SFC begins budget deliberations

SFC Update: $12 million gets ready for disbursement

Fall term of every year is a time when Portland State student groups and university departments are very busy.

Why? Aside from the initial hustle and bustle of every school year, Fall term is also budget season.

The Student Fee Committee, the student organization in charge of this operation, kicked off initial budget hearings yesterday, reviewing the proposed budgets for Smith Memorial Student Union, The Multicultural Center and Student Activities and Leadership Programs, to name a few.

The Student Fee Committee is in charge of allocating $12.5 million to student groups, including Athletics and The Vanguard.

Thus far, the committee has put a significant amount of budget requests in the “maybe” pile–these departments will get their budgets approved pending additional information or requirements, requested by the committee.

The SFC’s processAny department or group seeking funding from the SFC must follow a basic process:

STEP 1: Initial deliberation hearings. Initial budgets are modified, approved, and some even denied–at least temporarily.

STEP 2: A 10-day appeals period. At this time, departments and groups may appeal their allocation if they feel they’ve been short-changed.

STEP 3: Final deliberation hearings. Budgets are finalized during this stage.

STEP 4: Final approval. PSU’s president and the ASPSU Senate approve the finalized budgets.One policy change this year is that initial deliberations for the university’s department budgets are now deliberated on before student group budgets, a rule the SFC passed last spring term.

“This year we are looking at how the mission statement is reflected in the budget,” said Tanja Miljevic, Vice Chair of the SFC. “We want to make sure that what they strive for on campus is what they are asking for money for.”

This year’s committeeChair: Aimeera FlintVice Chair: Tanja MiljevicMembers: Patricia Binder, Petter Dahgren, Matt Ellis, Yazmin Estevez, Vanessa Hernandez, Waddah Sufan.

Typical questionsThe SFC controls a huge amount of money, and they won’t give it away if student groups are using their funds for uses outside the group’s goal. Here are a few questions the SFC typically poses to student groups:

“How is your group reaching out to a diverse population on campus?””How many students are served by your organization?””Are you using the funds to reach intended goals?”

One Department’s Quest for FundingThe Academically-Controlled Auxiliary Activities Committee (AAA), whose case was heard at the Tuesday meeting, fields such questions. AAA provides travel money to students invited to universities and conferences to read papers, sit on a panels, or present creative work. Their requested, and now pending, budget is $33,965.

The SFC had queries about this department, but did approve the funds once those concerns were satisfied with explanations.

Aimeera Flint, chair of the SFC, requested that AAA report how many students utilize this service, and how diverse those students were. Flint and the other committee members were concerned that, as Miljevic said, “The students who benefit are only students who are ‘in the know.'”

In order to receive their money, the SFC ruled that AAA must work on outreach to all types of students on campus.

Department budget deliberations will conclude today, with student group deliberations set to be examined in the coming weeks.