SETTING A GOALS AND A VISION

Creating a plan for the future

Recognizing the need for proactive measures and immediate reprioritization of goals, the Fee Board will temporarily modify its ordinary operations for the next academic year and redirect its operations to the Fee Board 2025 Strategic Planning Committee.

The Strategic Planning Process is being charged by:

Andrea Dowhower, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs. She has collaborated with Barry Bram, Interim Senior Director of Special Projects and the UP Fee Board’s Administrative Liaison, and Najee Rodriguez, the 23-24 UP Fee Board Chair, to identify three objectives that will be the focus of the strategic planning.

The three of them will meet regularly to receive updates from an executive council, which will be responsible for making recommendations to her for approval. Executive leadership will be consulted if needed.

The strategic planning efforts are utilizing three guiding principles:

  • Financial Stability
  • Improved governances
  • Student engagement

Penn State Student Fee Board

SETTING GOALS AND VISION

Creating a plan for the future

The three main objectives have been jointly agreed upon by the Interim Vice President of Student Affairs, Andrea Dowhower; Barry Bram, the Interim Senior Director for Special Projects for Student Affairs; and Najee Rodriguez, the University Park Fee Board Chair.

OBJECTIVE 1: Achieving Financial Stability for the UP Student Fee
Implementing a budget model is crucial for the Fee Board, considering its significant role in supporting the lives of students and the substantial assets it manages, amounting to around $60 million. The revenue deficit, and the current strategic leveraging of the University Park Fee Board’s reserves, underscores the urgency to adopt a budget model to ensure responsible financial management and optimize the utilization of available resources.
OBJECTIVE 2: Transforming the Structure and Operations of the Student Fee Board
To align with Penn State’s commitment to innovation, the Committee will explore new approaches to enhance the Board’s structure and operations. This will entail streamlining processes and implementing reforms that elevate the efficiency and impact of the Fee Board, while identifying new ways to engage its members and increase involvement in holistic decision-making.
OBJECTIVE 3: Rethinking the Fee Board Steering Committee
The Committee will focus on centralizing the operations of the University Park and Commonwealth Fee Boards through the rethinking of the Fee Board Steering Committee. This will promote consistency, collaboration, and unified decision-making across all campuses.

TAKING ON THE CHARGE FOR CHANGE

For students, by students

In order to achieve the three outlined objectives, a series of task force groups will be lead by students and associated staff to ensure a representation of voices most impacted by the strategic planning efforts.

Executive Council

The Task Force Leadership Council will serve as a collaborative entity for the leads of the three task forces. The Task Force Leadership Council will centralize discussion and updates, while producing the final recommendations for the Penn State Fee Board’s strategic plan before its review by the Executive Council.

  • Co-Chairs:
    Najee Rodriguez (UPFB Chair)
    Barry Bram (Interim Senior Director for Special Projects, Student Affairs)
  • Membership:
    Zachery Albright (CFB Chair)
    Cierra Chandler (UPFB Vice Chair)
    Dan Murphy (CFB Administrative Liaison)
    Jennifer Saunders (UPFB Financial Liaison)
    Dallas Zebrowski (GPSA Member)

Task Force Leadership Council

The Task Force Leadership Council will serve as a collaborative entity for the leads of the three task forces. The Task Force Leadership Council will centralize discussion and updates, while producing the final recommendations for the Penn State Student Fee Board’s strategic plan before its review by the Executive Council.

  • Co-Chairs:
    Najee Rodriguez (UPFB Chair)
    Cierra Chandler (UPFB Vice-Chair)
    Zachery Albright (CFB Chair)

 

  • General Membership & Exective Council Members:
    Giselle Concepcion (UPFB UPUA Appointee)
    Fiona Healy (UPAC Chair and UPFB Non-Voting Member)
    Darcy Rameker (Interim Associate Vice President, Student Affairs)
UP Fee Budget Model Task Force
CHARGES
  • Consider models for the UPFB to allocate as much money as it anticipates collecting. Models should consider both raising the fee and cutting costs.
  • Analyze the reserve fund, determine an appropriate minimum balance in the fund, and determine appropriate use to offset costs until the annual fee income and expenses are balanced
  • Exploring a data-driven budget model that will enable clarity for students to understand the revenue that is generated and creating funding decisions that align with Fee Board values and objectives
  • Formalize a plan for ongoing contributions to the facilities reserve
  • Consider the efficacy of the special funds
  • Identify a process through which the Board can work with funding recipients to make sure that fee money is used appropriately and efficiently
  • Solicit feedback from the student governments and the Student Leaders Roundtable about the potential models
MEMBERSHIP
  • Leads:
    Fiona Healy, UPAC Chair
    Jennifer Saunders, UPFB Fnancial Liaison
  • Members:
    Cierra Chandler, UPFB Vice Chair
    Danil Kurtz, UPFB Budget and Planning Executive
    Megan Patt, UPFB Audit Executive
Student Fee Board Structural and Operational Modernization Task Force
CHARGES
  • Document the history of student fees and the fee board models, articulate the current role of the fee board, including what it means to be a funding board as opposed to an allocating board – incorporate into orientation and training materials for fee board members
  • Examine meeting frequency and the goals of meetings
  • Formalize a plan for new fee requests
  • Examine the committee structure
  • Explore incentives for member engagement
  • Improve participation in decision-making
  • Formalize a Vice-Chair role
  • Establish an internal operating budget, including student staffing
  • Recommend a plan for onboarding new members
MEMBERSHIP
  • Leads:
    Najee Rodriguez, UPFB Chair
    Darcy Rameker, Interim AVP, Student Affairs
  • Members:
    Brian Johnson, UPFB At-large member
    Lawrence Miller, GPSA President
    Nora O’Toole, UPUA President
Fee Board Steering Committee Enhancement Task Force
CHARGES
  • Explore further centralization, collaboration, and communication between the two respective Fee Boards
  • Determine whether the current composition is the most effective
  • Clarify the role of the Fee Board liaisons in setting agendas and meeting times
  • Discuss the ways that the Chairs of the respective Fee Boards are identified and removed if necessary
  • Define the out-of-class experience, provide the fee boards and the campus allocating boards with appropriate guidance to preserve the fee for its intended purpose
  • Develop new categorizations for funding with differing levels of priority based on developed budget model
  • Marketing and communications, including outreach, branding, and strategies
MEMBERSHIP
  • Leads:
    Giselle Concepcion, UPAC Vice President
    Dan Murphy, CFB Administrative Liaison
  • Members:
    Zachery Albright, CFB Chair
    Barry Bram, UPFB Administrative Liaison
    Elise DuFour, CCSG President
    Meeghan Hollis, Senior Associate Director, Residence Life
    Andrew Sciacca, UPFB Alternate Member
    Dallas Zebrowski, GPSA Member
Get involved with the Fee Board

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