Only five schools have student members on their boards, including Mason, University of Virginia, Mary Washington, Virginia Tech, and James Madison. Board members may live far away or otherwise be out of touch with institutions they run. Student representatives can help alleviated that distance. The bill essentially would make students' voices heard to those who an make an impact on their lives. Except for cases where the boards feel it necessary to exclude their students from some faculty-related discussion, the student representative will be present at all discussions and will inform the board on the preferences of students.
Concern arises when the task of selcting the student representative is at hand.
The legislation only needs approval from the House of Delegates before being presented to the desk of Governor Gilmore for his signature. All Rights Reserved.