Linn-Benton Community College is facing budget cuts that could significantly impact Student Life and Leadership, including the potential loss of key advisor and support staff positions. In response, the Student Leadership Council is preparing to ask students to vote on a possible fee increase this spring.
The proposed vote, scheduled for April 2 through April 15, will give students four options: no increase, or an additional 25 cents, 50 cents, or 75 cents per credit. The outcome could determine whether advisor roles, program support, and many student-facing services continue at their current level.
Right now, the college has indicated it will only cover 40 percent of the advisor’s salary and none of the program assistant or department secretary positions. Without additional funding, those roles may not be sustained.
For many student leaders, the news was concerning, but not entirely unexpected.
“I wasn’t surprised, given everything happening with the budget,” said Knight, a volunteer coordinator for the SLC. “But it’s still worrying because of how much Student Life and Leadership supports what we do.”
Advisors play a largely behind-the-scenes role that keeps student programs running. They manage purchasing, coordinate with college departments, ensure compliance with policies, and handle logistics that student leaders are not able to take on alone.
“Advisors make sure our work actually gets done,” Knight said. “They handle logistics like purchases, supplies, and communication with other departments so we can focus on serving students.”
According to SLC President Lileanna Johnson, the council’s decision to move forward with a vote came after weighing difficult trade-offs.
“We’re asking students to tell us: do you want no increase at all, or do you want to help us keep everything we provide on campus, or somewhere in between?” she said.
Rather than presenting a single yes-or-no proposal, the council broke the potential increase into smaller increments to give students more flexibility. Each level reflects a different balance between maintaining services and limiting additional costs.
“Ultimately, students fund us, so they should decide how much support they want in return,” Johnson said.
Still, concerns about affordability are central to the conversation. Even small increases can add up, especially for students already managing tight budgets.
“Even a small fee increase is still an increase,” Knight said. “It adds another brick to the wall that separates wealthier students from those who aren’t.”
That tension, between preserving student services and maintaining access, is at the core of the upcoming vote.
From the advisor perspective, the stakes extend beyond a single position. Rob Camp, current SL&L advisor, emphasized that multiple roles are tied together, including student employees who rely on staff supervision.
Without that structure, he said, the impact on campus life could be significant.
“The last time this campus went without an advisor, the student government shrank to only five members, events nearly disappeared, and it took two to three years to rebuild,” Camp said.
Student Life and Leadership supports a wide range of programs and services, including club funding, campus events, leadership development, and food insecurity initiatives. Advisors also provide continuity as student leaders graduate and transition out.
“Advisors are the backbone that keeps us from having to restart from scratch every year,” Johnson said.
If no fee increase is approved, SLC would likely need to make substantial cuts to programs, services, and operational support. A higher fee increase, on the other hand, could preserve more of what currently exists, but at a greater cost to students.
“There’s no ‘evil’ option here,” Knight said. “Students have to choose what they honestly think is best for themselves and their peers.”
The vote itself is also being framed as an opportunity for student voice.
“These votes shape what the school does,” Knight said. “Students do have power, they just have to use it.”
SLC leaders stress that a vote in favor of an increase does not automatically mean immediate implementation, as final decisions still go through administrative and the college Board of Education for approval. However, the results will guide those decisions and signal student priorities.
As the voting period approaches, SLC plans to share more information through events, outreach, and materials explaining each option and its impact.
“We’re not asking students to pick a specific number,” Johnson said. “We’re asking them to understand what each choice means.”
Ultimately, this vote is about more than a few cents per credit. It is about what kind of campus experience students want, and what level of support they believe is worth sustaining.
Advisors and support staff provide continuity, institutional knowledge, and the infrastructure behind student programs. Without them, student life would not disappear entirely, but it would likely look very different.
Students are encouraged to review the available information, reflect on how SLC and its programs affect their own experience, and participate in the vote.
Because in this case, the future of student life at Linn-Benton may come down to how students choose to use their voice.
