Policy in Practice

SB-68-144: This Act clarifies and edits language in the SGA bylaws for consistency and accuracy. It amends the Association’s bylaw language regarding agencies, the hazing policy, the Finance Commission membership with title changes, the scholarship non-discrimination clause, the Student Fee Educational Opportunity Fund special expenses definition, and cases the SGA Supreme Court hears. It had its first reading on January 28th and was referred to the Government Oversight Committee, where the committee made an amendment where the Student Bill of Rights no longer requires Faculty Senate approval to be enacted. With the amendment, the Government Oversight Committee recommended that the legislation be approved. This Act was passed by the Senate on February 25, 2026.

 

AR-68-007: This Resolution encourages that the Office of the Registrar to update the registration page to include clear and highly visible designation of course length with the statement of an 8-week or 16-week duration, under the start and end date within Instructor/Meeting Times section. The first reading of the Resolution was on January 28th, and it was referred to the Academic Affairs Committee, where the committee recommended that the legislation be approved after making an amendment to include examples of statements that they would like to see in the course length changes. This Resolution went before the Senate on February 25, 2026, where the Senate made amendments to include a photo of the current registration page and added individuals that the resolution will be sent to. This Resolution was passed by the Senate on February 25, 2026.

AR-68-009: This Resolution recommends that the Student Engagement and Belonging Office to amend the RSO Handbook. Some recommended amendments were to add the funding tier systems for RSOs and add a RSO Support Services Article that lists the departments that RSOs can contact for assistance. The first reading of the Resolution was on February 11th, and it was referred to the Government Oversight Committee, where the committee recommended that it be approved. This Act was passed by the Senate on February 25, 2026.

AR-68-010: This Resolution urges the University to become a participating school with NCEES to celebrate students’ hard work and to have a point-of-contact within the university to maintainthe processes as required by NCEES and communicate how many honor cords are needed for each graduation ceremony. The first reading of the Resolution was on February 11th, and it was referred to the Academic Affairs Committee, where the committee recommended that it be approved. This Resolution was passed by the Senate on February 25, 2026.

SB-68-149: This Act amends the language within the SGA bylaws regarding the Child Development Center Advisory Board. It restructures the membership of the advisory board and establishes a board finance sub-committee that reviews and approves the annual budget and budget request to SGA. The first read of the Act was on February 25th, and it was referred to the Diversity, Empowerment, and Inclusion Committee, where the committee made amendments that further adjusted the committee membership to include more student representation. With the amendments, the committee recommended that the legislation be approved. This Resolution will go before the Senate for its second read on March 11, 2026.

SB-68-152: This Act amends the language within the SGA bylaws regarding the SGA & Sigma Lambda Beta Dreamer Scholarship. The amended language expands the scope of the scholarship to “members of the Association who exhibit financial need at Wichita State University.” The first reading of the Act was on February 25th, and it was referred to the Government Oversight Committee, where the committee recommended that it be approved. This Act will go before the Senate for its second read on March 11, 2026.

 

AR-68-008: This Resolution aims to improve voter turnout by urging the University to cancel or remotely conduct classes on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which is the national election day. The first reading of this Resolution was February 4th, 2026, and it was referred to the Government Oversight Committee, where the committee made an amendment to remove collaboration with a couple of organizations, and from there, the committee recommended that the legislation be failed in Senate. The Act went before the Senate on March 4, 2026, where the legislation was tabled indefinitely by the Senate.

AR-68-011: This Resolution urges the University to improve the visibility and accessibility of Student Health Services by adding a clearly labeled Student Health header under the Home, Student Tools section of myWSU. Additionally, it recommends that the Student Health section include a centralized and clearly organized list of commonly used resources, including but not limited to the Tuberculosis (TB) Screening survey, the myShockerhealth portal link, and the after-Hours Medical Care and Emergencies link. The first reading of the Act was on February 11th, and it was referred to the Student Services Committee, where the committee recommended that it be approved. This Act was passed by the Senate on March 4, 2026.

SB-68-145: This Act amends the language within the SGA bylaws regarding Individual Funding Regulations. These changes adjust local transportation regulations and restrictions. The first reading of the Act was on February 11th, and it was referred to the Government Oversight Committee, where the committee made an amendment to change “local” transportation to “onsite” transportation within the legislation, and that transportation expenditures are not limited to one mode of transportation. This Act was passed by the Senate on March 4, 2026.

AR-68-012: This Resolution urges the University to officially recognize the emancipation days, independence days, republic days, and constitution days of the countries of the students of which are served by the University. Additionally, it urges the University to recognize other cultural months such as Caribbean American Heritage month, Italian American Month, etc. and torecognize these days via calendar recognition, social media posts, or exemptions from classes.The first reading of the Act was on February 11th, and it was referred to the Diversity, Empowerment, and Inclusion Committee, where the committee made an amendment to clarify that the days would be recognized through the Student Affairs calendar and social media posts. With the amendments, the committee recommended that the legislation be approved. This Resolution was passed by the Senate on March 4, 2026.

SB-68-153: This Act adds language to the SGA bylaws establishing a framework for Joint Standing Senate Committee meetings. The first reading of the Act was on March 4th, and it was referred to the Government Oversight Committee, where the committee will review the legislation on March 11, 2026. This Act will go before the Senate for its second read on March 25, 2026.

AR-68-014: This Resolution urges the Faculty Senate in collaboration in conjunction with the Office of the Registrar and relevant academic leadership to formally review the feasibility of implementing an A+ grade designation within the University grading system. The resolution urges that, if adopted, the A+ designation maintain a cumulative grade point average cap of 4.00 in accordance with institutional data integrity standards and Registrar guidance. The Resolution also affirms that any consideration of an A+ designation should preserve faculty discretion in determining grading thresholds and should not impose a university-wide percentage grading scale. The Resolution requests that implementation, if approved, occur in a future academic term following appropriate system preparation and communication to students and faculty. The first reading of the Act was on March 4, 2026, and this Act will go before the Senate for its second read on March 11, 2026.

The following legislation has been signed and filed as Law: AR-68-007, AR-68-009, AR-68-010, AR-68-013, SB-68-142, SB-68-144, SB-68-147, SB-68-148, SB-68-150, SB-68-151.

The Government Oversight Committee meets in Smoky Hills Room, RSC 258.

The Government Oversight Committee continues its work to review, strengthen, and clarify the governing policies that guide the Student Government Association. The Government Oversight Committee remains committed to ensuring transparency, consistency, and structural support across SGA. If you have any questions, please contact Chairperson Tiwana at sga.govoversight@wichita.edu.

Over the past two weeks, the committee has prepared for several legislative items that are scheduled for the committee read:

• The committee recommended rejecting AR-68-008, a resolution proposing a university holiday on election days to increase voter turnout. After discussion, the committee determined that a full day off was not a viable solution, as polling stations are typically open both before and after regular class hours.
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• The committee recommended approving SB-68-145, which amends the Individual Funding guidelines to allow limited funding for local transportation costs related to conference participation. The committee made several clarifying amendments to better define transportation expenses at or near the conference location and avoid confusion regardinglocal travel.
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• The committee has also submitted legislation to add language to the SGA Bylaws establishing a framework for joint committee meetings. This proposal aims to clarify expectations for meeting procedures when multiple committees convene together, as such language does not currently exist in the bylaws. The bill was presented for its first read in Senate on March 4, 2026.

The Student Services Committee meets in the Meeker Room, RSC 238.

If any students have thoughts or concerns regarding services on campus, please do not hesitate to reach out to Chairperson Hansen at sga.studentservices@wichita.edu.

• The Student Services Committee hosted Wichita State Parking Services and the University Police Department during the committee on February 18th for a presentation and Q&A.
• Senator Argumedo and Chairperson Hansen met with Health and Wellness Director Rajufor feedback and next steps on the Lyft Medical Rideshare initiative.
• Senator Argumedo has begun drafting the initial legislation, while he and Chairperson Hansen schedule more meetings.
• Senator Miller is analyzing the data from his undergraduate research support initiative alongside Dr. Michael Birzer.
• Senator Tims is finalizing her legislation for an Inclement Winter Weather resolution.
• Senator Winslow, Senator Short, and Chairperson Hansen met with the University Police Department on March 6th to start brainstorming the mission statement and makeup of a potential Police Advisory Board.

The Diversity, Empowerment, and Inclusion Committee meets in Lancelot Room, RSC 203.

If you have any questions, please contact Chairperson Peng at sga.diversity@wichita.edu.

The Diversity, Empowerment, and Inclusion Committee has been working on weekly goals that the senators wish to complete either during this Session, or if they decide to rerun their senate positions for the next Session. In March 4th committee meeting, the committee reviewed the CDC Advisory Board Bylaw Amendments in SB-68-149, and the previous week, the committee passed the International Holiday Resolution, which the Senate approved on March 4, 2026 meeting. Along with weekly goals, the committee is also discussing potential questions to ask the University Police Department, Parking Services, and the ADA director from their previous visits to the committee to see if potential legislation can be written.

The Academic Affairs Committees meets in Mayfield Room, RSC 240.

If you have any questions, please contact Chairperson Kasirosafar at sga.academics@wichita.edu.

The Academic Affairs Committee has received responses from the Office of the Registrar regarding the proposed plus and minus grading scale legislation. Their feedback addressed several important questions about how the grading scale would appear on official transcripts and how it would be reported to other institutions.

The committee is currently reviewing the Registrar’s responses and incorporating this information into the updated proposal, and the committee presented these findings and the revised legislation to the Student Senate for discussion and consideration. This presentation alsoincluded answers to common questions and clarifications provided by the Registrar’s Office.