The Student Public Policy Forum (SPPF) is a co-curricular activity that provides an overview of local, state and national public policy making, citizen influence and involvement. A focus is placed on experiential learning, leadership development, and student engagement in public policy processes. During the course of the program, students will research and prepare to speak on higher education issues (Green sheet issues) specifically related to community colleges.
The program runs from October 2007 through March 2008. Most meetings are scheduled monthly on Fridays from about 1pm to 4pm at Rio Salado College, Tempe. For more information please contact the program directors.
Any student of a participating college may apply for the Student Public Policy Forum provided they meet the minimum program requirements. However, space is limited and competition for available seats grows each year.
Students may only be selected from participating colleges and must meet the following program requirements:
Complete and submit a SPPF application prior to college and program deadlines.
Have and maintain a minimum of six credit hours at the sponsoring college for the Fall & Spring semesters.
- Have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above for all college coursework and maintain a semester GPA of 2.0 or above.
- Students in their first college semester must have a high school GPA or GED equivalency of 2.0 or above.
- Have and maintain a working email address and web access.
- Agree to commit to attend all required calendared program meetings and participate in online assignments and activities.
- Agree to abide by program guidelines and ground rules.
For more information, please view our slideshow and official SPFF site.
My SPPF Experience
By Angel Herrera
"My experience in the SPPF Student Public Policy Forum was empowering. Before I went through the program, I had this feeling that politics was something that didn’t really concern me. I was more concerned with working and getting my family ahead, not about some ballot initiative. However as SPPF showed me, that these people have a vast ability to influence the outcome of your life and your family’s by the laws that they pass.
Through the training and experiences of going to the capitol and making good friends of lawyers and lobbyists, I realized that I too could this. That politics was a career that had endless potential and that depended on sheer intelligence and tact with the human mind and heart.
Going to Washington D.C really brought me closer to my country, and fully shone a light on what I truly wanted to do with my life. I had thought about law school after my father’s lawyers kept pestering me to give it a chance but relegated it to something to difficult or not inline with my goals. However, after I visited the capitol of our great nation it really cemented in me the desire to go to law school. So if I can credit the SPPF program with one thing in my life, it is empowering my dreams to reach as far as I want."