BY CORIE LYNN
Last Thursday, Fort Hays State University’s Student Government Association read a resolution supporting the addition of a student seat to the Kansas Board of Regents.
This resolution, which was presented to the student governments at each KBOR institution, does not guarantee the addition of a student seat. Should the resolution pass each student government, it states the KBOR students support the idea of a student seat.
“This is in the process of being introduced to the Kansas House of Representatives,” FHSU Student Body President Haley Reiter said. “This was brought before the Student Advisory Council, which is made up of the student body presidents of all KBOR institutions, in late January.”
According to Reiter, this proposal came from the University of Kansas Student Senate. The SAC has had similar proposals before, but never has the student seat been added.
The SAC, though, hopes that the addition of a student seat in KBOR would increase student representation.
“Other states have found a great amount of success with similar student regent positions. I also think that it is important that students are more involved with discussions about Kansas Higher Education,” Reiter said.
For this reason, Reiter moved forward with the resolution at FHSU. Though the resolution itself does not establish the student seat, she says it will help start the conversation around the topic and identify areas of concern.
With the idea of a student seat still in its early stages, the SAC has no plan to present it to KBOR. To do so, the institutions must first agree to an outlined proposal.
Once the idea is brought forward, the seat could only be created with the approval of KBOR then through the Kansas House of Representatives and Senate both passing the bill.
There is a long way to go in the creation of a KBOR student seat, but Reiter hopes the addition would allow students to better connect with the governing body.
For now, however, there is no change within KBOR.
“If this position becomes a reality, then one student from KBOR universities would be nominated and confirmed to represent all students,” Reiter said.