Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Kansas State U. student body president wraps up term, platform goals
By Adrianne DeWeese
Kansas State Collegian (Kansas State U.)
04/06/2006

(U-WIRE) MANHATTAN, Kan. — They got it done.

Contracted tuition rates. Restructured student service fees. Online teacher evaluations. Graduated student teacher workshops.

Student Body President and Vice President Michael Burns and Grant Groene, respectively, have accomplished all four prongs of their platform.

The pair will step down from office at Thursday's Student Senate turnover meeting, and Lucas and Katie Maddy will be sworn in as their successors.

Burns and Groene's first platform issue was developing a contracted tuition rate.

The Special Committee to Study Long-Term Tuition Strategies was formed by Senate in September to examine the current five-year tuition strategy and form a set of guidelines to use in considering future tuition strategies.

The tuition ad-hoc committee announced its final five-year tuition strategy proposal on March 15, and the committee recommended a predicted tuition rate for Fiscal Years 2008-12 after investigating a differential rate and a flat tuition rate model, Burns said.

The model would increase tuition during the five-year period by $15 per credit hour per year for resident and non-resident undergraduate and graduate students.

The committee also proposed the redistribution of college-specific fees, and it recommended that Kansas State University increase the per credit hour rate by $1.55 per year for three years for all colleges, according to the proposal.

For the remaining two years of the five-year tuition plan, a portion of the per credit hour increase would be allocated by university administrators for the colleges that currently do not have college-specific fees.

"Grant and I set out to give students the ability to predict what it would cost to get them higher education," Burns said. "Students won't pay the same per credit hour for four years, but they will have the ability to predict."

For the prong of their second platform, Burns and Groene announced the elimination of transcript, graduation and Career and Employment Services fees at Feb. 3's Senate meeting.

The $15 graduation fee is no longer in place, and the $8 transcript fee and $30 fee for certain Career and Employment Services will be eliminated as of July 1.

Burns said in-state tuition will increase by about 0.9 percent and out-of-state tuition will increase by 0.2 percent in FY 2007 to reconcile the elimination of fees.

Burns said the idea received immediate support from students and university administrators. The Special Committee to Study Long-Term Tuition Strategies voted unanimously for the proposal.

"The success behind that proposal was that student senators, students and key administrators really believed in the concept and understood how important student service was," Burns said.

Burns and Groene's third platform issue was implementing online teacher evaluations through the Wildcat Information Network. The evaluations will be on www.win.ksu.edu by April 10, Groene said.

"It took a little while longer than we had hoped for," Groene said. "We originally wanted them implemented at the start of the spring semester, but it took some time to get programming worked out so that students could access it at any time."

Burns said students will be allowed to access an evaluation only once per instructor per class. This is to ensure ratings are not altered or tainted, he said.

The pair's final campaign promise was to begin graduate student teacher workshops. Burns said he and Groene have submitted a pre-proposal for the workshops to the Office of the Provost.

One issue with implementing the workshops is offering additional compensation to students who attend, Burns said.

"The issue is that the funding doesn't become available until the next tuition plan," he said. "It is our hope that (the provost's office) will create a task force to implement the program and hopefully have it by fall 2007."

Burns and Groene's relationship dates back to their junior year of high school. The pair said they met at a state National FFA Organization conference for district officers in Manhattan.

"The following summer we went to another officer group for FFA, and over the next year-and-a-half we saw each other on a regular basis," said Groene, who is from Winfield, Kan. "We became great friends and were elected state officers in FFA prior to our freshman year of college."

Burns, who is from Jetmore, Kan., said he'd always considered the possibility of running for student body president.

"It was important for me to find someone I trusted and considered a good friend," Burns said. "It was an easy fit to consider Grant, since he has got all of those qualities."

Burns said he previously served as a College of Agriculture senator and Privilege Fee Committee chair in Student Governing Association.

While Groene said he served as president and rush chair of Delta Chi fraternity, this was his first year in student government.

"At first — to be honest — it was a little overwhelming," Groene said. "But the more I got to work with people, they were really supportive.

"It wasn't that difficult, but I think it could have been if I didn't have such a strong support structure around me."

Burns and Groene announced their bid for the presidency on Feb. 10, 2005. They defeated Tyson Moore and Matt Wagner on March 9, 2005, with 3,228 votes.

Burns and Groene were sworn into office on April 14, 2005, and Moore was elected as Senate chair on April 21, 2005.

At the time of their presidential candidacy, Burns said he and Groene felt they were the best two candidates to serve as student body president and vice president.

"During that time, we both talked about the way we saw K-State, and we worked together as a team," Burns said. "I think the relationship the three of us (Moore, Groene and Burns) have had is what K-State is all about — it's working together to make this university a better place."

Moore said Burns and Groene have served as leaders for students and their rights.

"Their passion for K-State has absolutely amazed me," said Moore, who also served on the tuition ad-hoc committee. "They've worked incredibly long hours at meetings, (Office of Student Activities and Services) and writing reports."

Bob Krause, vice president for institutional advancement, said Burns and Groene were one of the best presidential pairs in recent times. Krause worked with the pair in the elimination of transcript, graduation and CES fees.

"Grant and Michael have really accomplished all the goals they set out to," Krause said. "In the previous years working with students in that position, I'd really have to put them at the top.

"They have served the student body well, and people owe them a bit of gratitude."

Gayle Spencer, assistant dean of student life, also said Burns and Groene are one of the best president and vice president pairs she has worked with in her career.

"It's been nothing but wonderful," said Spencer, who is also the coordinator of student activities. "They were both very responsible and followed through on everything they were supposed to."

In addition to serving the K-State student body, Burns also met several world leaders during his term.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave a Landon Lecture on Oct. 28, 2005, and President George W. Bush gave a Landon Lecture on Jan. 23.

Burns, who served on the platform panel for the lectures, said he did not know the student body president would get to meet these leaders when they came to K-State.

"It was a tremendous honor to represent the student body and welcome those leaders," Burns said. "Meeting Gorbachev and Bush are two memories that I will hold forever in my mind as a piece of this experience."

Both Burns and Groene have K-State on their minds for the future. Burns said he will graduate in May with a degree in agricultural economics and plans to attend graduate school in the fall at K-State.

Groene said he will graduate in December with a degree in agronomy and also is looking to attend graduate school at K-State.

"In a way, it's kind of bittersweet, but we set out to get everything done," Groene said. "I'm ready to relax and look ahead and focus on some other things."

Burns said he has mixed emotions about his term ending.

"I walk away knowing student government is in the best place it's been in many years," Burns said. "I am going to miss the people - from administration to Student Senate interns.

"Everyone works so hard to make K-State a better place, and I am definitely going to miss being a part of that."

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