To the Students,
These days, NKU’s Student Government Association [SGA] has ardently been pushing for a better student experience for all students. Throughout this year SGA has battled for things such as a syllabus bank, reduced printing costs, improved dining options, and more funding for student organizations. Things that one would assume to be included in the student experience outright aren’t always present, and that is largely due to funding issues. SGA is more than aware that this is rhetoric students are tired of hearing. That is why we are here.
First and foremost, we strive to make sure that students are getting the highest degree of education for their dollar. To this end we fought for mid-term grades for all students, an initiative which is still being deliberated over by the University administration. We hope for this to become a reality by the next school year, as we have been passing resolutions in support of it for several years now. Additionally, we have supported initiatives to provide a syllabus bank for students who are registering for classes, in order for them to better gauge how successful they would be in various class sections. The syllabus bank caters to students who have differing learning styles, a crucial factor in a student’s success that is not always taken into consideration. However, this is just one of many facets of a successful college experience.
One of the most glaring issues that SGA addressed this year is the decrease in funding for student organizations that has been taking place for nearly the past five years. When analyzing the data, it became painfully obvious to us that while enrollment had been steadily increasing since 2001, the amount of funding had been decreasing since 2007. Participation in student organizations has also been booming recently, giving us even more reason to take action. Increasing funding for student organizations is another initiative that we have been pushing for several years, and we are happy to say that student organizations now have $42,000 more to work with this coming year. Making things like this happen is as easy as letting the University’s administration know that students are passionate about them.
This year we hosted our first “Town Hall,” where students were invited to voice their concerns to SGA in an open forum. It was successful, but we would love to see many more of you faces there. This is where you come in. If you want something changed, simply come to us. Our Monday meetings at 3:30 PM are also open forums, which any of you are welcome to visit at any time. Please voice your concerns to us, whatever they may be. SGA sincerely hopes that we have served you well this past year. Thank you.
Erik Pederson
SGA President