Student health care item moves forward

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Faculty and student health care, academic year goals and a proposed amendment to MSU’s anti-discriminatory policy topped the Executive Committee of Academic Council’s, or ECAC’s, agenda Tuesday as the committee reconvened for the fall semester.

James Hillard, associate provost for human health affairs, presented to the committee on the status of mandatory student health insurance.

At the end of the current year, all employers will be required to provide insurance for children of employed families up to the age of 26, Hillard said during the meeting. Studies conducted by the university show the number of uninsured MSU students will then fall to about 10 percent, he said.

“It’s a small percentage of the population, but it leads to thousands of students every year running up non-imbursed medical expenses for thousands of dollars,” Hillard said.

Discussions in this area began last year when Hillard and his staff met with various student organizations on campus including ASMSU and the Council of Graduate Students, or COGS. Hillard said there seemed to be support for the concept from these groups.

ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government. COGS represents graduate-level students.

“I think this has been a national trend over the last 10 years,” Hillard told committee members. “Seven of the other Big Ten schools currently require all of their students to have health insurance and two to three more are currently looking into that.”

The plan, which would require all incoming students to have health insurance in 2011 and all current students to have insurance in 2012, was referred to the University Committee on Student Affairs and the University Graduate Council by the committee during the meeting.

Amendment to anti-discrimination policy proposed

Fred Fico, journalism professor and MSU College Republicans adviser, also addressed the committee regarding an April 2007 case in which he alleged the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives began an unnecessary investigation of the MSU College Republicans.

The investigation began following student complaints that the club had breached the university’s anti-discrimination policy by hosting a talk on illegal immigration.

In 2008, the case was addressed by the committee and referred to the University Committee on Faculty Affairs, or UCFA, and the University Committee on Academic Policy, or UCAP, for further review. At the time, Fico had proposed an amendment to the anti-discrimination policy that would clear up language regarding First Amendment protections.

UCAP committee member Jim Smith said during Tuesday’s meeting that UCAP had decided the proposed amendment to the anti-discriminatory policy had serious legal deficiencies, but suggested the policy be reviewed as a problem was evident.
UCFA chairperson Deborah Moriarty said her committee had expressed similar concerns.

“There was a considerable sentiment that something was not right,” she said. “The committee did not feel that the proposed amendment would solve any of the problems present.”

The committee decided during the meeting to draft a letter to President Lou Anna K. Simon’s office asking for review of the anti-discrimination policy in light of UCAP’s recommendations to review the policy.

Looking forward

Simon talked to the committee about academic year goals and encouraged members to start thinking about refocusing future endeavors. Simon said much will depend on the newly elected governor in the coming months and how they place value on higher education.

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