UticaCollege
Student Senate Finance Committee
Constitutional Supplement
Created April 5, 2006
Updated September 7, 2009
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UticaCollege
Student Senate Mission Statement
The Student Senate exists to enhance student life by breaking down barriers of diversity, by promoting the values of education, and by empowering students through involvement in Student Senate, student clubs and organizations, and the All-College Council and All-College Forum.
The Student Senate serves as a liaison between the students in all issues pertaining to student life and to allocate the Student Activities Fee Fund in a fair and unbiased manner.
By listening to the students’ issues and concerns, the Student Senate will then serve as the voice for all the students at UticaCollege. Moreover, the Student Senate wants to be the support for all students in their endeavors. We will encourage school spirit and pride through programming in an effort to build a cohesive community.
Student Senate
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee consists of 6 voting members and a chairperson. The voting members includes: 2 elected positions; 2 appointed positions; the Student Senate Treasurer; Student Senate Secretary, and is chaired by the Student Senate Comptroller. The advisor to the Finance Committee can be any UticaCollege staff or faculty member. The role of the Student Senate Finance Committees (excerpted from the Student Senate Constitution):
The purpose of the Finance Committee is to allocate the funding received through the collection of the Student Activities Fee
In the case of allocations for the amount of $100 or less, the Finance Committee shall be the only approving body. They will report such allocations to the Senate general assembly at its next meeting.
The Finance Committee shall be responsible for making sure that all proposals meet the criteria, set forth by the Committee, before being brought before the Senate.
The Finance Committee plays a necessary and important role in the funding process. The Finance Committee is the first group to hear a proposal. The reason this is done is to check for kinks and errors in proposals. The Finance Committee is also there to offer suggestions to the organizations about their proposals. These suggestions can be something such as: where to purchase items at a cheaper price. The Finance Committee is here to make sure that the Student Senate funds are used in the best possible manner. The Committee also checks on things such as making sure that events are evenly spread out rather than overlapping one another. The Committee also makes sure that there are a variety of events occurring. In a sense, the Finance Committee does the screening for the Senate. Otherwise, the Senate meeting would become long and tedious. The Finance Committee is there to make the process easier and more manageable for all involved.
RECOMMENDED APPROACHES FOR
MANAGING STUDENT ORGANIZATION FUNDS
AT UTICACOLLEGE
Recognized student organizations are encouraged to establish agency accounts with the College as the preferred mechanism for managing student organization funds. Such accounts provide ready access to student organization funds for legitimate club-related purposes, while maintaining adequate fiscal controls over revenue collections and expenditures in compliance with institutional policies and club expectations. Student organizations are not prohibited from opening a checking account at an area bank, but they are discouraged from doing so for a variety of fiscal control-related reasons.
Establish an “agency account” with UticaCollege – Meet with the Coordinator of Accounting Services, at610 French Rd. (315 792-3031), providing her with the exact name of the recognized student organization. She will assign an account number to the organization. When initially establishing the account, and subsequently annually in September, a form entitled, “Required Resolution for Agency Accounts” must be completed specifying who must sign withdrawal requests, including the signatures and titles of the advisor and the club officers authorized to sign requisition forms. The signatures of at least one officer and the club advisor are required.
Funds are expended for travel by filling out, with the required signatures, a travel authorization request (before you travel) and a travel expense voucher (after the trip); both forms are available on the UC website under General Accounting; submit them to the General Accounting Office, 610 French Rd. Funds for non-travel purposes are expended by filling out a disbursement voucher (available from General Accounting) and submitting it to General Accounting. To order items, complete a requisition form (available from the Purchasing Office) and submit it to the Purchasing Office, 610 French Rd. Most clubs are not eligible for tax exempt status; any tax-related questions should be directed to the Purchasing Office. Funds are deposited into the account by making a deposit at the cashier’s window in Student Financial Services; you must bring the account number; a receipt for each deposit will be provided.
Each student organization opening an agency account must realize that the institutional “Gift Resolution” procedure applies to these accounts. This “Gift Resolution” is explicitly stated on the annually completed Required Resolution for Agency Accounts form, and reads as follows: “Any balance remaining in the agency account after the agency has disbanded may be transferred by the Business Office to the current unrestricted funds of the College as a gift from the respective agency. Any agency that has no activity for a period of two (2) fiscal years will be considered disbanded for the purpose of transferring unused funds.”
Open a checking account with a local bank – Student organizations may open checking accounts with any area bank, though they are cautioned that club officer transitions and/or periods of club inactivity may create difficulties in accessing and managing accounts maintained in this fashion. If such an account is opened, UC’s tax exempt Federal Identification Number may not be used, and it is recommended that the club advisor be one of at least two required signatures on the account. It is further recommended that two or three club officers be authorized as co-signers on the account, and that signature cards with the bank are updated every time elections occur or whenever officer or advisor turnover occurs.
Note - If a student organization receives any student activities fee funding from the Student Senate, such funds are expended directly out of the Student Senate account. While officers from the funded club prepare the required paperwork, the Student Senate officers and advisor are the ones who sign this paperwork. Student Senate funds cannot be transferred into a student organization agency account or checking account. Additional information on funding sources for student organizations is outlined in the Club & Organization Manual, available from the Student Activities Office. This publication suggests that the student organization advisor’s role in fiscal matters includes monitoring expenditures, encouraging the group to maintain adequate records, and providing continuity from year to year.
The Student Activities Fee
At UticaCollege
Where it comes from:
All full-time undergraduate students and students in selected graduate programs are charged a student activities fee of $60.00 per semester. The activities fee is not charged during the winter or summer sessions. Student activities fee revenues in recent years totaled slightly above $200,000 annually.
How it is allocated:
Authority- one of the purposes of the Student Senate, as stated in its Constitution, is to “allocate the Student Activities Fee Fund in a fair and unbiased manner.”
Budget Development process- The Student Senate Finance Committee and Full Student Senate develop a proposed budget in the spring semester for the following academic year. This budget is usually approved by the final full meeting of the outgoing Student Senate in the spring. This is then submitted to the College President for his endorsement, and the budget accounts are then established for the following year in accordance with this budget.
Where it goes: Primary sub-categories in division of budget:
Student Senate office administrative costs
Student leadership stipends
Shuttle van expenses
Student Senate sponsored events & productions costs
(Includes Leadership weekend & New Student Record)
Programming Board
Inter-Greek Council
Finance Committee (club funding)
Finance Committee (traditional events)
Legacy (Yearbook)
Ampersand (Literary Magazine)
Student Professional Travel Budget
Student Professional Travel Budget
This allows for the allocation of funds for individuals to attend research and academic conferences without the need of affiliation with a student organization. The authority of this budget lay in the hands of the Faculty Resource Committee. The criteria are set by this committee and a collaboration of the Finance Committee. A faculty or staff member must either write a letter of recommendation on the students’ behalf or appear before the body that decided on the allocation of these funds, and would need to accompany the student or students to the conference. A student may be funded either through the Student Professional Travel Budget or through their organization’s request from the Finance Committee, but may not be funded out of both sources. Students funded from this source are encouraged to make a presentation to a class or student group on campus, sharing their research or what they learned from the conference.
HOW TO RECEIVE FUNDS
Funding Criteria
As set forth by the Student Senate Constitution:
Article VIII:
Funding for organizations will only be given for:
- Campus-wide events encompassing the whole student body.
- Cultural or educational events of exceptional merit.
- Student travel that benefits the college community.
In order to receive any funding, an organization must follow the process outlined in this manual. Before ANY funding can be requested or received, an organization must be registered with the Student Senate office. Registration is done in the beginning of the fall semester, and forms are due in the Office of Student Affairs normally by a date at the end of September, however this may vary. After registration is completed an organization representative goes to the Student Senate office or the Office of Student Affairs and gets a proposal form. These forms must be filled out in order for your funding request to be considered. There are certain criteria that must be met when writing a proposal. These criteria can be found on the proposal forms themselves.
PROPOSAL CRITERIA
The written proposal should include the following information: WHY this event/program is necessary, HOW it can benefit the UC campus, WHEN the event will occur, WHO will be responsible for making this event possible. Once, the forms are filled out properly an appointment can be made with the Finance Committee.
It is in your best interest to describe the event to the best of your ability and to explain how the students at UC can benefit from such an event. Use the expense sheet to itemize what you will need for such an event. The more accurate you are, the easier it is to understand what you need. It is important to note that the Student Senate does not and will not fund events that are not open to the entire UC community, or are not educations in nature and/or beneficial to the school and its students. The Student Senate will not fund “bar nights.”
PROPOSAL FORMS
There are 3 proposal forms available. Each of these 3 forms serves a different purpose. The greenproposal forms are to be for on or off-campus event which are open to the entire student body. The orange proposal forms are to be used when requesting funding conferences or educational trips which take place off-campus. Examples of such trips would be those sponsored by educational clubs to attend annual conferences or an organization wanting to attend a leadership conference or educational visits. The whiteproposal forms are to be used only by organizations who wish to be considered for Traditional Funding status. These (white) are filled out and heard in the spring semester and are not considered throughout the school year.
Proposal forms can be picked up at the Student Senate office or in the Office of Student Affairs. Any member of the Executive Board can distribute these forms. These forms are to be handed in when your organization signs up for an appointment or one week prior to your appointment with the Finance Committee. It would be wise to have an extra copy for yourself because the original copy that is given to the Senate remains on file. These forms MUST contain the signature of the organization’s President or Treasurer. It the organization is Greek, the proposal form must contain the signature of the IGC (Inter-Greek Council) President or Treasurer;and most important that of the organization’s advisor. It is important to that you should make sure that your appointment with the Finance Committee is at least four weeks prior to when you would like your event to be.
** Please note that you should contact the Student Senate Comptroller to find out the deadline for handing in proposal forms and making appointments with the Finance Committee. This may vary by the Comptroller. **
FUNDING STIPULATIONS
All clubs/organizations should take these funding stipulations into account when applying for funding through the Student Senate:
There is a $70 maximum per room, per night for hotel expenses
There is a $500 maximum for honorariums
There is $50 maximum for transportation, airfare will only befundedso long as it is the cheapest and/or most feasible mode of transportation.
There is a $25 maximum for gasoline needed for travel
There is no funding for transportation while on any educational trip or conference, only to and from the desired location.
These is no funding for club/organization t-shirts
There is no funding for prizes/gifts
There is no funding for food purchases while on any educational trip or conference.
For clubs/organizations requesting funds for off-campus conference or educational trips, you will be required to raise, put forth or secure from an outside source 25% of the amount for which you are asking from the Senate before your proposal will be heard. Please note that this amount does not detract from the amount from which you will be approved by the Student Senate.
For clubs/organizations receiving funding from Student Senate for a conference or educational trip, a list must be provided with all students who will be attending as well as contact information and their signatures along with the signature of the advisor.
Clubs/organization receiving funding from Student Senate are not allowed to charge UticaCollege students for their event with the exception of donations and security. In the case of donations a finance committee member must be present at the collections table to monitor funds received and proof of donation must be submitted to the Comptroller or Treasurer. In both cases funding can only be requested if event is held on campus.
There are also limits on the amount that each organization may request. These caps are based on the number of people attending the conference/educational trip, and are as follows:
# Of People / Maximum amount of funding1-4 / $500
5-9 / $1,000
10-14 / $1,500
15-19 / $2,000
20+ / $2,500
TRADITIONAL EVENTS
The purpose of traditional funding is to preserve UticaCollege tradition by ensuring that successful long-standing events can continue to be held. Clubs/organizations may apply each year for traditional funding by the Student Senate if their event meets the following criteria:
Has been held on-campus for at least 5 consecutive years
Benefits a population of 50+ people and is open to the student body
Has been considered a repeated success as interpreted by the Student Senate Finance Committee
Traditional proposals are accepted and heard in the spring semester on dates determined by the Student Senate Comptroller.
FINANCE COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
There must be at least one organization representative to present the proposal at the Finance Committee appointment. Only one proposal is presented per time slot. If an organization has two or more proposals, they must sign up for two or more proposal times. After the proposal is presented and the budget is explained, the floor is opened for questions from the Committee members. Once the questions are answered, the Finance Committee will discuss the proposal and a vote will be made. The organization representative will then find out if the proposal is approved and the recommended amount to the full Senate.
If a proposal is not approved and recommended by the Finance Committee to the full Senate, the organizations will be told the reason(s) why at this time. Common reasons for not being approved could be because the proposal lacked information or because the Finance Committee felt that the event would not be opened to the entire UC community. The organization can improve their proposal and sign up for an appointment at a later date.
Sometimes a proposal is approved, but for a different amount than the original amount. This may be because the prices were not realistic, the expenses were adjusted to fit the funding stipulations, or because the Finance Committee made a suggestions on how to do something in a less costly manner.
PROPOSALS PASSED BY THE FINANCE COMMITTEE
If the proposal is approved by the Finance Committee, it goes to the next level which is the Student Senate. The proposal will be heard and voted on at the next Senate meeting. These meetings occur every other week. The organization representative gives a brief outline of what the proposal is about, and thenthe floor is opened for questions from the Senators. After all the questions have been answered, the Senators vote on the proposal and the recommendation of the Finance Committee. If the event is approved by the Senate, the next step in the process is getting the paperwork rolling. An organization representative can come to the Senate office as early as the day after the proposal is approved by the Senate. It is crucial to start the paperwork process as soon as possible to allow enough time between the filing of the paperwork and the actual event. Checks are only cut by the Purchasing Office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please keep this in mind when submitting paperwork.