base funding, respectively.
• SSFAAC members will meet to discuss key initiatives and funding priorities. This information will then be shared with Cabinet members in order to process Funding Proposals.
• Call for appropriate Funding Proposals to the President’s Cabinet.
• Completed Funding Proposals will be shared via email with SSFAAC for review and priority ranking to facilitate discussion in a subsequent meeting.
• Presentations to SSFAAC members regarding the Funding Proposals selected to move forward will follow in a separate meeting.
• SSFAAC will develop recommendations for allocation of funds and send to the University President.
• President responds to the SSFAAC with final decision regarding the funding allocations.
• Funding notifications will be emailed to the appropriate awardees and will be posted to the SSFAAC website.
• “Student Impact Reports” are due annually on August 15 to specifically address one-time and/or base allocations from the previous fiscal year. The reports summarize how SSF funds have been spent and detail the related benefits to the students and campus.

Committee Protocol

• Committee members have an obligation to discharge their responsibilities with the best interest of the university at the forefront. While each committee member is appointed to represent a particular area/unit, it is important to rise above self-interest in committee deliberations.
• All funding proposals/requests will be submitted with the formal, documented approval of the divisional vice president.
• Committee members will receive an advanced copy of the submitted proposals to review and prepare questions specific to their represented area. These copies are not to be shared or distributed.
• Each proposal presentation will be provided by one identified staff utilizing the provided template. No testimonials or lobbying of voting members outside of the SSFAAC process is allowed.
• Committee members should actively participate in deliberations but should not actively advocate for proposals submitted by their division or unit.
• Committee members should not serve as the presenter of any proposal.
• Voting members may not delegate or proxy votes to other individuals or groups, and voting may take place via roll-call, consent or electronically. In the event of an electronic vote occurs, ballot responses or voting emails must be received from the committee members official Cal Poly email address to be valid.
• Long-term expenditure commitments will not be considered for one-time allocations.