At their Tuesday night meeting, the Undergraduate Student Government senate unanimously passed a resolution asking the University to reinstate the Academic Achievement Award and Exceptional Funding.

The senate also heard seven presentations including reports from the USG chief financial officer, Committee on Wellness Affairs chair, and Committee on Affordability and Basic Needs chair.

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On March 7, the Daily Trojan reported that the AAA would end after Spring 2024 and Exceptional Funding would be available only to students currently enrolled. Vice Provost of Academic Programs Andrew McConnell Stott announced March 15 that AAA access had been extended to students graduating before August 2025.

The AAA and Exceptional Funding programs allowed students to take classes beyond the 18 units covered by tuition. Access to the AAA program required students have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.75.

Senate Bill 143-30, which passed at the meeting, requires USG to send a letter to senior University leadership, including President Carol Folt and Board of Trustees Chair Suzanne Nora Johnson about the programs.

“The biggest concern and the sole motivation for this resolution is to provide a financial means of students completing their degrees that they had started here,” said senator Klarissa Palacios in a speech. 

USG began collecting feedback through a Google Form on March 7 and had received 287 testimonials as of Monday. Of the responses USG collected, 32.1% of students said they were first-generation students, 20% said they had a double major and 61% said they had a minor.

“[The] University often reflects or announces that one fourth of the incoming student population is part of the  first generation student community. This decision to eliminate Academic Achievement Award as well as Exceptional Funding will consequently affect that community as well,” Palacios said.

During the meeting, USG officers shared information they received from conversations with the Financial Aid Office, Academic Honors and Fellowships, and Stott.

USG chief of staff David Martinez said Stott told him the University plans to introduce a new program in place of AAA. After pushing for a timeline on the program rollout, Martinez said Stott told him the rollout would happen in “months, not years.”

Martinez had no details about the program, but said the University wants it to extend to more students than AAA previously did.

“The new program they’re talking about might not be Exceptional Funding. They’re probably just looking at something to serve more students,” Martinez said.

Martinez also said the University decided to roll out the change before fully developing an alternative so students were aware additional units would not be covered in the fall prior to course registration.

Palacios said she was told the program ended because few students used the program — 677 students in Spring 2024, according to Martinez, which is approximately 3% of undergraduate students.

At the meeting, chief financial officer Khalil Daniels also presented for the first time since USG announced that funding had been depleted Feb. 21. Daniels said the Funding Department reviewed 59 more applications this year than in the 2022-23 school year. He said this included more than 100 RSO events in the spring. The Funding Department will release a report of USG expenditures in April.

Vice president Michelle Lu said during her presentation that funding for the legislative and executive funds had also concluded for the year.

Committee on Wellness Affairs chair Brianna Sanchez said during her presentation that $11,758 had been used of the $15,000 allocated for free sexually transmitted infection testing. She also said that 126 graduate students and 492 undergraduate students had received free testing through the program so far, which will continue through March 30 or until funding is depleted.

Sanchez said the Committee on Wellness Affairs was unable to complete a project to put Narcan in first-year residence halls. She said they hope to try working with Residential Education again next year. 

“[Residential Education] said that maybe next semester. They said try again later,” said Sanchez. “Our fingers [are] crossed because as I mentioned earlier, the [American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists] is totally on board with doing training.”

USG also heard from president Divya Jakatdar, senator Matthew Speier, Committee on External Affairs chair Vincent Cisneros and Lydia Costantian, chair of the Committee on Affordability and Basic Needs. 

Costantian reported on the JCPenney Suit-Up Event, which funded $150 JCPenney gift cards for 321 students, and the Tommy’s Closet professional clothing drive event, which at least 200 people participated in.

Costantian said the committee will partner with the Viterbi Graduate Student Association to solicit feedback on which bathrooms are regularly stocked with menstrual products.

Jakatdar outlined the remainder of the semester for USG, including hiring the cabinet for the incoming administration, end-of-year reports and the State of USG Address April 16.