The Board of Trustees will reinstate a committee focused on improving the GW student experience next academic year, a University spokesperson confirmed.
SGA President MJ Childs and former SGA President Ethan Lynne said the Board’s new Student Affairs Committee — which Childs first publicly announced last month at the Board’s annual May public meeting — aims to better incorporate student perspectives into the Board’s decision-making processes and improve the GW student experience. The announcement comes after students over the past year have said GW’s resources are not sufficient relative to the cost of their education for the 2025-26 academic year, as the University faced cuts to student, academic and transportation resources and the total cost of attendance rises to almost $100,000 for returning students in the fall.
The Board of Trustees previously convened the Student Life and Alumni and Community Relations Committee through 2017, according to available web archives. The committee oversaw policies impacting the quality of student life at the University and engaged with alumni to strengthen connections between graduates and current students.
University spokesperson Julia Garbitt said details about the Student Affairs Committee, like membership and meeting schedule, will be available in the fall semester, adding the committee will see engagement with student leaders, faculty and staff. She said the Board’s establishment of the committee will inform the Board’s understanding of campus life and opportunities to support student success, continuing a historical trend from the Board to connect with students.
“The Student Affairs Committee will bring focused governance attention to the student experience in a holistic sense that encompasses student success, wellness, leadership development, career readiness, and the broader lived experience,” Garbitt said in an email.
Student complaints about the cuts and lack of transparency regarding rising tuition costs culminated in Childs winning the SGA presidency in April, where he ran on a platform of challenging officials to increase transparency in budget decisions and bolstering student involvement in University decision-making. Childs also called on officials to prioritize student life and services like dining, transportation and academic and career advising during his inauguration ceremony in May.
Childs said the committee will be made up of trustees, University officials and himself as the student representative to provide reports on student life alongside the Division for Student Affairs. However, he said he wants student representation to expand beyond just the SGA and encourages trustees to host events throughout the year to directly engage with students and hear their perspectives, like having trustees who are based in or near D.C. visit the campus and speak with students to get a better understanding of the experiences.
“It’s one thing for me or the DSA to say it, but it’s also another thing to hear from other students and gain their perspective as well,” Childs said.
Childs said the new committee’s main priorities for the next academic year include improving school pride by creating more on-campus spaces for students to socialize and ensuring effective health services by improving student access. He also said trustees plan to raise funds to expand resources that only some schools currently have access to, like the School of Business’s F. David Fowler Career Center and the School of Media & Public Affairs’ emergency fund for students facing financial hardship.
“We’ve been talking about what ways can we fundraise money to have more funds like that,” Childs said. “That fund is supported by donors, so we are looking into our philanthropy connections to facilitate that for other schools at GW.”
Childs said officials are also working on improving their communication strategy with the student body by researching the timeliness and effectiveness of their communication with students. He said officials are looking to use methods other than email to communicate with the community, like in-person meetings between students and faculty, social media and consultations with the SGA to improve their messaging to students.
“When we do send emails, are they being informative, clear and empathetic?” Childs said. “I can say that officials are definitely looking into that, and that’s something they’ve been consulting the SGA on, including myself and the vice president.”
Lynne said during his tenure as SGA president, the body advocated for a Student Affairs Committee within the Board, having discussed the idea with officials like former Board Chair Grace Speights and Dean of Students Colette Coleman throughout his term. He said officials were receptive to the idea, as it was a feasible way for them to get students involved in University decision-making.
“It’s always a good time to get more student perspectives at the table,” Lynne said.
Lynne said as the committee reconvenes and grows in the future, students from different schools and organizations — rather than only the SGA — should also have direct representation on the new committee to ensure officials can get a comprehensive understanding of the student body’s wants and needs.
“I would love to see a good range of perspectives of students across schools, across backgrounds and across campus experiences,” Lynne said.
