Dear Editor,
We read with great interest the article in the Horizon Magazine published in Spring 2024 entitled “ASWCC 24-25 Budget Proposal Passes Despite Controversy.” The author shared a perspective from the meetings which they attended and the information that they had available to them, and we are writing a response to help students understand information about the budgeting process that might be better understood with additional resources and more relevant facts.
The recent “controversy” that was written about in the Horizon article is in reference to an ongoing conversation between the ASWCC student government and the WCC administration about the appropriate funding source for tutoring on our campus. This conversation is happening at many of the Community and Technical Colleges across Washington State, and several Associated Student Governments have found that they need to lessen or eliminate tutoring from their funding allocation in order to maintain the needs of the Associated Student organizations.
The tutoring services provided by the Learning Center on our campus which provides math, science, writing tutoring, as well as some other select subjects, have 2 distinct funding sources: WCC Operational funding allocated by the college administration, and a small portion of Services and Activities (S&A) Fees funding, which is managed by the Associated Students of Whatcom Community College (ASWCC) Executive Board with the support of the Director for Student Life and Development. The Learning Center is located inside of the Learning Commons, which also houses the library and the helpdesk, classrooms, study rooms, the media center and the maker space, and all of the computer work stations, seating and gathering spaces. The S&A Budget allocation that has been provided only provides partial funding for some student tutor wages in the Learning Center. The Learning Center also receives WCC operational funding for student tutor wages, non-student tutor wages, and professional staff from the college administration. The S&A Budget allocations do not fund the Learning Common’s holistic operations, only a portion of the student tutors’ wages.
We want to make sure that students know that they can attend ASWCC student government and committee meetings throughout the year to stay informed about the business of the ASWCC, and that there is always an opportunity for public comment. The ASWCC Executive Board and Senate meetings, as well as the S&A fee budget committee meetings adhere to the Open Public Meeting Act (OPMA RCW 42.30.010) by publicly posting the meeting schedule on bulletin boards across campus and on the student government webpage. This quarter, student government meetings were also advertised on bathroom stall doors across campus. Due to the ongoing discussion regarding tutoring funding and a desire to engage many students in the coversation, we also posted extra flyers all around the Learning Center and the Learning Commons as we started the S&A fee budget process this year specific to S&A committee meetings.
Through the process, it was clear that there would not be enough money to fully fund many of the requests. Requests totaled $1,127,000, while the amount that the committee was able to allocate was an estimate of $902,700. This led to many challenging conversations for the committee as they decided what 2024-25 S&A fee allocations would be made. The recommended budget that the S&A committee decided to take to the student government allocated funds to the Learning Center at a 10% reduction to the Tutoring Center budget line from last year which was in the amount of $7,000. You can find the rationale for this decision outlined in the 2024-2025 S&A Budget Book. Historical information about ASWCC budgets are kept on file in the Office of Student Life and Development, and will be made available to any student upon request.
Numerous budget lines experienced funding reductions due to the limited S&A Budget. The article states that the OSLD got almost every funding request granted at 100%, but that is not accurate. Office of Student Life and Development has been conflated with the ASWCC Student Government, but these are separate budget lines with different functions. With approval from the WCC Board of Trustees, the ASWCC Bylaws had been revised to incorporate two additional ASWCC Executive Board members.
This took the board from six student leaders to eight – still a very small team in relation to many other student organizations. This decision was made after years of discussion through the ASWCC Bylaws review committee that more board members are necessary for the student government to complete the budgeting process and all of the other business required of the ASWCC government. This Executive Board oversees the entire ASWCC organization and their work allows student clubs and organizations to function. Meanwhile, the Office of Student Life and Development experienced numerous funding reductions with a reduction to the professional Coordinator position of 30% ($14,523), reduction of student engagement team members of 30% ($11,710), as well as reductions in training and events and activities budgets. The only increase in the OSLD budget was for Orca Food Pantry student staff.
As outlined in RCW 28B.15.041 and the ASWCC Financial Guidelines, the S&A fee budget is developed by the S&A Fee Budget Committee, comprised of students and WCC staff, and is ultimately approved by the ASWCC Executive Board and WCC Board of Trustees. The Financial Guidelines can be found on the ASWCC Student Government Webpage. When considering how to allocate S&A funds according to their purpose and priority, the committee utilizes the Guidelines on the Use of S&A Fees. The ongoing implication that meetings were held in secret, or without public knowledge, is incorrect. Meeting agendas are publicly posted in compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act and notices regarding student government meetings can be found on the student government webpage: ASWCC Student Government | Whatcom Community College
Senate and Executive Board meetings occur on alternating Mondays, and S&A Budget Committee meetings this quarter were held on Fridays at 3 p.m., agendas were posted in advance on the webpage, minutes were taken and posted, and meetings were attended by many students.
For any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Student Life and Development at studentlife@whatcom.edu.
Thank you,
Alaina Hirsch, On behalf of the 2023-24 ASWCC Executive Board
