Here's what you need to know for the February BoG meeting

We’re back at it. Five times per year, the UBC Board of Governors (BoG) meets to discuss issues of money, property, policy and people. As your student representatives on the BoG, we are here to keep you in the loop with what is up at Board — but if you ever want to learn more, you can check out the BoG website for full dockets, agendas and documents.

The Committees of the Board convened on February 6, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Board Meeting itself will be held February 15, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with the open session starting at 1 p.m. If you are interested in attending, check out the website for more information.

Here’s what to expect at this meeting:

Capital Projects

The Board receives an update on capital projects every meeting. This includes which new buildings, upgrades and maintenance projects along with their projected timelines for approval and construction. These are the projects currently in progress:

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And these are the projects that will be upcoming for approvals next:

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Housing Action Plan (HAP)

UBC’s housing action plan has undergone its five year review. This covers staff, faculty and student housing. For students, it includes principles such as how rent is set, the mix of units available and quantity of new housing to be built. The AMS, Residence Hall Association (RHA), Graduate Student Society (GSS) and student board representatives have provided much feedback on these principles, and the AMS is continuing to lobby for affordability and accessibility.

AMS raises concerns about ‘botched consultation’ on Housing Action Plan review

This plan will be returning to the Board docket in April for further discussion on student housing options — the current plan only discusses residences managed by UBC’s Student Housing and Hospitality Services, not any of the restricted rental housing around campus.

In response to direction for more rapid growth, the Board received a presentation indicating that the proposed new student housing buildings will be built out at an accelerated schedule. By 2022, we should see 3,900 more beds available in residence (with 440 more beds at UBCO).

Program Fees and Tuition

Several new programs and program fees are up for approval, including a certificate in Indigenous Public Health. At UBCO, there are proposals for a Masters of Data Science and Bachelor of Media Studies and a field trip fee for BIOL420D, which is a class about wine grape production.

Additionally, there is an increase of international graduate tuition for continuing students (students who continue longer than the length of their degree program).

Enrollment Report

The Provost provided the annual enrolment report to the Board, which was also provided to Senate at their most recent meeting. UBC’s population has increased by three per cent since last year. The full report can be found here.

Stay up to date

The next Board of Governors meetings will be held in April. Both Committees and Board primarily consist of open sessions that members of the UBC community are welcome to attend — you can view agendas here and attend if interested. Or if you can’t attend, you can always follow @UbysseyNews for the play by play!