The Undergraduate Finance Committee finalized decisions Thursday on where it would allocate its $755,000 budget for fiscal year 2004-05, beginning June 30.
Of the seven organizations receiving money, six were given a larger sum than last year, with Programming Board receiving the largest share at $366,000 and Student Assembly receiving the largest increase, up $20,000 from last year.
Student Body President Janos Marton '04, who chairs the UFC as a nonvoting member, attributed the Assembly's increase to $80,000 next year primarily to the popular College Readership Program instituted this year to provide free newspapers to students. That program costs the Assembly an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 per year, according to Marton.
The Assembly also asked for additional financing to assist in funding more club sports, which it has discussed in recent meetings, but the UFC decided that club sports fell more under the administration's jurisdiction, and therefore did not provide the requested funds.
"SA asked for more than it got, and one of the reasons it didn't receive it is the club sports decision," Marton said.
The UFC receives its money each year from the student activities fees every student pays as part of their tuition. This year, students pay approximately $60 per term, according to Marton, which added up equals the UFC's $755,000 budget. That budget is then divided among seven student organizations: Programming Board, Council on Student Organizations, Student Assembly, Class Council, Collis Governing Board, Greek Leadership Council and Student Life Leadership.
"The UFC is the only group that is exclusively from the students, through students, and given back to the students," Marton said. "It is the only student funding that does fall under administration authority."
The committee met five times in recent weeks to hear presentations from each group, and then made the decisions based on the amount each organization asked for and the amount the UFC deemed necessary for each.
"Requests by groups were well beyond the available funds, so they had to prove not only the use, but the necessity of their funding request," Marton said.
The committee's annual budget increases each year because the student activities fee is tied to tuition, so it increases annually proportionately to the tuition increase. Last year's budget was around $720,000.
Programming Board's $366,000 is up $3,000 from last year. COSO received $215,000, up $10,000 from last year. The Assembly received $80,000. up $20,000 from last year. Class Council received $2,000 more, up to $27,000. The Collis Governing Board was allotted $25,000, a $1,000 increase. GLC also got an extra $1,000, receiving $20,000, and Student Life Leadership was the only group to have its fund cut, down $2,000 to $22,000.
Marton said he thought part of the reason Student Life Leadership funding decreased moderately was because there were questions within the UFC as to whether students were completely in control of the program.
The numbers are not official until Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia signs off on the allocations, but since Sateia sits in on every UFC meeting she said that her signature is sure to follow in the next few days.
She applauded the UFC's work this year, and stressed the importance of the behind-the-scenes committee to the student body.
"The UFC is one of the student committees on campus that has such an impact that I would hope more students would apply to serve on it," Sateia said. "It is an important job, allocating the $755,000 in undergraduate student activities dues."
