In brief

October 19, 2009 by The Rebel Yell 

Petition for CSUN pay cut

Petition forms to cut student government senators’ pay will begin circulation Tuesday.

The forms, which will be located in the Student Union, free speech zones and the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, have been created by a group of student government officials who say they would like student funding to go to campus organizations and scholarships instead of to compensation for their jobs.

CSUN sources explained that student government leaders have put a plan in motion to cut student senators’ pay by 30 percent.

The plan, which will be titled “Put the Money Back in Students’ Hands,” will require volunteers to collect 5,000 student signatures on a petition calling for the pay cut to senators and executive members of the undergraduate student government.

The plan is expected to save close to $30,000 for each of the next several fiscal years.

Possible new credit charge
UNLV president Neal Smatresk will attempt to launch an initiative researching what factors cause high school students entering the university to fail to meet the expected academic standards.

Smatresk has proposed a $1 per credit hour surcharge on undergraduates to help fund a series of new measures to determine why some students who seem to be good candidates for UNLV do not perform well.

Implementing reading and mathematical skill tests for freshmen students is one way university administrators may choose to assess the skill sets of students.

Evaluations may help identify what skills a students lacks of show in which areas undergraduate students are less likely to perform well.

The possible surcharge and the new initiative will most likely be addressed during the December meeting of the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents.