The Student Fee Allocation Committee (SFAC) has determined the new budgets for Laramie County Community College’s clubs and student organizations.
Every club on campus has the opportunity to submit a budget with the money coming from student fees, a mandatory bill for every student at LCCC, collected at a rate decided by the LCCC Board of Trustees. This money funds activities and supplies, but its primary function is to fund clubs.
SFAC was made up of 11 voting members, each of whom was a student. Of the 11 voting members, 10 were students from each division (now school: Workforce; Business, Agriculture and Computer Technology; Health Sciences; Education, Natural and Social Sciences; Arts and Humanities), handpicked by the respective deans from the spring 2013 semester.
The final voting member of the committee was the Student Government Association treasurer, Tycee Mohler, who has since moved to SGA’s vice president this semester.
Four nonvoting faculty members were Jeri Griego, instructor of accounting and business; Scott Moncrief, instructor of education; Jenny Rigg, then dean of Campus Living and Learning; and Danielle Saulsberry, a specialist for student leadership and involvement and the SGA adviser. Griego and Moncrief acted as advisers to the committee, while Rigg was the facilitator and Saulsberry the compliance official.
The first task of the committee was to become acquainted with the policy. The students were “eager to help and do it right,” Rigg said.
Before meeting with each club, the committee discussed the criteria upon which they would base their decisions: enhancement of student health and welfare; support of social, cultural, educational or recreational needs of students; enhancement of the college’s image; past accomplishments; student participation; creation of a variety of clubs to reach as much as the student body as possible. In addition, the committee members were unable to vote for any club in which they retained a membership. “The committee did its best to remain unbiased,” Rigg explained.
Each club asking for allocations was required to make a presentation to the committee. Many clubs knew they might receive reduced budgets and built a safety net into their presentation. For example, when a club presented and gave a list of conferences they would like to attend, the committee would ask them which conference they would give up if they had to choose. Some clubs would include a conference they did not deem necessary to have an easy choice in that decision.
The drop in the available budget for SFAC was significant this year. Because of declining enrollment, according to Saulsberry, the available budget was limited to $410,000. However, the SFAC committee decided to give only $375,257. This is quite a difference from the 2012-2013 allocations of $446,959. This may be a blow to some clubs, as the requests before allocations this year totaled $485,103.
Some 28 clubs received allocations from SFAC, with only one, the Surgical Technology club, receiving more than requested.
While $43,000 was dedicated to college-provided student supplies like academic planners for the new semester, $32,800 remains. The monies left over were set aside for appeals and emergencies. There were four appeals to the process.
If a club were to make a national competition, it could return to the SFAC committee to ask for help. The SFAC committee would then draw from the safety net of 8 percent it had nested away.
In their requests, 22 clubs decided they needed an increased budget. Only six clubs lowered their budgets, which explains why the requests were more than $75,000 overbudget.
In the allocations, only three clubs received less than 50 percent of their requested budget. In all three cases, the budget was reduced because the expenses were not deemed necessary or did not comply with SFAC guidelines.
Three clubs received their full request. Active Minds, International Ambassadors and the Radiography club were each known to fundraise a majority of their funds, with Active Minds being noted as the top-ranking presentation in the SFAC request packet.
Every club on campus has the opportunity to submit a budget with the money coming from student fees, a mandatory bill for every student at LCCC, collected at a rate decided by the LCCC Board of Trustees. This money funds activities and supplies, but its primary function is to fund clubs.
SFAC was made up of 11 voting members, each of whom was a student. Of the 11 voting members, 10 were students from each division (now school: Workforce; Business, Agriculture and Computer Technology; Health Sciences; Education, Natural and Social Sciences; Arts and Humanities), handpicked by the respective deans from the spring 2013 semester.
The final voting member of the committee was the Student Government Association treasurer, Tycee Mohler, who has since moved to SGA’s vice president this semester.
Four nonvoting faculty members were Jeri Griego, instructor of accounting and business; Scott Moncrief, instructor of education; Jenny Rigg, then dean of Campus Living and Learning; and Danielle Saulsberry, a specialist for student leadership and involvement and the SGA adviser. Griego and Moncrief acted as advisers to the committee, while Rigg was the facilitator and Saulsberry the compliance official.
The first task of the committee was to become acquainted with the policy. The students were “eager to help and do it right,” Rigg said.
Before meeting with each club, the committee discussed the criteria upon which they would base their decisions: enhancement of student health and welfare; support of social, cultural, educational or recreational needs of students; enhancement of the college’s image; past accomplishments; student participation; creation of a variety of clubs to reach as much as the student body as possible. In addition, the committee members were unable to vote for any club in which they retained a membership. “The committee did its best to remain unbiased,” Rigg explained.
Each club asking for allocations was required to make a presentation to the committee. Many clubs knew they might receive reduced budgets and built a safety net into their presentation. For example, when a club presented and gave a list of conferences they would like to attend, the committee would ask them which conference they would give up if they had to choose. Some clubs would include a conference they did not deem necessary to have an easy choice in that decision.
The drop in the available budget for SFAC was significant this year. Because of declining enrollment, according to Saulsberry, the available budget was limited to $410,000. However, the SFAC committee decided to give only $375,257. This is quite a difference from the 2012-2013 allocations of $446,959. This may be a blow to some clubs, as the requests before allocations this year totaled $485,103.
Some 28 clubs received allocations from SFAC, with only one, the Surgical Technology club, receiving more than requested.
While $43,000 was dedicated to college-provided student supplies like academic planners for the new semester, $32,800 remains. The monies left over were set aside for appeals and emergencies. There were four appeals to the process.
If a club were to make a national competition, it could return to the SFAC committee to ask for help. The SFAC committee would then draw from the safety net of 8 percent it had nested away.
In their requests, 22 clubs decided they needed an increased budget. Only six clubs lowered their budgets, which explains why the requests were more than $75,000 overbudget.
In the allocations, only three clubs received less than 50 percent of their requested budget. In all three cases, the budget was reduced because the expenses were not deemed necessary or did not comply with SFAC guidelines.
Three clubs received their full request. Active Minds, International Ambassadors and the Radiography club were each known to fundraise a majority of their funds, with Active Minds being noted as the top-ranking presentation in the SFAC request packet.