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Student leaders tell Appropriations Committee mental‑health and housing top campus concerns
Summary
The North Dakota Student Association president testified in support of SB 2003 and urged funding for mental-health services and housing improvements, saying affordability and outdated residence halls are driving student choices.
The president of the North Dakota Student Association urged the Appropriations Committee to support SB 2003, stressing that affordability, mental‑health services and housing are the most frequent concerns students report.
"A significant factor most individuals consider when deciding to pursue higher education is how much it is going to cost and if they can afford it," said Sammy Weber, president of the North Dakota Student Association. Weber said low tuition and scholarships bring out‑of‑state and international students to North Dakota, but that many students still face financial strain and must work while attending school.
Weber told the committee the "number 1 concern" raised to the association is housing. She described many residence halls as aging — "built in the 1960s or ’70s with little to no renovation" — and said that if housing options do not meet students’ expectations, some will choose institutions outside North Dakota. She also raised mental‑health capacity as a pressing issue, noting some campuses have only a part‑time counselor for more than 1,000 students.
Committee members followed up: Senator Shortock recalled a prior appropriation (cited in committee discussion as about $2,780,000) for mental‑health services and asked campuses to report how those funds were spent. Senator Burkhart asked what additional funding could accomplish; Weber said expanded funding would help attract counselors and increase hours of service at campuses that currently rely on part‑time coverage.
Weber said student support services and improved housing help retain students and connect them to North Dakota employers: "The more positive experiences that students have, the more likely they are to stay in North Dakota, enriching the growing workforce and economy of the state." She told the committee that NDSA delegates raised affordability and housing repeatedly during campus visits.
Ending: Committee members asked NDUS leaders and individual campuses to provide more detail about prior mental‑health appropriations’ use and to show what additional funding would buy at each campus.
