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Tacoma Community College, WA
Type: community college
Enrollment: 7,034
Name of SG: Associated Students
SG's annual budget: $729,416
Compensation:
     "Officers receive a monthly paycheck bad on an hourly wage. They do not receive any extra perks. The current wages are:
president — $8.00 per hour
vice president/finance — $7.00 per hour
secretary — $7.00 per hour
vice president/legislation — $7.00 per hour
Source: Patty Nelson responded by mail on 10/8/97
     "Most students cannot afford to donate the hours needed and therefore it is better to "hire" students who are elected to official positions."
     "Club offices volunteer — this not as demanding as being an elected officer."

Tallahassee Community College, FL
Type: community college
Enrollment: ?
Name of SG: ?
SGA annual budget: ?
Compensation:
Spooner:
     "Scholarship rising from lowest to highest position. No perks."
Fairhurst:
     "Scholarship only."
Source: Joseph M. Spooner, liaison for Phi Theta Kappa, responded by fax on 12/15/97; Thomas Fairhurst, TCC student representative, responded by fax on 12/15/97
Spooner:
     "Yes, because they often sacrifice valuable study or work time.
     "No. Volunteering is something done outside of an academic setting (i.e. picking up trash on designated roads)."
Fairhurst:
     "No salaries. Scholarship to supplement at the end of the year."

Temple University, PA
Type: public
Enrollment: 32,000 (Kal); 30,000 (Chapman)
Web Address: www.temple.edu/tsg
Phone: 215-204-2058
E-mail: press.director@temple.edu
Advisor: James Fitzimmons
Advisor’s phone: not provided
Advisor’s e-mail: not provided
Name of SG: Temple Student Government (TSG)
SG's annual budget: "$100,000 operating budget for TSG. The Allocations Board has a budget of $150,000, which is only used to allocate money to student organizations for programs." (Chapman)
Compensation:
     Kal: “Tuition remission.
     Student body president and general assembly speaker—full tuition remission
     Vice presidents—75%
     Other executive officers—50%
     “It’s a tuition waiver.”
     Chapman: "The president and speaker of the general assembly get full tuition remission.
     “Vice president of academic affairs and vice president of student affairs get 75% of their tuition remitted. The treasurer, press director, parliamentarian, secretary, allocations board chair, and elections commissioner get half of their tuition remitted.
     "Right now there's a lot of stuff opening on campus. In December, they opened the new basketball arena/convocation center. Last week, they dedicated the new Student Recreation Center. We get invited to the ceremonies and the receptions for big events like that. We also get to serve on committees for the university's board of trustees. The treasurer sits on the university budget review committee, and the student university fee committee chair sits on the university fee committee. We also find out about the university's plans much earlier than the rest of the student body."
Other Perks:
     Kal: “Just office and a personal computer.”
Sources: Amit Kal, TSG press director, responded by web on 9/11/02; Jennifer Chapman, TSG elections commissioner, responded by web on 1/27/98; Koretta Kidd, TSG secretary, responded by web on 4/5/99
     Kal: “Yes, because we take a lot of responsibility, keep office hours, work hard, sacrifice a lot of fun and parties so that everyone can have a good time. It’s only fair that we are being compensated for all the sacrifices we make in our social and personal lives.”
     Chapman: "SG officers should definitely get paid. I don't think they should get paid in cash. We get tuition remission at Temple. I think that's probably the best way to compensate the officers.
"We do volunteer our time by doing community service projects. We do tutoring at local elementary schools, as well as mentoring programs. We participate in the university-wide "Broad Street Sweep" four times a year. We run programs of our won for academic purposes and for fun. The fact that we get all or part of our tuition remitted makes it possible for some of us to afford to get to be a part of TSG. If we didn't have tuition remission, many of us would have to spend our time working."
     Kidd: Yes, because it is a job. We have office hours and commitments we must take care of.

Texas A&M University, Texas
Type: public
Enrollment: 42,000
Name of SG: Student Government Association
SGA annual budget: $300,000
SG’s phone: 979-845-3051
SG’s e-mail: sbp@tamu.edu
Compensation:
     Paris—president—gets no salary, no scholarship, tuition reimbursement, gets nothing (get five spaces in university garage, but we have to pay for them—$200
Other Perks:
     Houser—“Have private office and computer, but no cell phone. Have a secretary, but for the whole organization Get a parking spot in the university center parking garage. Get tickets to orchestra, performing arts, student organizations will send me free tickets to speakers and lectures. But that about sums it up.”
Sources: Schuyler Houser, SGA president, responded by phone on 10/10/01; Kristen Paris, executive vice president, responded to survey via fax on 9/2/97, and by phone 9/5/97
     Houser—“There are plenty of people who would do the job whether they’re paid or not. I thought it was a neat deal that we never got paid, but once you’re in the job, it is a struggle. To be honest, I would love to be paid. I’m struggling right now. But that wasn’t a consideration in running for president. I will graduate with the best education of any other student by far—I’ve learned so much, had so many awesome opportunities to learn how the university works, I wouldn’t trade this experience for a bigger paycheck.”
     “I definitely could not work right now- put in 65 hours per week, sitting on tons of meetings, three or four a day, I couldn’t hold a job. That probably does affect some people. Some people who ran for office before, worked summers and worked extra in previous so they could do the job.
     “I used all of my savings to actually run. As far as campaigning, I had a lot of support from parents, I rely on my parents right now.
     “You could make an argument to pay your student body president. Some people would say it’s not necessary.
     “We’ve always had such a core of service. Beside the newspaper, none of the students are paid.. RAs are considered a job. We don’t have a recruitment problem. We’ve always had a strong leadership program. Strong leadership with service, without asking for anything back.
     “There’s so much reward and respect you get for doing your job. I do agree with you, there is definitely sometimes we value certain things on this campus and our priorities aren’t in order.
     “But I won’t ask for a paycheck because that’s not why I’m doing it.”
     Paris—"We had five candidates for student body president last year. They were people who wanted to make a difference at our school without the added bonus of a salary. I could see where some school may need a salary to entice people to commit a year of their life, but if not, why waste the students' money? I don't see a problem with using former students' donations to help out a Student Body president with some of the costs associated with the job (a nice suit, some travel costs) but that is unnecessary for other officers.
     "Texas A&M has many students leaders in our over 800 student organizations that are not associated with SGA, and we don't set ourselves above or apart from those leaders. If we got a salary, we would need to pay the others as well, because all do an immeasurable service for our university."
     "Student leaders at Texas A&M do receive a perk. We do get a limited number of parking places in our University Center Garage, which is really close to our offices and not so close to the classes. SGA officers aren't the only ones who receive this perk. The leaders in many other organizations receive parking places as well. ($200 that we have to pay)
     "We receive $100,000 in university funds, and we receive approximately $200,000 in donations and dues. Our student union, which is not part of SGA (I know it's part of some) has a budget of $8,000,000.
     "I don't think that students leaders should be paid. The "perks" that we receive at Texas A&M are not enough of an incentive to entice people to be an officer, yet we had 40 people apply for 10 spots on our Executive Council. At our school, it is quoted that almost 80 percent of the student body is involved in a student organization. I guarantee that out of all of those students, we aren't the only ones who spend 40 hours a week working for our university.
     "Not only do we not get paid in our organizations, but we pay dues just to be able to join!"
     "The topic comes up every year — she has a scholarship. I know of a candidate who decided not to run because he couldn't afford the campaign and the time commitment. If it was something we already did, but having to initiate a movement, is not something we can justify. A lot of people who feel you'll find people who run for the wrong reasons. Now we feel like we're getting students who are truly dedicated.
     "We have a COSGA--on campus, we go to a few other conferences, the one perk we do get, vice president for student affairs lives on campus, and we eat on campus once a year, so technically it's a perk, once every two weeks. He has the "student leader group," leaders of about 15 groups met every other week."

Texas A&M International University, TX
Type: public
Enrollment: 4,000 (Benavides); 3,000 (Valladares)
Name of SG: Student Government Association
SG’s annual budget: $50-60,000 (Benavides); $60,000 (Valladares)
SG’s web address: www.tamiu.edu
SG’s e-mail: agbenavides22@hotmail.com
SG’s phone: 956-326-2265
SG advisor: David Vernilpea
SG advisor’s e-mail: not answered
SG advisor’s phone: not answered
Compensation:
Benalides
     “They are there on a volunteer basis.”
Valladares
     "We don't get anything. We do it because we want, but I think that's why we have very little motivation and enrollment because people don't see the benefits. I personally think I am getting knowledge, experience, and relations, but some people don't care about this.
     "Going to the St. Louis trip is a perk, but it is only for the students that are involved in SGA. All the officers can go. This is considered a training exercise for future leaders. It is one of many ways of getting hands on experience.
     "Every time since three years ago, four students and the advisor are selected to go. They have to submit an application. There are some requirements, such as applicants are going to stay longer than a year in the school so they can transmit what they learn to other officers or apply what they learn in SGA activities."
Other Perks:
Not answered
Sources: Annette G. Benavides, senator at large, responded in person on 10/15/01 at the National Leadership Conference on Student Governments; Halia Mayera Valladares, Judge, College of Business, responded at the 20th annual National Leadership Conference on Student Government, 10/30-11/1/98 and by e-mail on 11/19/98
Benavides
    " In my opinion, there is nothing wrong for an officer to get paid, but only if the job they possess is very time consuming. It is understandable that they might be full-time or part-time students and perhaps have a job outside of the college or university. In our case, we are volunteers to be part of the SGA from our university.”
Valladares
     "I don't think it's wrong because maybe there will be more enrollment and motivation. Because you make your list of activities in order of importance, it's study in first place, but then it depends on your needs and normally students need money so they rather go for a job instead of SGA because of the money."

Texas Tech University, TX
Type: public
Enrollment: 24,215
Name of SG: Student Government Association
SG's annual budget: $92,000
Compensation:
"Three SGA officers are paid. President and two vice presidents get paid a check every month, totalling $6,000 for each officer per year. There are also reserved parking places for these three officers. The checks are paychecks, not scholarships, and the check does signify that it is a salary and not a scholarship."
Source: Russell Thomasson, SGA president, responded by mail on 8/18/97
     "Yes, the amount of work that executive officers put forth requires much of their time. In turn, these officers rarely have additional time to maintain an outside job to generate revenue."

Texas Wesleyan University, TX
Type: private
Enrollment: 2,200
Name of SG: Student Government Association
SG’s annual budget: "I cannot say at this time."
SG’s web site: “we’re in the process of reconstructing our web site”
Compensation:
     "Each of our SG officers receive varying amount, determined by position. They receive a monthly stipend.
     President receives $325 per month, while the remaining four executive officers receive $175 a month. The president also receives room and board free of charge. It is considered a salary and is received in the form of a monthly check.
Other Perks:
     “There are no extra perks provided per Student Government, yet all positions of power bring their own rewards. All executives have the opportunity to travel to conferences.”
Source: Raun Shephard, chief justice, responded by web on 7/11/00 and on 7/17/01 (as president)
     "Yes! There is a great deal expected of offices; time seems to be the most frequent request. Often, one’s pay is a measurement of his value to his environment. This is not always true, but it often is.”
     “The time required to effectively serve students demands consideration. Both, universities and colleges, hire people who have the responsibility of making sure that student needs are meet. The function of student government parallels in its responsibility to the student. Student Governments often have less resources with which to work, and the hours required of them are less. Sharing the burden of the staff begs that student government officers be paid (cash salaries).
     "No. My first year in Student Government I though that we should be volunteering our time. However, as I moved up in rank, I soon found out that much more was required of me, namely time.
     “I believe that a scholarship would be most appropriate. Even though this may be seen as a ‘job,’ officers main priority is providing a service to the university—representing students.”

Texas Woman's University, TX
Type: public
Enrollment: 9,000-Brown; 9,636-Ball
Name of SG: United Student Association—Brown; Student Government Association—Ball
SG's annual budget: "approximately $150,000"—Brown; $10,000--Ball
Compensation:
     Brown:
     SG officers have varying salaries. Under our SG is an Executive Board, Student Senate, House of Representatives, the Campus Activities Board, and the RHA. The only non-paying elected SG positions are Senators. The USA President is the highest paid position, and she gets a $1,000 annual stipend. The difference between our SG and some other schools is that our students do not know that SG positions are paid. Because of this, we do not get a lot of students to run in elections, but the students who do become members of USA are dedicated."
     Ball:
     "The officers are given stipends"
president — $800 per year
vice president — $600
secretary — $400
treasurer — $400
committee chairs — $100
Source: ShaRhonda Brown, USA executive secretary, responded by web on 11/20/00; Jessica Ball, legislative chair, responded at NACA convention on 6/24/97
     Brown:
     "Yes. SG officers should get paid. If officers get paid, they are more apt to do a better job.
     "No, it is not wrong to pay SG officers. At large schools, they have a large budget and thousands of students to accommodate. We do a lot of work for the students we serve. We have to deal with office hours, organization/community complaints, attending all meetings of USA branches (i.e. Senate, RHA, etc.) and many other duties. Most of our USA members are in other organizations on campus and take very active roles in them. There are several active sorority, honor society, and other organization members. Our SG is comprised of people who take an interest in our students, campus, and community. School is not getting any cheaper, and with the time we put into SG, it is difficult to get a job.

Thomas College, GA
Type: private
Enrollment: 654
Name of SG: Thomas College SGA
SG's annual budget: $62,000
Compensation:
     "Our SGA officers do not get paid, nor receive any extra perks."
Source: Survey completed by web on 6/29/99 by Stephanie L. Baile, SGA vice president of campus activities
     "Yes—the SGA officers spend a lot of their personal time to provide a service to the student body and to the school on behalf of the student body.
     "I don’t think it’s wrong to pay SGA officers. By paying the officers, this allows them to have more time to serve the student body, without having the pressure of trying to work, go to school, and serve the school."

Thomas Nelson Community College, VA
Type: community college
Enrollment: 7,815
Name of SG: Student Government Association
SG's annual budget: about $10,000 to $12,000
Compensation:
president — $750 per semester (for two semesters)
vice president — $650
secretary/treasurer — $650
     "All three officers get a scholarship applied to tuition and books. Any money not spent after 'census' is released as a check."
Source: Teresa Stein, SGA president, responded by e-mail on 5/15/97; Jean Gordick, student activities manager, reponded by phone on 10/27/97
     "To hold an office in our community college requires a lot of personal time and dedication. You have scheduled meetings weekly if not daily. You are expected to be involved in all activities on campus and a lot of activities in the community.
     "An officer is expected to be a role model for the student body. If anyone knows anything about a student's budget, then they would realize that a new line of clothes has to be purchased. If you were not holding an office, you would not need these kinds of clothes until you graduated and started your career.
     "There are numerous affairs that occur during the school year that an officer is expected to participate in and the school is not going to pay for. The benefit of getting a salary offsets these costs.
     "In no way will the amount the school gives our officers surpass the out-of-pocket expenses we experience.
     "An officer should be concentrating on what he/she can do to benefit the study body. They should not have to worry about how they are going to come up with the extra money needed to continue in their position. They also should not have to worry about holding down a full-time job while trying to maintain their position."

Troy State University, AL
Type: public university
Enrollment: 4,800
Name of SG: Student Government Association
SG annual budget: “?”
Compensation:
     “Our five executive officers, President, Vice President of Campus Activities, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Secretary, and Clerk receive a monthly stipend. President and the 2 VP's receive approximately $215/month for at least 15 hours /week. Secretary and Clerk work 12 hours per week, and receive just under the Pres. and VP stipend. However, we are all in the office way over 15 hours per week. The SGA also pays for some retreats we attend, etc. Yes, I file W-2's just like the rest of the world. The stipend comes from a fund Labeled "Student Leaders/Involvement" and is derived from the student activity fee, I assume. Individual circumstances dominate special perks; it depends on how close you are to the adminstration that particular year. SGA execs and senators get to register early, and I feel like the Pres. may be able to get some strings pulled to live at a special place on campus, but like I mentioned, it really depends on the relationship between the student and the administration. Our SGA does not have the liberty to allot money to campus organizations. There are grants on campus dedicated to that sort of thing.”
Source: Meryl B. Jones, president, responded by web on 5/5/01
     “Solid, responsible SGA officers should be paid a reasonable stipend, and at our school, Troy State University, we are paid...thankfully. Of course, your ‘good, solid’ officers are those who would do the job without pay anyway.”