Correction appended
A redesign of the funding processes for student groups appears
to many to have produced more balanced allocations than in recent
years, but some student government members say the fall operational
budgets are not quite fair.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council voted Tuesday to
allocate nearly $58,000 from the Student Organization Operational
Fund to 122 student groups for their fall quarter operational
budgets.
The allocated funds are strictly for operational costs, such as
officer stipends, supplies and advertising; programming funds must
be obtained from alternative sources.
All groups that applied received at least some funding, with the
exception of one group that failed to show up to its hearing before
the Budget Review Committee.
The allocation of funding to all groups that completed the
required application process is a dramatic departure from last
year, when the council came under fire for denying funding to 42
student groups. In previous years, the council was also criticized
for “playing favorites” in its budgeting process, as
student groups that supported the majority slate consistently
received the most funding.
USAC attempted to make the funding process more transparent this
year by making sample score sheets available, so groups knew
exactly how they would be evaluated. Also, any Budget Review
Committee members who felt a conflict of interest regarding any
student group were asked to not submit a score.
The application process includes the submission of a formal
proposal as well as a 20-minute hearing. The purpose of the hearing
is “to ensure each group fulfilled the university and USAC
minimum criteria and BRC priorities,” according to Budget
Review Committee guidelines. All allocations were determined based
upon the group’s score from the hearing and proposal, which
transformed the group’s approved request into a proportional
allocation of all available funds.
Only six student groups received more than $1,000: the African
Student Union, the Asian Pacific Coalition, Dance Marathon, the
Darfur Action Committee, the Muslim Student Association and
Samahang Pilipino.
Allocation amounts ranged from $15 for the Russia Club to $1,108
for the Asian Pacific Coalition.
The Budget Review Committee created a request cap at $4,317,
which it determined to be the maximum based upon the limited funds
available and the large number of groups applying.
Groups were allowed to request unlimited funds, but any proposal
requesting more than the cap was adjusted. The requested amount was
designed to represent a reasonable request including officer
stipends, supplies and graphics, advertising and fees and travel
for retreats and conferences, Budget Review Director Diem Tran
said.
The cap is designed so people cannot make excessive requests,
but it still allows groups with greater need to get proportionally
more funding than those with less need, Tran said.
However, several councilmembers voted against the allocations or
abstained because they said the cap resulted in unfair allocations
for groups that requested less than the maximum.
General Representative Brian Neesby said it is in the best
interest of all groups to request at least the cap, whether or not
they truly need that amount, because they only receive a portion of
what they request, depending on their scores.
Many student groups actually tried to keep their budget requests
down, based on a previously announced cap of $1,100 that was later
changed, said Joe Vardner, USAC facilities commissioner.
The groups that requested less than the maximum ended up with
low allocations, Neesby said.
Because the system is proportional, groups with the same score
receive the same percentage of their request, but consequently
groups that requested more ended up receiving a larger
allocation.
Other councilmembers maintained that the cap was effective in
making the funding process fair, and that no student group has any
incentive to request more or less than they actually need.
Unwarranted requesting would hurt a group’s score in the
hearing and on their proposal, which would result in them getting a
lower allocation, so arbitrarily requesting a lot of money
wouldn’t help any student group, External Vice President
Jeannie Biniek said.
This is the first set of student group allocations to be made
under this new formula. Operational budget allocations will be made
at the start of every quarter.