Campus Policies

Scope

This policy impacts all student organizations supported by Fund A, the student, faculty, and staff members of the Student Activities Budget Commission, the Gateway, Student Senate, the Vice Chancellor for Division of Student Success, and the Chancellor.

Policy Statement

a. Allocation of Fund A monies is restricted to the following three organizations on each campus: (1) student government, (2) student programming, and (3) student newspaper. Fund A monies may not be used for academic programs or functions directly related to academic programs.

b. Offices receiving Fund A support must benefit a broad based student population. Student governments may not distribute Fund A monies to individuals, except in the form of wages for services performed, nor to groups or organizations that are not established by and under the direct control of student government.

c. Student programming organizations may make grants of Fund A monies to other student groups and organizations to support the programming needs of such groups and organizations. Such grants may only be made on a one fiscal year basis; may be made only with the approval of the cognizant Chancellor; may not be expended for wages, equipment, office supplies, or travel; and may not be granted to a single organization more than once in a two-year period. (RP-5.9.1(2))

Reason for Policy

This policy exists to demonstrate compliance at the campus level with Board of Regents Policy 5.9.1.

Procedures

1. Fund A requests are submitted to and approved by the Student Activities Budget Commission (SABC), which is comprised of nine students and three faculty/staff members. Fund A dollars are allocated only once per year based on the final recommendations from SABC. SABC may provide Fund A allocations to The Gateway, Maverick Productions, and Student Government and its Agencies or any entities created and controlled by the above groups. 

2. The funding priorities are decided upon by the student leaders of each requesting organization in conjunction with their faculty/staff advisors.

3. Hearing dates for the initial meetings of the SABC established to allocate fees shall be published in The Gateway (or appropriate campus news media) ten (10) days prior to such hearings with costs being defrayed by the UPFF allocation to The Gateway, and a tentative allocation shall be published in The Gateway (or appropriate campus news media). This published information shall include the salaries, the operating budgets, and the capital expenditures of all groups receiving fee funding. The cost will be dealt with as above, and coinciding with the publication of the tentative allocation, there shall be a publication of the final hearing dates of the SABC.

4. The requesting groups make presentations before SABC outlining their requests, providing justification, and reviewing their past spending history. SABC members are given the opportunity to question the requesting groups. These hearings are open to the public, but only the members of SABC and the requesting organizations are permitted to speak. 

5. After a final hearing, the fees allocation body shall draw up the final allocation proposal to be submitted to Student Senate for approval; after such approval by Student Senate, the final allocation shall be published in The Gateway (or appropriate campus news media). 

6. The Senate’s approval document is then sent to the Vice Chancellor for Division of Student Success and the Chancellor for approval. 

7. During Student Government elections, the student body votes to approve the allocation of funds to the Gateway and Maverick Productions, as well as any funds designated for salaries for Student Government officers. 

8. Maverick Productions is able to provide recognized student organizations with grants to support their programming efforts. Maverick Productions requests funding through SABC and has its own approval committee/process to handle these grant requests. 

9. Redistribution of Fund A monies among major categories may be accomplished only with the approval of both the Student Senate and the Chancellor.

10. The formally recognized Student Government Agencies (American Multicultural Students, International Student Services, Network for Disabled Students, Queer and Trans Services, and Women’s Resource Center) are able to request additional funds from the Senate since they are entities created, and ultimately governed, by Student Government. Maverick Productions and The Gateway can request additional funds, but the level of scrutiny applied to them is much greater.

Definitions

Fund A: the portion of UPF Fees designated for student activities which are managed by student groups that shall be distributed according to an annual budget developed by Student Government. (RP-5.9.1(1)).

Related Information

General policies governing the administration of Student Fees are set forth in §5.9 of the Board of Regents Policies of the University of Nebraska.

History

Policy approved by the Chancellor’s Cabinet on August 15, 2017.  This policy codifies what has been practice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), but does not replace any existing policy.