ASMHCC Approves Prize Money for Students

The Executive Board of the Associated Students of Mt. Hood Community College (ASMHCC – the student body government representing all students) covered a laid-back agenda when it met on Nov. 29.

Photo by Kane Finders

The sole action item up for a vote was the proposed spending of $791 to help fund prizes for a student survey being issued in Winter Term by the college’s Textbook Affordability Task Force Committee.

The affordability team helps the college on their path to adopt more affordable options for textbooks, primarily through the adoption of open education resources (OER) and other methods. In collaboration with the Mt. Hood Analytics and Institutional Research team, it seeks to survey students to gauge their thoughts on the current textbook situation.

To provide incentive for survey responses, the team asked ASMHCC for funding for several prizes: an iPad for the top prize, a $100 textbook gift card, an MHCC backpack, and finally 10 Dutch Bros gift cards of $20.

After some apprehension, the funding was approved, and Mt. Hood students can look forward to the survey and the chance to win these prizes near the start of Winter Term.

Moving on, Emily Phoun, the ASMHCC vice president, briefed the group on her previous trip to the MHCC District Board of Education meeting. She shared the report that Fall Term enrollment was up 5% from previous years and it seems Winter Term enrollment rates are holding steady.

It was also reported that 234 Mt. Hood students were being served with various scholarships. The MHCC foundation administers all scholarships given out by MHCC.

The discussion then moved onto the group’s goals, with the first brought forward being more promoting of campus resources.

In that regard, elected members of ASMHCC were recently able to visit the dental hygiene clinic on the Gresham campus where they learned that students have access to free dental services. These services are performed by dental students but would be supervised by licensed personnel.

The group also learned that the clinic would start giving dental fillings in the Spring Term – at any/exactly what cost is yet unknown.

Finally, ASMHCC members were briefed about the upcoming student government election in Winter Term – when open applications for the president and vice president position will be issued. An official timeline for the election for 2024-25 officers is to be released later.