Here's an interesting idea to jump-start the pre-reform brainstorm session in the S.A.: ask what works elsewhere. Julie Bindelglass tells me that the S.A. Senate Finance Committee, working with S.A.C., sent out a questionnaire to 14 other Universities about their practices.
A sample of the questions:
Who is in charge of the student fee money? Is it one person, a committee, part of the executive or legislative portion of the student government? What oversight is there on whoever is in charge?
What is considered when looking at budgets?
Do you distinguish between operational and event costs? What do you typically fund?How do students have input in the financial process?
Do students receive reimbursements? If yes, how?
Is it a separate process for undergraduate and graduate organizations?
Bindelglass says that the committee is "aiming to have the report [based on the survey] ready after allocations," so we can't expect any meaningful change this year (and it's a toss-up whether the survey will net any decent ideas). That said, this is worth a shot.
More as it comes, folks.
(For an evening chock-full of warm, gooey Patriot goodness, check out some of our writers' past work [published here and elsewhere] on the student fee and the allocations process.)
