Invitation Letter

October 1, 2008

Dear Social Sciences Majors,

As you know, all students at Cal Poly are assessed an amount of money each year called College Based Fees. This money goes into an account to be used by each department to ensure that students get the courses and instruction they need to complete their degrees.  As this money is collected from you, students have a say in how it is allocated.  Each year we ask students to volunteer to be on a committee to identify those courses that are difficult to get or otherwise need to be made more available.  CBF money can then be used to reserve seats in those classes, or add additional sections. In addition to course selection, the committee can recommend that money from this fund be used in other ways to enhance teaching and student preparation for the job market or graduate school – for example, through equipment purchases, field trips, assistantships, and research support. 

To handle this important task, we have created a procedure (see attached) and are now looking for students who are willing to donate their time to meet and make the necessary decisions.  Therefore, I am sending this letter to all current majors asking them to volunteer to be on this committee.  In order to best serve all of our students, the committee needs members at all class levels and from a wide variety of curricular concentrations.  The committee does not need to be large, but it does need to be representative of the department.

The students who volunteer will meet with the Dept. Chair and faculty advisors in the Spring to identify the courses that need to be supported and the activities and purchases to which funding should be allocated.  In addition, the committee will be asked to meet several times throughout the year, when funding changes or new decisions must be made.

The first CBF  meeting for the 2008-2009 Academic year will be held next Tuesday, October 7, from 11:10-12:00 in Building 10 Room 221. We will be establishing the committee for the year at this meeting so if you are interested in serving, please attend. If you’d like more information please contact me, Dr. Rucas, or Dr. Bohr.

Best,

Terry Jones, Chair
Department of Social Sciences