It was discovered that an individual was no longer a student at Central Oregon Community College, after student fees had been used to pay for him to attend a conference.
Cedar Goslin
The Broadside
Kurt Killinger, the director of legislative affairs of Associated Students of Central Oregon Community College, attends Oregon Community College Student Association meetings each month, as part of his role in the council. He planned to take three additional students with him to the conference at Portland Community College Rock Creek on Jan.18. The cost of the trip was $64 per person for attendance fees, plus the cost of two hotel rooms and a rental car, according to Taran Underdal, ASCOCC’s advisor. The funding was approved at the first ASCOCC meeting of fall term. This was the first time that Killinger brought students who were not council members to an OCCSA conference; he said he thought attending would be a learning opportunity for the students, because at the time each of them were interested in applying for the open ASCOCC position.
“I thought it would be beneficial from a professional development standpoint for them to attend one of the conferences,” said Killinger.
On Jan. 28, it was confirmed that one of the individuals who attended the conference was not actually a current student at COCC, according to Underdal.
At the time the conference was planned, the student had been on academic probation, Underdal said. College policy allows students to continue attending their classes until their petitionary meeting, which determines whether or not they will be allowed to stay enrolled.
Underdal spoke with the individual on Jan. 28, and asked him or her to return the $64 used to pay his or her entry fee into the conference.
“The money was paid back that same day,” said Underdal.
It was determined that the individual did not have to compensate for any of the hotel room or rental car costs, according to Underdal, because his or her presence did not create extra fees. Because two males and two females attended the conference, two hotel rooms would have still been necessary to adhere to college policy, which states that males and females cannot share a hotel room for college-related events.
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