Education funding first, report says
By Andres Cardenas
Daily Forty-Niner
Students want their Associated Students
Inc. fees to go to educational programs before going to any other A.S.I.-funded
program, while funding for cultural involvement got the least support,
according to the 1998-99 A.S.I. Treasurerís report released last week.
Of 14 possibly A.S.I.-funded programs,
educational programs received the highest student approval. About 85 percent
of students surveyed agreed A.S.I. fees should go these programs, which
fund a solar car project and travel expenses for student conferences.
The least supported program was ethnic
involvement, which about 55 percent of students did not vote in favor of.
This program would pay for programs put on by cultural organizations.
Last February, 4,000 surveys were randomly
mailed to Cal State Long Beach students. Only 13 percent responded to the
survey, which aimed to find where students prefer their $17 A.S.I. semester
fees spent.
In the survey, students were given a list
of 14 programs that A.S.I. fees might fund. The students picked which programs
they thought should receive A.S.I. money.
They had five possible responses for each
program: They could strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree
or offer no opinion on whether A.S.I. should fund the program. Percentages
given are for either an "agree or strongly agree" or "disagree or strongly
disagree" answer.
Dr. Susan Mulvaney of Testing and Evaluations
Services tabulated the results from all surveys.
Personal services -- which helps students
pay for child care, legal aid and health screening -- got the second highest
approval at about 77 percent.
Coming in third was programs for speakers
on current topics. Other programs that scored highly were for leadership
training and public service -- both receiving more than 70 percent approval.
Another program not received well was funding
for club operating expenses, which about 52 percent voted against. This
program would help student organizations pay for operating expenses such
as publishing newsletters and mailing out information.
Other programs not received well include
forums for controversial viewpoints, with about 52 percent voting against
it; student organization mixers with about 52 percent; and recreational
activities with about 49 percent against.
The profile of those surveyed was comparable
to the profile of CSULB. The only difference was that a much higher age
of people responded to the survey. The majority of people that responded
were older than 25. The median age of CSULB undergraduate students last
spring was 23.
"I feel that results are representative
of the student body as a whole," said Richard Haller, A.S.I. chief administrative
officer.
The results of the survey will be used
as a reference by the A.S.I. Board of Control when it plans out a budget
for next year's expenses.
If students don't like how their A.S.I.
money is being spent, Haller said, "They should get in contact with their
respective A.S. senator." |
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