Maryland Higher Education Commission

Student Advisory Council

Financial Assistance Advisory Council

Faculty Advisory Council

Eyituoyo Ebigbeyi, who is serving this year as the Student Commissioner, was then introduced. And next each institutional member introduced themselves by name, school and major.

Mr. Ebigbeyi explained his responsibilities as the Student Commissioner. He represents student interests and issues statewide. Therefore, input from the Student Advisory Council is important as he serves as the liaison between the two entities. He suggested that SAC members take it upon themselves to ensure they are knowledgeable and well informed regarding future meeting topics and issues. Doing so will allow the Council to be productive and influential this year.

Dr. Blanshan next spoke with the members about the purpose, structure and governance of the Student Advisory Council. She distributed a copy of the Bylaws. Questions were then entertained about MHEC and SAC. Dr. Blanshan asked for volunteers to host the future SAC meetings, as the location is moved around the state to different campuses. This allows members to see other campuses and to share the driving distances more evenly. Tentative future meeting locations are as follows:

Frostburg State University on November 7, 2009

Harford Community College on January 30, 2010

Goucher College on March 27, 2010

Montgomery College (Germantown) on May 8, 2010

Next Dr. Blanshan announced an opening on the Financial Aid Advisory Council and asked for members to help identify nominees. One available position on FAAC, it is a 2 year term; meetings are on a WEEKDAY at 10am, someone not on MYAC or SAC. SAC members were asked to consider their campus peers for nomination and to submit a brief 2-3 sentence bio about the nominee including their name, academic major and institution, and GPA, by October 1st to Dr. Blanshan.

Following the lunch break, information was provided about the Maryland Youth Advisory Council and the MHEC Regina Lightfoot Student Service Award. Additionally, a planning timeline for the selection processes for next year’s Student Commissioner and this year’s Regina Lightfoot Student Service Award was distributed.

A round-robin discussion was next on the agenda in order to identify and speak about current issues on Maryland campuses. Issues raised included the following:
 

Tuition freezes/spikes are a major concern for most students

Retention rates:
     1) Agreements between institutions of higher learning and other organizations regarding credit transfer may
          facilitate student retention
     2) Difficult to gauge because of varying definitions

Parking lots on most campuses fill early in the day and stay full, making parking difficult
     1)Parking space and availability concerns and possible solutions:
                    a. Incentives for students to use public transportation such as free or reduced fees
                    b. Possible ‘block’ scheduling to create a specific time for students to be on campus in order to
                        maximize parking availability

Mr. Ebigbeyi concluded the open discussion, emphasized the importance of keeping current with agenda items and discussion topics, and explained ballot procedures for the election of the = 2009-2010 SAC officers. The secret ballots were collected and counted by Dr. Blanshan. The election results are as follows:

Christopher Craig, U. of Baltimore--Executive Chairperson

Sidiki Gassama, Frostburg State U.--Vice Chairperson

Eric Beauchamp, Montgomery College--Secretary

Justin Abodah, Hood College-- Four-Year Independent Institution Segment Chairperson

James Torrence, Towson U.-- Four-Year Public Institution Segment Chairperson

Antwonishea Hardy, Harford Community College--Two-Year College Segment Chairperson

The meeting adjourned at 2:15 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Eric Beauchamp, Secretary