Members of Student Association discussed student concerns relating to increasing tuition costs and financial aid at Monday night’s meeting.

“One of the most common complaints is that student tuition is going up and they don’t know why,” said SA President Jon Barnhart.

Barnhart spoke to the assembly about the correlation between an increasing number of students and a greater need for financial aid. The assembly also passed a resolution supporting the creation of an Asian and Asian American Studies program, which will be presented to University Senate on Wednesday.

For the fiscal year 2011, undergraduate tuition will increase by 4 percent, the smallest increase in 44 years. Barnhart said many students do not know how to go about getting financial aid to cover tuition costs. Individual students and specific student groups have brought forth concerns regarding financial aid and tuition to SA, he said.

SA and Students for a Democratic Society, a group that has actively protested tuition increases, will be working together to create a tuition packet to inform students and answer questions about where tuition money is going.

“It’s an idea on the table that we’re moving to action,” Barnhart said.

There is no set time for when the tuition packet would be made available.

Barnhart has spoken with presidents of other universities’ students governments to see how they handle tuition concerns at their respective schools, in order to see what best suits SU. SDS and the administration have also tried to find ways to better inform students about their tuition.

Barnhart said he is “trying to put them together to find out what’s the best way to communicate where tuition goes.”

Although SA does not have any control over tuition costs, members can express their ideas on how to lower costs to the administration. Continuing the practice of eco-friendly habits was among the ideas on how to save the university money and potentially lower tuition.

SA also passed a resolution supporting a minor in Asian and Asian American Studies. Students have been trying to enact the program since 1997. The resolution will be presented to University Senate on Wednesday for approval.

Although SA passed the resolution, there is still concern surrounding the program.

Ran Li, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences who presented background information on the program to the assembly, said the next step is for the administration to begin a faculty search for next year. As of right now there are no full-time Asian and Asian American Studies faculty members. The current interim chair is Prema Kurien, but she might not be here next year, he said.

“This bill has been on the table for quite some time now,” Barnhart said. “In meeting with the chancellor’s cabinet, it seems that support for this is overwhelming.”

Published on March 22, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Laurence: lgleveil@syr.edu | @lgleveille