From:

President Kelley <

noreply@und.edu
>
Date:
April 17, 2015 at 2:14:01 PM CDT
To:
[REDACTED]
Subject:
Update on April 16 Student Senate Meeting

Reply-To:
<
noreply@und.edu
>

As many of you know, a UND Student Senate meeting was held last night to discuss three
proposed Senate resolutions, including one calling for a vote of No Confidence in several
members of the UND administration. As you also may know, after much discussion the vote on
the resolution concerning the No Confidence vote was subsequently tabled until the next Senate
meeting this coming Sunday night.
I was told that about 600 people attended last nights meeting. I will be honest with you--it was
a difficult meeting. I listened carefully to the remarks and comments, and its clear that there
are some communication problems, given that we got to this point in the first place. As was
noted, communication is two-way street, and my administration team and I are sorry for our part
in this communication breakdown. We will increase our efforts to work together with the entire
University community to improve this process.
Another issue discussed extensively in the meeting was tuition. We know that this is a major
area of concern. We share your concerns about affordability, and we will always seek to keep
tuition as low as possible. Please be assured that no tuition rates or models have been
determined, and we will continue to advocate for a timeline that allows for engagement and
discussion. Now that the North Dakota Senate has inserted a 2.5 percent tuition increase cap,
further guidance will be needed from the State Board of Higher Education on this topic.
Another major message I heard last night is that you want more direct communication from me
and my colleagues. We will do that. In the meantime, I urge anyone who has any questions or
concerns to contact me or my leadership team at any time.

From:
President Kelley <
noreply@und.edu
>
Date:
April 19, 2015 at 3:09:26 PM CDT
To:
[REDACTED]
Subject:
A Response to Student Concerns About Tuition

Reply-To:
<
noreply@und.edu
>

This communication is directed to UND students. However, I wanted the entire

University community to be aware of the message.

A Response to Student Concerns About Tuition

Last week, Student Government held a meeting to discuss several resolutions around tuition
concerns, one of which called for a vote of no confidence. As I mentioned in a
campus-wide follow-up note sent on Friday, this was a difficult meeting for me. Marcia
and I love this University, believe that it is an Exceptional place, and work every day to
promote our students, staff and faculty. At the same time, some points were made that
were important for me and my staff to hear, and I want to thank everyone who offered
thoughtful and constructive opinions in the meeting and afterwards.
I listened carefully to your comments, and I share your concerns about tuition increases. In
the days since then, I have received many additional emails, texts, and calls. One of the
major messages Ive heard is that you want more communication from me and my
colleagues. I am committed to working with you, my administration, the Chancellor and the
State Board of Higher Education to find ways to keep tuition increases low and to continue
our effort to make UND an affordable university. You will see that happen, and we have
already begun to take some immediate actions based on the comments we have heard.
Here are a few:
I pledge to advocate for students with the Chancellor, the State Board of
Education and the Legislature to keep tuition rates as low as possible.
2. We will develop communications tools to provide students with more information
about tuition.
1.

I will send you, on a regular basis, more information about all aspects of your
student experience at UND.
4. We will also develop other ways to communicate with you using our website,
blogs, videos, and social media.
3.

Going forward, I am committed to improving communication and working more closely with
student leaders, with all students, and with the campus community. We should have done
this soonerbut we will start now, and I want you to know that we care about our
students and recognize that we have an incredible student body who will not only compete
with the best and brightest across the nation and world, but who also will be the leaders of
the future. I hope to talk with and hear more from youand I assure you that you will
hear more from me. Together, we will communicate and work together to make UND an
exceptional University.

Robert O. Kelley