More than 300 Registered Student Organizations are funded through a campus activity fee. For several years, some of that money has not been used to fund RSO events and activities but rather to pay the salaries of Student Development personnel and other administrative costs. This is a practice that has gone on for years, and it's about time that it stops. Student Development is responsible for allocating funds to campus RSOs. The siphoned off portion from the student activity fee goes to Student Development. Between $30,000 to $50,000 will be taken out this year. By 2004, another $100,000 is expected to be taken out. All told, some $325,000 of student fee money is expected to cover non-student activity costs during the next four years.
According to the 2002-2003 SIU Undergraduate Catalog, full-time students enrolled between 12 and 15 credit hours pay a total of $602.40 in student fees, covering the Student Center, Student Recreational Center and student medical needs. The activity fee which, "funds student organizations and activities on campus," according to the catalog, caps out a $29.25 for 12-plus credit hours. Multiply that amount by the roughly 20,000 students enrolled on campus - excluding those who are ineligible to pay - and you get a ballpark total of more than $500,000. But nothing in this section of the catalog specifically states that a portion of the Student Activity Fee will be allocated back to Student Development.
It does state that, "All fees are considered to be institutional in nature and require payment regardless of whether or not the student receives direct benefits or is in a location, which permits access to such benefits" (p. 32). This is a very broad policy that could allow for all sorts of "institutional" shenanigans involving the appropriation of student fee money. The money geared toward activities specifically designed for students should be used for that purpose only. Any money needed to pay for accountants and/or salaries should come from state funding. The excuse that, "It's always been done this way," is simply that: an excuse.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Larry Dietz has defended the practice, citing other universities that follow a similar pattern, and the practical purpose of using the money to hire personnel to ensure that the entire RSO funding system is run properly. However, that argument is questionable given the recent funding problems of the Black Affairs Council. Last May, Undergraduate Student Government allocated $29,266 in RSO funding to BAC. The council was later told that it owed about $22,000 to cover a five-year overspending deficit in its budget, leaving the organization with about $7,000 to fund events. But BAC was not informed of the oversight because of a still unexplained glitch within Student Development's accounting system.
This error indicates the RSO funding system isn't perfect, and that student fee money may be best served elsewhere, perhaps to make up for BAC's and other RSO funding shortfalls. With student fees expected to increase during the same four-year period, we urge Student Affairs and Student Development to find alternatives to pay for their accountants. These people should be getting paid with state funds - not students'.
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
