Students will now be able to obtain transcript vouchers from the Student Government Association office.

A bill allotting $300 for the Transcript Voucher Program fund was passed during the SGA senate meeting on Tuesday night.

New senators joined SGA for the first time at the meeting after being elected last week. About 500 students cast ballots in the election, and an amendment to add a Navitas and English as a Second Language International Student senate seat passed.

The voucher program, which has been in existence for several years, allows students to obtain their transcripts for free by obtaining a voucher from SGA instead of paying the $7 fee.

However, funding for the program must be passed through senate approval each time more money is needed.

Megan Skaggs, head of the Academic Affairs committee, wrote the bill.

“We believe that students pay quite a bit as it is for tuition and other fees,” Skaggs said.

According to the bill, the goal of the program is to “alleviate some of the financial burden such situations impose on students.”

“It’s been fairly successful over the past few years,” Skaggs said.

Vouchers are limited to two per student with 30 total vouchers available. The amount is subject to change if the demand for more vouchers arises.

Less money was allocated for the program in this bill, a point brought up during the discussion by senator Cain Alvey.

Nicki Seay, associate vice president, is in charge of the budget and financial expenditures of SGA. She said she will monitor the money for the vouchers and request more as needed.

“In the past, we have allocated a lot of money up front, and not all of it would get spent,” Seay said.

The vote to approve the bill was unanimous, putting the program back into effect.

“Students are starting to apply for scholarships, internships and things like that, and they need their transcripts for that and haven’t obtained their vouchers yet,” Skaggs said.

“We’ve had some inquiries about it already, and the students will really appreciate it.”