The WCU Board of Trustees passed a multitude of proposals at their meeting this past Thursday, including consideration for two new academic programs and price increases for five different student services.
At their second meeting of the year, the board unanimously voted to approve the doctor of public administration program and the Master of Science in applied and computational mathematics program for the university. The proposals will now move on to the Board of Governors of the State System of Higher Education for final approval.
The council also unanimously voted on price increases for meal plans, parking and transportation, the recreation center, health center, and Sykes Student Union. The food service raise is in response to Aramark raising their service rates by 2.99%, and the recreation center raise is the result of a state mandated fee for new buildings that goes towards a fund for when the building needs to be demolished. These fee increases are set to go into effect this fall semester. Along with this, the council unanimously voted to approve the five-year capital budget proposed by the university, which will now be submitted to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
Also unanimously passed was the implementation of a one-time optional fee for graduates to obtain a certified electronic diploma. Once the fee of $8.95 is paid, graduates will have access to an official diploma in electronic format to use however they please.
The position of vice president of information services, which was left vacant after the retirement of Adel Barimani at the end of February, has been filled by JT Singh, who was the software specialist here at WCU. Singh was overjoyed to receive the position.
“It’s been a long, long day,” he said, “but I’m so very happy.” When asked what it took to get to this point in his career, he said “I’m actually a West Chester alumnus. I’m the perfect example of ‘teach them, grow them, and hire them.’ I am very proud to be here.”
Dylan Messerschmidt is a third-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at DM837837@wcupa.edu.