SFAC Structure and Process

For Fall Quarter 2019, the University of California, San Diego Student Fee Advisory Committee (UCSD SFAC) gathers each Friday from 3 pm to 4 pm for meetings that are open to the public. The committee’s charge for the year is to act as the voice for students in determining the use of the Student Service Fee (SSF) on campus by garnering student input, needs, and priorities and negotiating it with committee members’ expertise.

Having moved away from an allocation model during the 2014–15 year, the committee now focuses on investigating particular SSF-funded units, based on student input, and provides recommendations to the Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Life (VC-SACL) regarding the needs and operations of these units. It also produces an annual report on general student priorities and the state of SSF-funded units on campus. The committee also aims to spread awareness throughout campus of the SSF and its use.

Objectives

Ensure that the uses of the SSF are in the best interests of the university and its students and are in compliance with existing policies and guidelines.
Advise SSF-funded units on ways programs might be improved to better serve students.
Seek input from and provide information to the campus community, especially students, regarding student services and the committee’s work.
Assess the contributions of student services to students' lives.

Structure & responsibilities

SFAC is a Regents-mandated committee. As such, the SFAC on every UC campus (including UC San Diego), must satisfy the following criteria:

Advisory to Chancellor or designee
Majority comprised of students
Work to maintain a strong relationship with student governments
Designate a representative to the Council on Student Fees
Shall be provided appropriate staﬀ support
May be funded by SSF revenue
Meet by the 4th week fall quarter, and no less than 3 times per quarter
Shall have purview over fees as speciﬁed by bylaws
Should opine on or oﬀer / decline endorsement of campus-based fee referenda
Should review student-fee-funded and non-student-fee-funded non-instructional / curricular student services within purview

Process

Fall Quarter: The committee’s work begins after a fall retreat. The quarter is utilized for members to familiarize themselves with the history of SFAC and the different SSF-funded units. The committee also holds a campus-wide town hall and educational campaign in order to begin the process of garnering student input. By negotiating student input with its newfound expertise, the committee then selects which of the SSF-funded units (or any other related bodies) that it will investigate in-depth for the year and divides into dyads to facilitate the process.

Winter Quarter: The dyads spend this quarter meeting with their units and reporting back to the committee on their findings and progress. During this quarter, the VC-SACL informs the committee of the nature of the budget process and how the committee will best be able to transform its work into tangible results. The committee provides, to the best of its ability, input to satisfy the VC-SACL’s request for its budgetary process.

Spring Quarter: The dyads complete their work with the units and report back to the committee with their findings. The leadership team then compiles this information, as well as other concerns, comments, and issues that it has encountered over the course of the year and produces a final report, which is discussed and confirmed by the committee as a whole.

Breakdown of specific members & their appointments

All members are appointed for 1-year terms, renewable annually with the consent of SFAC and the appointing body.

Position	Participants	Status	Appointment
Chair	1	Voting (in the case of ties)	The committee selects the chair by the end of Week 5, Spring Quarter of the previous year.
Vice-Chair	1	Voting	The committee selects the vice-chair by the end of Week 5, Spring Quarter of the previous year.
Undergraduate College Student Representative	6	Voting	Each undergraduate college student council appoints a representative by the end of Week 8, Spring Quarter of the previous year, who is then confirmed by the SFAC leadership team.
Associated Students Student Representative	1	Voting	The Associated Students appoints a representative by the end of Week 8, Spring Quarter of the previous year, who is then confirmed by the SFAC leadership team.
Graduate Student Association Representative	2	Voting	GSA appoints two representatives by the end of Week 8, Spring Quarter of the previous year, who is then confirmed by the SFAC leadership team.
Undergraduate College Provost	1	Voting	The Council of Provosts appoints one Provost before the start of the Fall Quarter.
Graduate Division Student Representative	1	Voting	The Dean of the Graduate Division appoints one representative before the start of the Fall Quarter.
Vice Chancellor Student Affairs and Campus Life Representative	1	Voting	The VC-SACL shall appoint a staff member before the start of the Fall Quarter.
Faculty Representative	1	Voting	Upon the recommendation of the Academic Senate, the VC-SACL shall appoint a faculty representative before the start of the Fall Quarter.
Vice Chancellor-Resource Management and Planning Representative	1	Voting	Chancellor or designee appoints a member from the Vice Chancellor-Resource Management and Planning budget office.
Budget consultant from the Vice Chancellor-Student Affairs and Campus Life staff	1	Non-voting	Selected by the VC-SACL to serve as a consultant to the committee.
Executive Secretary for Associate Vice Chancellor for Resource Administration	1	Non-voting	Selected by the VC-SACL to serve as the Executive Secretary for the committee.
Undergraduate College Shadows	Determined by their respective councils	Non-voting	Shadows are appointed as necessary, but no later than Week 8 of Fall Quarter, to learn the process of the committee and to gain more knowledge about the history of SFAC.