What is the Student Affairs Fee Advisory Board’s purpose?
The Student Affairs Fee Advisory Board (SAFAB) is primarily responsible for reviewing budgetary requests for Student Affairs departments. Those requests that are approved by SAFAB are later sent to compete for University Advancement Fee monies. The Board is also responsible for reviewing requests to increase the Student Health Center Fee, Recreational Sports Fee and University Center Fee and providing recommendations to the Vice President for Student Affairs.
Can I attend or address a SAFAB meeting?
Yes! Meetings are open to the public and take place in the Koldus 110 Conference Room, on Wednesday evenings. See the homepage for updated information. If you would like to present written/oral testimony to the Board, please contact the SAFAB chair with a written outline of your testimony no later than 48 hours prior to the meeting in which you would like to present.
Who can serve on the Student Affairs Fee Advisory Board?
Any Texas A&M University undergraduate or graduate student who is currently enrolled for not less than six (6) semester hours, is in good standing with the University and has a minimum GPR of 2.0 (undergraduate) or 3.0 (graduate). SAFAB members serve either one- or two-year terms. Applicants for the Board must be currently enrolled at Texas A&M University.
How are members selected to the Student Affairs Fee Advisory Board?
Applications are solicited in early spring. Selected applicants are then offered interviews conducted by the SAFAB Chair, Student Body President, Graduate & Professional Student Government President, and Speaker of the Senate. The review panel then recommends its new appointments, 4 to be approved by the President of Texas A&M University, and 5 to be approved by Student Senate.
How is the Chair for SAFAB selected?
Returning Board members can apply for this position in early January. A committee consisting of the Student Body President, the President of the Graduate & Professional Student Government, Speaker of the Student Senate, the outgoing SAFAB Chair and a representative from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs reviews applications and conducts interviews to select a chairperson.
How does SAFAB arrive at its recommendations?
Each department makes an annual presentation to SAFAB, detailing any requests for additional funding. The members of SAFAB discuss each line item of each budget at length to decide if the requests will benefit students at a reasonable cost. After each request is thoroughly discussed, members vote in favor of or against it; all requests receiving a majority vote are approved. Once this process is completed, the recommended requests are sent to the Vice President for Student Affairs.
What happens after SAFAB makes its recommendations to the Vice President for Student Affairs?
The image below outlines the fee increase approval process after SAFAB makes its final recommendations. We’re happy to say that the students’ recommendations have usually been upheld in the past years.
