North Dakota Student Association

This past weekend student leaders from 10 of the 11 North Dakota public Higher Education Institutions met at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks for this month’s North Dakota Student Association meeting.

Dr. Tom Petros, a Professor of Psychology and Chair of the University Senate at UND, spoke at this month’s meeting. Dr. Petros spoke mostly on the importance of being involved and facilitating the change you would like to see happen. He also covered the importance of using civil discourse when discussing issues facing the University System.

This North Dakota Student Association meeting generated discussion and action on many of the issues facing students in our University System. Alcohol and Substance Abuse was one of the main topics discussed in the Student Affairs Committee. Karin Walton and Lucas Miller from the State’s Alcohol Consortium attended the meeting to discuss topics and hear feedback and ideas from students on the issue. The topic of driving under the influence was discussed in depth, and almost all of the campuses in the state utilize a discounted cab program. Some student members believed a university operated Ride Safe program where students could get a free ride home would be more beneficial than the current systems in place.

The State and Legislative Affairs Committee covered the possibility of a North Dakota Student Retention Program. Three different incentives were discussed; the first being a North Dakota incentive program to keep high school students in the state. The second program discussed was a prepaid tuition programs, 17 states offer this and it allows families to lock in tuition rates. Lastly a Tax Incentive program was discussed, where if college graduates choose to stay and work in North Dakota they can earn a tax credit to help pay off loans. Another issue tackled by the State and Legislative Affairs Committee was the cost of online classes in North Dakota. It was decided that the North Dakota Student Association will not take a stance on this issue until more data could be gathered from other schools in our region.

The next North Dakota Student Association meeting will be held at Minot State University on November 16-17. For additional information about the North Dakota Student Association visit www.nodaksa.org

Legislators and student leaders from around the State gathered at North Dakota State University for the first North Dakota Student Association meeting of the 2007-2008 year.

One topic the North Dakota Student Association has been working hard on in the past is the issue of ConnectND, or as student know it PeopleSoft. Mick Pytlik, director of ConnectND, and Randall Thursby, Chief Information Officer of Connect ND were the keynote speakers, addressing updates and new features of the new and improved system. Mick Pytlik discussed upcoming testing with students over the next year to make sure that the newer version of the system is catering to the needs of the students. "I want the system to be like water and electricity at home, turn it on and you know it will be there."
Mick Pytlik was sure to point out that a lot of the upgrades,
and new staff at ConnectND would have not been possible without increased funding from the State Legislators this past year.

NDSA also passed three resolutions. SAC-01-0708 outlined what students would like to see happen with the drop date for NDUS institutions. The State Academic Affairs committee has discussed a universal drop date, which NDSA supports, as outlined in SAC-01-0708.

The second resolution, in FC- 01-0708, NDSA approved funding for a webmaster position for NDSA. This year, NDSA created a new website, www.nodaksa.org. The webmaster will be in charge of maintaining the website for the duration of the academic year.

NDSA President Haylee Cripe also made several appointments at the past NDSA meeting.
Rachelle Hadland, NDSU, was named as the acting ConnectND student representative until a permanent replacement can be named.
Cameron Battagler, VCSU, was appointed as the webmaster. Greg Heller has been appointed to the state committee discussing direct deposit for NDUS employees. Lucas Miller, UND, has been named to the North Dakota Higher Education Consortium for Substance Abuse Prevention.

President Haylee Cripe, UND, was selected to be the student representative on the NDUS CIO search committee.

NDSA will be holding its second meeting of the year on the UND campus on October 26 & 27. Elections for the 2007-2008 ConnectND representative will be held in addition to discussion in committees.

Welcome to the home of the North Dakota Student Association! NDSA is made up of representatives from all eleven institutions of Higher Education in North Dakota. Our focus is making sure that students are represented in all decisions affecting Higher Education. The accomplished Executive Team works diligently throughout the state on a variety of committees to make sure that students are always the primary focus in the North Dakota University System.

I encourage you to explore the website to learn more about NDSA and Higher Education issues in North Dakota. We will be updating the website frequently, so keep checking back for new information! Here’s a list of things to keep your eye out for:

• Updates on the State Board of Higher Education
• Updates on ConnectND
• Opportunities for prizes, just for checking out the website!
• School Reports from all eleven institutions

Thanks for stopping by!

Haylee Cripe
North Dakota Student Association President

We are excited to be working with the State Board of Higher Education and the North Dakota University System towards bettering higher education in North Dakota, especially during the upcoming legislative session. For more information on the State Board and other important organizations, please look at the Links page, and for more information on our legislative plans, please look at the Legislature page.