King Hall Budget Policy Committee

Letter to Alumni Re-introducing the King Hall Budget Policy Committee

Posted By Rebecca Ferguson, Jun 17, 2014

Law Students Association Budget Policy Committee

June 17, 2014

Dear King Hall Alumni, 

We are writing to introduce a student group at King Hall that may particularly interesting to alumni.  The Budget Policy Committee (“BPC”) is a group of current students are elected or appointed from each class to represent students’ views on the financial integrity of King Hall.  The Law Student Association created the BPC in spring 2013 with the purpose of establishing a formal mechanism for King Hall students to obtain information about and have input on budgetary policy at King Hall. 

The LSA bylaws require the BPC to collect information on the total cost of attending King Hall and law school expenditures.  Specifically, the BPC has been working throughout the year to promote fiscal transparency at King Hall by meeting and working with the administration to (1) gather information about the law school budget, Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition (“PDST”) proposals, cost-realignment efforts, and, most recently, changes to the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (“LRAP”), (2) present that information to the King Hall community, and (3) advocate for student interests.  

The following highlights some of our efforts during the 2013-2014 academic year:

  • The BPC met with the administration to provide feedback on the Five-Year Plan, which was created to present a projection of the law school’s budget and policy goals to the Office of the Provost.
  • With Brett Burns, the Senior Assistant Dean of Administration, the BPC reviewed the law school’s operating budget to see where tuition money is spent and how costs can be reduced to accommodate the administration’s commitment to avoid tuition increases.  During this process, the BPC also surveyed students and shared the results with the administration. 
  • The BPC reviewed the University’s newly proposed PDST policy goals and implementation strategy documents, providing feedback about the level of student involvement in the setting of PDST fees. 
  • The National Jurist published a commentary by Bill Stanger, a BPC representative from the Class of 2014, and Dean Burns promoting the formation of student budget policy committees as an appropriate step in promoting collaborative and transparent budgeting in law schools. 
  • The administration is proposing significant changes to King Hall’s LRAP.  If approved, these changes would shift LRAP to a forgiveness-based model, relying on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and tying monthly payments to the income-based and pay as you earn repayment plans.  The BPC is currently working to with the administration to disseminate information to students and alumni to ensure the administration receives meaningful feedback before the LRAP committee considers the proposal.  

We hope that the BPC can be a resource for alumni interested in the financial state of King Hall.  We maintain a Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/kinghallbudget) and blog (kinghallbudget.blogspot.com) where we provide updates on our efforts.  

We also encourage you to reach out to the alumni board to have your opinions or concerns about these issues heard by the administration.  Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Regards,

Rebecca Ferguson
BPC Representative, Class of 2015

and 

Heather Cantua
BPC Founder and Alumni Liaison