(SSD)

Council Meeting

December 19th 2023 at 3pm PST

Zoom link: https://uvic.zoom.us/j/84389609125?pwd=alBnaTVUMGxRV0Z0UkllZUVRY2FIUT09

In attendance: Bella, Hannah, Adrean, Julia, Zackary, Rowan, AJ, Andrea, Marissa, Anika, Charles, Emma, Grace, Alexa, Faria

1.  Welcome – Call to order 3:02PM

2.  Acknowledgement of Territories – Chair offers territorial acknowledgment.

3.  Adoption of Agenda and Ratification of the Minutes – Zackary/Rowan

a.   Adoption of today’s (December 19th 2023) agenda

4.  Business

a.   Motions

1. 2023/12/19: 01 – AJ/Vanessa

WHEREAS the SSD strives to provide healthy snacks and easy meals on campus and for off-campus consumption as well to support students’ food security; and;

WHEREAS the demand for our space snacks has grown since more students are accessing our space and foodstuffs; therefore,

BIRT the SSD approves up to $1,250 for the 2024 Spring Semester for the purchase and delivery of space snacks.

Bella and Adrean motivate.

CARRIES

1. 2023/12/19: 02 – Andrea/Rowan

Hannah steps in as chair for this section.

 

WHEREAS the UVic Accessibility Committee has requested a representative and an alternate from the SSD to sit on their hybrid committee; and,

WHEREAS the SSD Council was approached and requested to sit on this committee if they were interested; therefore,

BIRT Julia Denley is selected as the SSD representative for the UVic Accessibility Committee for the 2024 session; and,

BIFRT AJ Wasserman is selected as the SSD alternate for the UVic Accessibility Committee for the 2024 session.

Julia motivates.

CARRIES

b.   Discussion

1. Council Training
   1. New council members are invited to training. Feedback about what people would like to learn to be effective in their roles is welcome.
2. Funding Request Policy
   1. We’re hoping to make this into a motion. On our website we currently have an application for funding requests. We’re looking to update the policy. It was last edited a few years ago. Some issues have been raised due to demand and the nature of funding requests. We may have to pause the program while the policy is under review, so over the winter break and likely through January. Bella has been working on a new policy and has ideas for what needs to be updated. Council feedback is welcome at this time.
      1. (Hannah) I’m feeling uncomfortable as there’s been some discussion about this but I haven’t been involved. This would normally fall under my purview as I typically handle finances. I would like to be more involved with updates to the policy.
      2. (Julia) Invites council members to e-mail the chair about concerns or changes they may wish to make about the policy.
      3. (Zackary) I’m uncomfortable with this as it requires pausing the program entirely during the start of the semester when students are most in need. Further, with more council members being involved in decision-making, It’s unlikely that this would be resolved within a month. I’m concerned for the students who would be affected by pausing the program.
      4. (Hannah) I’d like to add that beginning this week, staff are off. So we won’t be able to get to it until January. That gives us a very short timeline to edit and enact a new policy then relaunch the program.
      5. (AJ) I agree that the policy is outdated and needs to be updated. But I also think January is not the best time for a break as students may have emergent needs with the new term.
      6. (Marissa) To give more context, from what I understand, we have few funding requests on the table. If we were to do the update during reading break, historically, we would have a much larger backlog. Looking at what’s on the agenda, the timing of this decision was made in good conscience.
      7. (Bella) We could wait until Summer as we typically have fewer requests and more time for this project then.
      8. (Andrea) I can’t commit 100% to working on this right now as I have limited time. Editing may not take long but I’m not clear about what effort will be required for this proposal.
      9. (Hannah) We shouldn’t do this in September, as that’s when we receive the bulk of funding requests. But we do typically get another surge in January. We can’t say that we’ll have it done by a specific date so we don’t know that students’ needs will be met in time for the new term.
      10. (Vanessa) I was wondering, when we write policy – do we typically consult with students to decide. We may wish to make a feedback form for students to add what changes they’d like to see with the program. A conversation cafe and a survey seem like a good idea.
      11. (Julia) Yes, we may be able to undertake something like that in the Summer. If folks feel okay with keeping it the way it is until then, we can wait to update the policy.
      12. (Grace) Would students still be able to apply under the old policy while we make changes?
      13. (Bella) I’m assuming that if people apply under the old policy, we’d judge their request based on the criteria under which they applied. We could do a trial over the Summer. There may be crossover from the previous policy while we work under the new policy but it should be okay.
      14. (Julia) Staff typically consult directly with the applicants.
      15. (Adrean) Yes, this is typically dealt with directly by staff. Bella could work on this and we could bring the pilot to CAL and Allie (UVSS). The way it’s currently working is not good and we keep getting flagged by management.
      16. (Julia) This has been problematic and we risk losing the program by keeping it in its current form. We could work on it for a few months. A flowchart may help to give students clarity about the application process and alternative funding processes. We could consult with CAL and create a document. Currently staff have to chase down information for each individual case. We may also create a list of recommended equipment (that works and is cost effective).
      17. (Zackary) I didn’t have the context that the program might be shut down so that might change things. In terms of workload, we could ask the Treasurer to be more involved to help and also right now, staff are making recommendations about the funding requests, which hasn’t been done in the past so maybe that could save time by allowing council to make decisions without a staff recommendation.
      18. (Julia) Yes, that context may have been missed. It was brought up at previous meetings where some members of council were not present. It’s been suggested that we convert the program to a bursary program. It could be an ongoing conversation whether we transfer funding to UVic for such an award program. More discussions are required to go over the current program and make edits that will satisfy management and the university.
      19. (Hannah) We’re not imminently in danger of losing the program; although, this has been brought up as a problem for several months. Management were concerned that we were over capacity. That has not been a problem. Staff is largely taking care of funding requests. I’ve been away for a while but I’d be willing to step in and help with the process.
      20. (Julia) Transferring funds from the program to an award/bursary program means that we would lose oversight and that it would be managed by the university. Currently, council have access to the program but can’t be present during the vote. That may have to change.
      21. (Adrean) It is discouraged but not actively. There is concern that only USSD people (council) would have knowledge of the program and use it exclusively. I’ll be having more conversations about it with Allie.
      22. (Julia) I don’t want being on council to be a barrier to accessing support. Please reach out to us as we want this process to be transparent, equitable, and clear. We could form a committee of council members instead of staff to handle funding requests. This may be a significant time commitment to take on as the workload as it tends to require a lot of time and capacity.
      23. (Bella) We should work on something that works better for council. I think funding requests are always going to be a lot of work due to their nature as they require clear communication, documentation, and research.
      24. (Julia) We would still prefer to manage the program ourselves rather than handing it off to UVic so that we can better support disabled students.
      25. (Hannah) There would be concerns about confidentiality if we involve council members because the program involves reviewing medical documentation.
      26. (Julia) Maybe we could redact the information unless there are other security issues? Are there last thoughts for our next steps in keeping people informed about this process?

• Request for Student for Consultation
  1. Hannah motivates.
     1. We are currently accepting applicants for this role.
  2. Mission Statement

5.  In-Camera – Hannah/AJ

1. Funding Requests – AB
   1. AB – APPROVED

OUT OF CAMERA – Zackary/Andrea

6.  Adjournment & Party Time – 4:10PM

WHEREAS the Funding Request Program requires substantial policy amendments; therefore,

BIRT the SSD pauses the Funding Request Programs effective immediately, and;

BIFRT the Funding Request Program will be restarting February 2024.