RESOLUTION 14-05
Summary
This resolution introduces a change to the current membership requirement of Student
Government Association members. The current Student Government Association membership
requirement (both for entrance and continual membership) is that students within the Student
Government Association maintain a 2.25 GPA on a 4.0 scale. We hope to encourage SGA
members to consider a higher GPA requirement, namely a 2.5 GPA. A higher GPA requirement
is likely to encourage a more academically-sound group of students, and will challenge current
SGA members to raise their grades and focus more on school, which should take precedence
over collegiate extra-curricular activities. Moreover, students with financial aid lose their
financial aid when their GPAs drop below a 2.0, which is quite close to our required membership
GPA. We have come together to change this GPA requirement because we believe that a student
in Student Government should not only have strong leadership qualities, but also be in strong
academic standing in order to maintain success within our association.
Research
The following universities, which maintain comparable SGAs to our own, require a
higher GPA (on a 4.0 scale) of their members.
1.
Eastern Kentucky University
www.sga.eku.edu
2.
Bowling Green State University
www.bgsu/offices/sa/studentgovernment
3.
University of Cincinnati
sites.ucfilespace.uc.edu/sg
4.
University of Dayton
Requires a 2.5 of cabinet members
Requires a 2.5 of all members
Requires a 2.5 of all members
Requires a 2.6 of all members
The following shows student organizations at Wright State University and their
respective GPA requirements (on a 4.0 scale).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Kappa Delta Sorority
Phi Kappa Tau
Zeta Tau Alpha
Intrafraternity Council
Black Student Union
Rainbow Alliance
University Activities Board
Fraternity/Sorority Governing
Council
9.
Sociology Club
10. WSU Bowling Club
Requires a 2.8 of all members
Requires a 2.4 of new initiates
Requires a 2.6 of all members
Requires a 2.5 of IFC e-board members
Requires a 2.3 of E-board members
Requires a 2.5 (President & Vice-President);
Requires a 2.3 (Internal Affairs Director, Program
& Public Relations Director)
Requires a 2.0 of E-board members
Requires a 2.5 of E-board members
Requires a 2.0 of E-board members
Requires a 2.0 of all student member athletes
Dialogue
Kyle Powell, Vice President of WSU Student Government, approached senators about
this resolution originally. Several SG students have expressed their support of this resolution.
Many of SG members who have shown support for this resolution realize that the GPA
requirement for SGA members should be higher. This issue has also been discussed with SGA
advisor, Gary Dickstein, to understand the implications of the passage of this resolution on
current SGA members and their future projected GPA’s respectively. It was also proposed by a
few current SG members to allow Associates, who fall under Director positions, to be allowed to
maintain a 2.25 GPA. This was considered by those behind this resolution and was included in
this revised version of the resolution. Additionally, since this resolution will be voted on after the
election of SGA members for the 2014-2015 academic year, it was proposed that this resolution
not take affect until the 2015-2016 academic year.
14-05: A Resolution to Modify Student Government
Members’ GPA Requirements (Section 6.04 of the Student
Government Association Constitution)
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WHEREAS, Section 6.04 of the Student Government Constitution states “Good
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Academic Standing” for SGA members shall be defined as a cumulative
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GPA of 2.25 or higher, and
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WHEREAS, the student government associations of Eastern Kentucky University,
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Bowling Green University, University of Cincinnati, and the University of
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Dayton all require higher GPAs than Wright State’s SGA, and
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WHEREAS, if a Wright State University student’s GPA drops below a 2.0, they will
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lose their financial aid and be in bad academic standing with the
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university, and
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WHEREAS, several other well-known organizations in Wright State have higher GPA
requirements than Student Government, and
WHEREAS, students within student government are considered leaders among a
primarily academic institution.
WHEREAS, students looking to further their leadership skills and abilities by
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becoming an Associate in Student Government may not be the most high-
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achieving students within Student Government Association and are also
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unpaid positions,
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RESOLVED, by the Student Government of Wright State University here
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assembled, that:
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(1) The required GPA for future Student Government Association
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candidates (beginning in academic year 2015-2016) must be a 2.5 on a
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4.0 GPA scale.
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(2) The required GPA for future Student Government Association
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Associate positions (beginning in academic year 2015-2016) must be a
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2.25 on a 4.0 GPA scale.
Introduced by Matt Johnson, Michelle Coale, Kyle Powell, Megan Gray, Fady Al-banna