Hi Bailee!
When I was still at Cal State Northridge, the student government had a special committee that oversees and provide recommendation for finance requests. They would fund conference funding, clubs and org travel, and an annual budget for the following year. The committee consists of a Chair and Assistant Chair of Finance (selected by the president of that year's administration), a student representative of each college, and a Senate representative. They are advised by various personnel such as the Executive Director, Controller, Accounting Manager, and a University Advisor that oversees clubs and organizations.
- What role does your student government have in allocating student fee money? If students are involved:
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- The student government has a special committee that makes recommendations to the Senate that on both a rolling basis and Annual Budget. The Senate will then approve, don't approve, or adjust the amount recommended, but they are the final say.
- Do they receive training on how to allocate funds from advisors or other staff?
- The committee does receive training on how they allocate funds but it's also mostly describe in the Code on Finance.
- Is there a tool you use to help students be objective in their decision-making?
- We have an annual review process on the code for changes to be made that is presented and approved to the committee which then moves to Senate for final approval.
- What is the process for how various units receive fees (including rate increases/decreases)
- This varies from year to year but there is a base rate they provide for requests for all clubs and orgs. There are many considerations, but they are moving away from using prior year's funding usage as a guideline. The increases are based on the projection of enrollment so it could either remain the same or increase.
- What timeline does the institution follow in approving the following year's budget?
- The committee meets over the winter break (typically the week before school) they usually spend the whole week from 8-5 holding Annual Budget hearings by a representative of the clubs and orgs going over their budget for the next year.
- Each committee member prepares a recommendation of their own to bring into the regular finance committee meeting.
- The committee usually finalizes the budget before spring break and usually approved in April. Keep in mind the committee does meet weekly from 1:00-4:00 PM, and has to make decisions on those rolling finance requests and as many Annual Budget requests as possible.
- Do fee receiving units present a proposal in an attempt to communicate their needs? If so:
- Is there a guide that is used to assist the units in creating this?
- Yes! Clubs and orgs (and some campus departments) fill out a form that shows what and how much they are requesting, how much they need for their event in total (this includes items that may or may not be fundable, it just gives the committee a bigger picture of what they need), if there are any other sources of funding
- The more recent committees have provided a video discussing the process to offer help and transparency in the process.
- What do you feel are the complications of your current process?
- Before the committee was more flexible with numbers such as using prior funding usage and other factors, it now has changed since there has been more fears about unfair funding practices by other institutions. The hard and fast base budget created an equitable baseline for the student needs.
- What do you feel are the benefits of your current process?
- Having a two step process I think helps both the Senate and the Committee, the Senate knows the Finance Committee has done their due diligence before providing a recommendation. The practice also makes request funding easier.
- Is there anything else about your process you would like to share?
- When doing Code on Finance reviews, they are always bringing to the table about gaps the students are facing when it comes to funding such as: Why are we still unable to fund these items? But with time and funding changes, they've been able to create some of these changes by creating new programs in order to meet these gaps. The process is and will always be for students, by students.
Links for more information:
Finance | California State University, Northridge (csun.edu)Annual Budget | California State University, Northridge (csun.edu)If you have any other questions, I am more than happy to share and connect you!
Best,
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Abigail Garcia
Marketing Instructional Assistant
University of Houston
Houston TX
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-06-2022 11:35
From: Jim Johnson
Subject: Campus Fee Process
Hello Bailee.
At Indiana University, he Student Government does not facilitate this process. We have a Committee for Fee Review, coordinated through the Dean of Students Office, that reviews proposals and recommends a fee structure every two years. They meet in the spring prior to the academic year in which the new fee amount will take effect. The student body president is one member of the committee. The Committee makes a recommendation to the Vice Provost, who endorses it and sends the recommendation to the Provost, and so on until the Trustees adopt the new fee structure.
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Jim Johnson
Associate Director, Student Involvement & Leadership Center
Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington IN
Original Message:
Sent: 06-02-2022 18:12
From: Bailee Myers
Subject: Campus Fee Process
Hello!
My name is Bailee Myers, and I work within the Student Affairs division at the University of Kansas. Our team here is trying to get some information about how other institutions manage their campus fee process in an attempt to inform how we might work with our Student Senate to streamline our process a bit more.
Overall, we're looking for an overview of your process to see what best practices might exist among like institutions.
If possible, would you be able to provide an overview of your fee allocation process?
Specifically, we're wondering:
- What role does your student government have in allocating student fee money? If students are involved:
- Do they receive training on how to allocate funds from advisors or other staff?
- Is there a tool you use to help students be objective in their decision-making?
- What is the process for how various units receive fees (including rate increases/decreases)
- What timeline does the institution follow in approving the following year's budget?
- Do fee receiving units present a proposal in an attempt to communicate their needs? If so:
- Is there a guide that is used to assist the units in creating this?
- Who do the units present to?
- Who is included in the chain of "decision-makers"?
- What do you feel are the complications of your current process?
- What do you feel are the benefits of your current process?
- Is there anything else about your process you would like to share?
If meeting over Zoom or talking on the phone would be easier for you, let me know. I'd be happy to schedule a time for us to connect.
Thanks for the help!
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Bailee Myers
Assistant Director of Programs
University of Kansas
Lawrence KS
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