Toward Creating a New Student Government…
By admin | March 28, 2008
This year, you may have heard that last year’s student government lost its quorum, and its constitution was suspended. North Seattle’s leadership took these circumstances and turned them into an opportunity to redefine student leadership at NSCC. This year, the Student Administrative Council’s charge has been to create a new model to address some of the issues that commonly plague all student governments such as a too-broadly defined mission, attrition, and unqualified representatives.
We believe a student government (The Student Administrative Council) should focus on activities that support and benefit all students in meaningful ways. Traditional student governments tend to focus on activities that engage students socially (i.e. movie nights, dances, parties, etc) and in doing this end up doing little to affect meaningful change to things that matter most to and that impact all students (i.e. deciding what and how student learn, what happens to complaints, where resources are allocated, campus climate, etc). Meaningful change occurs in places where decisions are made and ideas are brought forth for consideration. These places tend to be committees, task force groups, the state legislature and campus activities that seek to gather student feedback through focus groups, surveys etc. We believe a student government should focus on these important issues while encouraging and supporting social events and activates to occur through funding programs and groups that already do these activities such as the Arts and Lectures program, Stage One, Wellness Center and Clubs.
Therefore we propose to develop a student government model that focuses its efforts on the following priorities:
- Allocation of student funds that support programs and activities.
- Places students on campus committees where policies and procedures are created and approved.
- Improving communication systems to ensure that the student body knows what changes are being considered at the college and state level and also have the opportunity to provide input and give feedback.
- Monitor, track and advocate at the state legislature on bills and decisions that affect students.
We believe the following are keys to creating a successful student government:
- Quality leaders who have the skills, abilities, commitment and accountability to do the work.
- Clear, realistic and measurable objectives and work tasks.
- Effective communication systems (internal & external).
- Flexibility – plan for attrition and scheduling challenges.
Questions for Blog Feedback:
- What do you think of the proposed priorities for the student government?
- What do you think of the proposed keys to creating a successful student government?
- How can we get you interested in becoming a student government representative?
- What do you think about replacing the title “Student Government” with “Student Administrative Council,” now that you know what the organization’s currently envisioned priorities will be?
- What have we not considered?
July 17th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
ASGA is here to assist you in this process! This is a useful exercise that can help revolutionize your student advocate role on campus.
August 8th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Student Administrative Council participation sounds like a great way to meet other students and work with faculty and staff on campus. There are some committees that suit my interest mainly because they complement educational goals at NSCC. Positive feedback is essential to establishing and maintaining any type of viable committee, and this is achieved through regular communication and commitment from its members.