In Tuesday’s USGA Senate meeting, student legislators passed the Preparing Undergraduates for Testing Success (PUTS) Act. The bill authorizes the use of unspent funds from USGA’s textbook scholarship to help juniors and seniors pay for practice tests for exams like the LSAT, MCAT, PCAT and several others.
The bill calls for the creation of an online application for upperclassmen to describe their status as a student, their desired practice exam and their capability to pay the fees associated with it. The application can be accessed at this link.
If USGA determines the PUTS Act to be successful at the end of the academic year, the bill authorizes the creation of a fund independent of the textbook scholarship starting in fall of 2024. Money for that fund is expected to be jointly supplied by USGA and other external contributors.
“I’m happy that it finally got passed. I thank everybody that had questions, criticisms and feedback because that really did strengthen the bill,” said Eshan Pokhrel, the author of the legislation. “I’m excited to sit down with Student Affairs, Student Services and finding out how we can get money to make this not just a USGA thing, but a UAB thing.”
The full text of the bill, which includes a list of covered exams and details concerning how applications are evaluated, can be accessed at this link.
Senators also passed two resolutions pertaining to Greek life at UAB. The first requests that UAB reevaluate its GPA requirements for fraternities and sororities. Currently, the National Pan-Hellenic Council requires a minimum average GPA of 2.5 for its organizations, whereas UAB requires a minimum GPA of 2.75.
The second requests that UAB add the flags of Kappa Delta, Alpha Sigma Phi, Sigma Lambda Gamma and Sigma Chi to those currently hanging from the ceiling in the Hill Student Center.
Lastly, the Senate passed a resolution to honor the legacy and career of Eric Jack, Ph.D., who served as dean of the Collat School of Business from 2013 to 2022. Jack helped facilitate the $37.5 million gift from the Collat family to move business classes into a building of their own, establishing the first and only named school at UAB.
