SABC allocates funds for 2010-11 academic year

The student activity budget, determined by the Student Activity Budget Committee and approved by GCSU President Dorothy Leland, was released this past Wednesday.

Every spring semester, the university budget office sends the committee the student activity fee budget based on the predicted fall enrollment, and with it, SABC allocates funds to student organizations which request it for the following academic year.

“It’s for any student organization. It’s your student activity fee; any activity that affects students could technically come in front of us and ask for money,” said Claire Cantrell, the 2010-11 SGA secretary.

The student activity fee students pay each year goes specifically into the student activity fee budget. This year’s total projected revenue is about $963,000.

“Because there was no requested increase in student activity fees, the available funds for this year’s budgeting year, which will go into effect July 1, was very close to what was available last year,” said Dr. Paul Jahr, associate vice president for student affairs and financial advisor to SABC.

SABC consists of the current SGA president and the upcoming SGA officers. However, with Zach Mullins returning as SGA president, SABC only consisted of five members this year.

The budget committee met twice in April to listen to about 35 registered student organizations request funds. Each organization had around 30 minutes to present their proposal. There were around 15 new RSOs this year requesting funding.

“This year we saw a substantial increase in organizations asking for SABC funds,” Cantrell said. “I think as the word gets out more as well as in the economy, few groups are wanting to charge dues.”

Once SABC hammers out the details of the budget, it is sent to Dr. Bruce Harshbarger, the vice president for Student Affairs, who then can adjust it, if need be, before sending it on to Leland for final approval. The student activity budget was finalized April 23.

Organizers for events such as Battle of the Bands, the Deep Roots Festival and Sequence and Smiles requested funds for next year. And while some are not student groups, they are student activities, which can be allocated funds if they meet the necessary stipulations.

For an organization to be eligible for funds, it must be officially registered or show that it has been involved on campus for the past two consecutive years. An organization also must be open to all students, give interested students the right to apply for membership and have a faculty advisor.

Organizations requesting student activity fee money are required to submit a budget preparation statement to communicate their purpose, expected learning outcomes and goals and other funding sources. Organizations also have to submit a budget request and the latest computer printout of the budget, if it is relevant. SABC also considers requests for one-time expenditures and travel funds.

SABC follows pre-approved allocation percentages as set up for them in their guidelines roughly four years ago. Departmental funds get 51 percent of the pre-approved allocations. These funds cover the Department of Campus Life and The GIVE Center.

“It’s mostly administrative and generally some activities Campus Life will put on, but for the most part that goes towards the salaries for (Campus Life employees),” Cantrell said.

Other than Tom Miles, the director of Campus Life, all other Campus Life employees are paid through this budget.

“A good percentage of that is the personal services for the professional staff and the student staff because Campus Life probably employs more students than any other department on campus,” Jahr said.

The student organization and activity funds are allocated 39 percent of the budget. Of this 39 percent, 8 percent goes to SGA, 6 percent to Campus Activities Board and 25 percent to additional RSOs.

The remaining 10 percent is allocated to contingency funds, a reserve set aside for any unexpected expenses. While state funds are sent back to the state if not utilized by June 30, any unexpected funds that were not used by an organization by the end of this year roll forward into the contingency funds.

“The reserve is in place to address any potential shortfall,” Jahr said.

According to Jahr, these funds have been used to help renovate The Den as well as fix up the intramural fields. While the amount per organization varies, Jahr said the smallest allocation this year was approximately $600, while the largest was a little over $30,000.

“As far as whether organization X gets $10,000 or $100,000, that’s in the hands of SABC,” Jahr said. “It is truly a student-run process.”

Posted by Allison Bramlett on Apr 30 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry