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FEBRUARY 13, 2013 | VOLUME 27 NO. 4 | Visit online at www.collegiannews.com | THE OFFICIAL VOICE OF THE STUDENTS SINCE 1987
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Board of Regents entrust budget Pledge to stay in school committee to distribute SAF funds Commit to Complete movement designed By Omar Nelson Contributor In lieu of recent budget cuts from the last fiscal year, GPC’s Student Activity Budget Fee Association was entrusted $832,040 on Feb. 1 with instructions from the Board of Regents to allocate it adequately to all of GPC student activities. The hearings are to openly discuss how the money will be allotted. $624,030 was chosen for recommendation. The money given to GPC’s student programs, clubs and activities is a collection of the student activity fees that are paid by students at the beginning of each semester. A projected 1.7 million will be collected this year. BOR has instructed that student activity fees be used exclusively to support the institution’s mission
to enrich the educational, institutional, and cultural experience of each student. Furthermore, the BOR policy holds that a Student Activity Fee Budget Committee, 50 percent of that committee is comprised of students appointed by the Student Government Association. Five committees were established for each GPC location and one college-wide SAF Budget Committee is in place to represent the entire GPC population. “This is definitely the most important event of the year for SGA. We’re handling a large budget,”said Julian Jackson, Newton SGA president and campus budget committee member. According to Mary HickmanBrown, Dean of Student Services at Decatur and chair of the FY-2014 SAF Budget Hearings, from the projected $ 1.7 million,
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$873,778 in fixed expenses were automatically taken and will be used for stipends, salaries, and office operations within Student Life and the Health, Wellness and Recreation offices. The remaining ‘working budget’ was allotted to the Campus and College-wide SAF Budgets. $156,007 of it was given to the collegewide budget committee. The Clarkston, Decatur and Dunwoody hearings lasted eight hours each. Newton and Alpharetta committees were able to complete their hearings between four and seven hours. After hours of hearings, the final phase of deliberations followed. College-wide Budget hearings are scheduled to be held on February 15 and 22 and deliberations are projected to be completed by March 1.
motivate student to obtain their degree By Tatiana Cadet Contributor Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Chi Pi Chapter (PTK Chi Pi) has initiated a call to action, Commit to Complete. The ambition to improve the rate of college completion has become a national obligation. PTK Chi Pi Officers, members and faculty encourage students to pledge to complete their degrees, for a brighter future. As partners of the National Community College Completion Initiative, PTK Chi Pi is dedicated to actively promoting the significance of completing an associate degree or certificate at GPC before transferring to a four-year institution.
“I think it’s important to graduate from GPC with an associate degree because if you can’t get your bachelors you will have something to rely on,” says Maria Ortiz, Vice President of PTK Chi Pi, Clarkston Campus. The University System of Georgia (USG) has also joined the national effort by establishing a complementary initiative entitled Complete College Georgia. The USG reports, “College completion is an imperative for a prosperous future in Georgia.” For more information or to join and sign the pledge email ptkchipi@gpc.edu Facebook.com/ ptkchipi Twitter.com/ptkchipi
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