Graduate Student Senate discusses upcoming conference, new health insurance payment

Ohio University Graduate Student Senate discussed the upcoming National Association of Graduate and Professional Students (NAGPS) Midwestern Regional Conference as well as new health insurance payment methods at its meeting Tuesday evening. 

According to their website, NAGPS is a student-run national nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for graduate and professional students. The organization aims to represent the interests of graduate and professional students and works to amplify students’ voices in both public and private universities at local, state, regional and national levels.

NAGPS also provides students with a member network that helps them get access to information, resources and best practices to empower them in their professional journey.

“We’ve been involved in the NAGPS for a number of years now, but we’ve never really participated on the national level, so I think this is a very good entry into that,” President Kaelyn Ferris said. “So it’d be a really great place for us to highlight the efforts of the GSS.”

Treasurer Amid Vahedi sponsored a resolution for the use of GSS funds to assist in covering costs to host the conference. Both Ohio U and the University of Kentucky are sponsoring the event that will be held April 2 to 8 during Graduate Student Appreciation Week. The resolution requested that Ohio U GSS pay $550 to split the total cost of expenses for the conference between the two universities.

“Not only are we contributing half of the expense, but the money is going to grad students as well,” Vice President Amal Shimir said. 

Students who are asked to prepare presentations at the conference will be compensated for their efforts, Shimir said. 

In her executive report, Ferris said the Student Health Advisory Committee officially made the decision to change how health insurance coverage periods are billed from six month periods to semesterly. 

“This is a fairly significant change to how students need to budget, in terms of making sure their health insurance is paid for,” Ferris said. 

The change was made in part because international students who are outside of the country during the summer were paying for health insurance they could not use. This new payment method ensures that students will not have to pay for a summer's worth of health insurance that they will not be utilizing.

This change will be implemented at the beginning of fall 2021. This will not decrease the amount students have to pay to the health insurance program if they are enrolled during fall, spring and summer semesters.