Committees

STUDENT LIFE

The Committee on Student Life handles any non-academic issues or concerns that students may have around the school. We handle issues such as Parking, Food Quality, Increasing School Pride, among a large list of other things. We commit ourselves to bettering the life of UMD students on campus. If anyone has any suggestions, would like more information, or would like to help out with any of our initiatives, feel free to come to any of our Student Life meetings.

Student Life meets every Thursday evening at 5pm in the SA Office (KSC 115).

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

The Academic Affairs committee is striving to make its own footprint this year in our ever growing and changing campus. We as a committee have decided to take on a handful on initiatives that we plan to work on as a whole.

A huge initiative is the Online Course Guide Drive to insist that professors all across the campus update the online course guide so students registering for their class know exactly what they’re getting into.

Another big one that we are tackling is Academic Advising to help students, particularly ones who are having trouble with their advisors. The main goal out of this initiative is to install an “Advising Contract” between the student and professor to set guidelines, goals, and meeting times to make life easier for everyone.

Another somewhat larger initiative is the library and our attempt to extend the hours and make printing an easier process all throughout the campus, but our target audience will mainly be the freshman class.

Finally, our biggest initiative this year is the Multi-culturation of the curriculum, campus environment, and also our community surrounding campus. We as a committee are going to work hard with not only SPAT (Students Promoting Awareness Through Teaching), but also every organization and resource available to us through the Multicultural Center. We plan to move forward with the Campus Change Team to be the student voice and support behind their long list of multicultural goals. Throughout fall semester we will be gathering data through our Marketing and Communications Team to find out how cultural learning is being taught around campus if at all, then in the spring we will partner with SPAT to hold workshops and specific events to promote cultural learning. This will help us continue to make our academic environment on UMD open and welcoming to all so each student can learn and grow in a way that allows them to be the person they’ve always imagined of becoming.

If you have any questions or would like to sit in on one of our committee meetings, we meet every other Thursday around 6pm in the Kirby Lounge. For an exact date or if you just have any questions, feel free to email Steve Hendrickson at hendr504@d.umn.edu and he will be happy to answer anything!

Note: if you as a student or faculty member have any initiatives you don’t see here that you would like to see taken up by Academic Affairs or someone in Student Association, please email hendr504@d.umn.edu and he will help you get the ball rolling!

Academic Affairs meets every Monday night at 7pm in KSC 268.

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

External Affairs Committee strives to gather student input on issues and allows students’ voices to be heard at the local, state and federal levels of government. We work closely with the Legislative Certificate Program to advocate on behalf of students. A majority of the advocating is based on Higher Education Funding. The three major events involving the External Affairs Committee are Duluth-St. Louis County Days, Bulldog Day and Support the U Day, which all take place during second semester. If anyone has any suggestions or would like to help with our initiatives, please feel free to come to any External Affairs Committee meetings.

External Affairs Committee meets every Thursday at 7pm in LSBE 165.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Engaging the student body is our main focus on the Public Relations committee. We look for new and popular ways to increase the transparency of Student Association, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, or newly introduced, Instagram. We also produce the “Meet Your Representative” video, which introduces your student body representatives and informs the public about the position they hold. Want to know what is going on with Student Association? Make sure you tune in the Congress every Monday at 6:00 p.m. via Twitter while our Public Relations Director live tweets Congress. It is a great way to stay informed while in the comfort of your own home!

Public Relations meets every Monday at 7:00 p.m. in the Kirby Lounge.

If you have any questions about the Public Relations committee please contact Kimberly Newton atnewto136@d.umn.edu

RULES & ELECTIONS

The Rules & Elections Committee’s purpose is twofold, just as the name suggests. It’s primary duty is to start and end each school year with elections, on for Freshman Representatives in the fall and then the general Student Association elections in the spring. Between elections, the Rules & Elections Committee focuses on the Student Association’s bylaws and constitution to improve internal structure, increase efficiency, and to revise any rules or guidelines that are outdated.

Rules & Elections meets every Wednesday at 6pm in Solon Campus Center 6.

FUND ALLOCATION COMMITTEE (FAC)

This year, the Fund Allocation Committee will do more for the UMD student body than ever before.

Every year, the Fund Allocation Committee provides funding to deserving student groups on campus. The amount we give to student groups increases every year, as does the number of groups we fund. The Fund Allocation Committee is different from other Student Association committees because we give student groups the ability to focus on what they do best and not fundraising.

CAMPUS OUTREACH

Campus Outreach Director is primarily in charge of Leadership Assembly (formerly known as Presidents’ Council), which takes place once per semester. This person is also a sitting member on FAC and therefore plays an active role in helping student groups get their money! The main goal of this committee is to relay information from Student Association to student organizations on campus and vice versus. This year we are hoping to do just that by working more closely with student groups in order to bring our organization and others to their fullest potential.

SENATE

Senate is a body of Senators from every coordinate campus of the University of Minnesota system. There are three different Senates. Faculty Senate, Student Senate and University Senate which meet once a month. Within Student Senate there is a total of 50 Senators. Each of these Senators represent their respective Colleges.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS (MAC)

Marketing and Communications focuses on developing surveys, focus groups, and strategies for the UMD Student Association. We work close with all committees, and our goal is to provide the best strategies and statistics to better understand the UMD Students.

STUDENT LEGISLATIVE COALITION (SLC)

The UMD SLC advocates on behalf of UMD students to the appropriate local, state, and national levels of government. the focus lately has been Higher Education Funding.