ASMSU discusses cost of implementing preferred name policy

By Rachel Jackson | Originally Published: 11/10/11 9:28pm | No comments

ASMSU representatives reviewed policies in progress and brainstormed more issues to bring to the student agenda at ASMSU’s biweekly committee meetings Thursday night in Student Services.

After ASMSU passed a bill advocating the creation of a preferred name policy last week, ASMSU Associate Provost Emily Bank said she has met with the Office of the Registrar to discuss how to implement the changes to the student database.

Bank said the Office of the Registrar is supportive of the policy but acknowledged the updates that would have to be made to the current technological system for it to be implemented fully.

The current system dates back to the early 1990s and would require an update of several thousand dollars to implement the preferred name policy, Bank said.

The other option to implement the policy is to wait several years until the entire registrar system is updated when policy could be implemented at a lower cost, she said.

One reason ASMSU is advocating for the policy is to ensure LBGT students would not be outed for having a different name than their biological sex suggests, Bank said. Several representatives raised points that the safety and security of students should take precedence over the cost of implementing a new system.

College of Engineering representative Jasper Priest said the policy should be implemented if the total cost is anything less than $50,000.

“I wouldn’t even question it before then,” he said. “Money shouldn’t be an issue.”

ASMSU Provost Zach Taylor also discussed how different colleges assign credits to internships. He said some departments require students to pay for internship credit while offering little to no classroom instruction.

Taylor said credits are assigned based on how much time is spent with a professor and paying for external internships sometimes cost students more money than there is credit value.

For instance, in 1979, one credit hour at MSU cost $24.50, whereas in 2011 it costs $406.75. Taylor said the rising tuition costs cause some internships for academic credit to be more costly than others.

Academic Assembly representatives also brainstormed a list of concerns they have to discuss in future meetings with ASMSU and the university.

Racial tension and diversity was a leading topic among representatives, who proposed ways to integrate residence halls and create a zero-tolerance discrimination policy for the university.

Taylor said he will use the representatives’ suggestions for further issues to address.