The Student Government Association published its yearly mid-semester report on the 30th of September. An occasion for AUI students, staff, faculty, and executives to be updated on the progress of the SGA’s projects during this year’s mandate. A mandate “plagued” by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the university’s operations which made it difficult for the current team of SGA senators to execute their vision for this year. Despite the current situation, many achievements were reached in key areas related to student life and academics in addition to the important role that the SGA has played in helping the AUI administration navigate the pandemic.
This “in-depth” piece is not supposed to be a re-transcription of the SGA report, rather, it is an analysis of what has been achieved by the different committees and the executive board of the Student Government Association. Therefore, I recommend that you consult the report on SGA’s website in order to better understand the ideas shared in this article.
Major advancements in Student Life
Through the student life section of the report, the SGA shared many important milestones that were achieved in areas such as Dining, Health Services, and IT Services. According to the report, representatives raised questions regarding the cost structure of meals, the profit margins as well as diversifying the offerings at the university’s restaurants. The SGA also reached an agreement with Newrest in order to launch a budget meal for AUI students last March, but its implementation was delayed due to the pandemic.
Discussing costs and profit margins of restaurants at AUI is an important step towards improving the price-to-quality ratio of catering options at AUI as well as guaranteeing more transparency vis-à-vis students when it comes to where their money goes. While the pandemic might affect the extent by which changes can be implemented, the discussion about elements such as these signal the increased involvement of students in matters that are of utmost importance for them. While dining is just an example, the SGA’s role in channeling student perspectives, ideas, and complaints has also led to improvements in areas such as the Campus Store, Vans, and IT infrastructure this semester.
Another point to be raised is the focus of the current mandate to ensure the implementation of policies and structural changes that would allow students to enjoy a better quality of service. The new improvements in the way the health center operates or the new upgrades in IT infrastructure are testimonies of this new push for changes that affect students immediately.
On the other hand, it is important to state that policies and recommendations are effective as long as they are seriously considered and adopted. Considering the COVID-19 situation, the university switched to new methods of work and shifted its priorities towards managing the crisis and its effect on its respective departments. This exceptional situation made it hard for both departments and the SGA to follow up on key projects.
Academics: Some improvements but the credibility of student recommendations remains a major bottleneck
In comparison with Student Life, the SGA was not able to achieve a considerable impact on academic affairs, especially in the SSE and SBA schools. As reported by the Chronicle, new thematic areas were created for EMS and GE students, and other thematic areas will be launched in the next 2 to 3 years. For the SBA, a proposal to launch a new model of research-oriented capstones was submitted. The new model would allow interested students to be better equipped for a career in academic research. Finally, student representatives were able to implement a number of changes in the SHSS that were targeted at improving course rotation and offerings.
In addition to the aforementioned advancements, the SGA was able to digitize office hours, extend the list of accepted French certificates to include DELF/DALF, and work on the implementation of a student representation model at the level of SBA and SSE.
While these achievements are positive, it is important to note that many structural changes that are needed at the level of academic affairs were not addressed in the report. In a time where more emphasis is put on improving the campus experience of students at AUI, academic affairs also have to be considered as a priority especially when it comes to improving the quality of courses, their availability, their relevance to the current expectations of the job market, and ensuring an adequate mix between hard skills and soft skills in the curriculums.
“Concerning academic matters, there is a reluctance to acknowledge student perspectives and recommendations because of perceived inexperience and lack of formal expertise. Its implications range from difficulty in coordinating when implementing new processes to an inability to collaborate on any items due to repeated meeting postponements and unanswered inquiries.”
SGA mid-semester report 2020
The SGA addresses this issue in the “Challenges & Shortcomings” section of their report, citing both internal and external inefficiencies. Although it is understandable that student representatives might not have the full picture when it comes to enhancing academics, a larger debate about key issues in the different schools could contribute to improving qualitative aspects in all three schools.
Student Leadership Council: The structure is there, how about reform?
Since Fall 2019, an increased debate has been sparked about the state of Student Activities at AUI and the considerable deterioration of student engagement on our campus. The SGA alongside the SLC moved forward with a set of recommendations that were published in last year’s report about the state of student activities and engagement in AUI, one of which consisted of empowering the SLC as an independent entity that represents clubs and works actively on restructuring student activities at AUI and developing projects that can enhance engagement on our campus.
The Student Leadership Council led a number of projects in that sense, by reinventing the concept of the Clubs’ fair, establishing a digitization process for SAO deliverables, and updating the clubs’ operating guide. Although these projects are important to make life easier for clubs at AUI, a complete overhaul of student activities and the university’s vision to promote student engagement on campus has to be done. The SLC is composed of club leaders who are directly affected by the situation and can work hand-in-hand with the administration to set a framework by which procedures are simplified, student initiatives are encouraged and supported, accountability and transparency are insured as well as a common vision is set by students and the university for the future of student activities at AUI.
A key stakeholder in navigating the pandemic
The SGA worked with the administration since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that students are at the center of decisions, policies, and regulations that were enacted during the period. Through numerous proposals and meetings, SGA helped in determining the best course of action in matters such as Housing refunds, CIP hours, issues related to capstones and internships as well as the establishment of the famous Pass-or-Fail system for online courses last semester.
The SGA also honored a huge responsibility to communicate and answer students’ concerns by the publication of regular updates, the creation of a COVID-19 Help Desk, the broadcast of live updates, and the examination of more than 350 official complaints during last semester. The report also acknowledges how difficult it was to communicate about certain matters due to their sensitivity, the long duration of negotiations, the unresponsiveness of certain departments as well as the uncertainty imposed by the health crisis.
One important thing to note though is that the controversy sparked by the maintaining of common fees despite students not being on campus was not mentioned in the report. The SGA pushed twice for a reduction of common fees, as the student community expressed its outrage regarding the situation, with no results. This reminds us that some matters appear to be non-negotiable, especially when it comes to transparency in regard to financial matters at AUI.
What future for the SGA?
The Student Government Association relies heavily on two major things: The awareness and engagement of all students in our community and the sacrifice of senators’ time and energy (and perhaps, mental health). This model of student representation in our university is unique due to how closely students work with the administration and the different departments in order to ensure a better experience for AUIers.
To that extent, SGA is a reliable and crucial partner for the university’s administration, but also for students themselves. Consequently, our community has to be more engaged with important questions regarding the way to study, the way we live our lives on campus, and the way we want to see our university shine in the future. This level of engagement cannot be achieved if we do not succeed in developing a sense of identity and duty in our students. Running for the SGA should be considered by any student who is serious and confident that his or her input will help improving things at AUI (not because it would look nice on your CV). Voting for SGA senators should also be considered as an important duty, as students will choose the most competent, dedicated, and vision-driven representatives (not necessarily your friends) to move forward.
Finally, it is important for us to take a moment to thank all SGA representatives for their work and commitment to improving our university. Through their proposals, discussions, negotiations, and communication with students, they are striving every day to enhance different aspects of our lives at AUI. Ups and downs are part of that process, and while sometimes some may disagree with SGA on specific issues, it is our duty to engage with this model of student representation and constantly voice our concerns in order to improve it for future generations.
.الشكر
