The Student Activities and Budget Advisory Committee made decisions about where to spend more than $288,000 worth of student funds during fiscal year 2012.
The graph below displays where the money was spent. SABAC approved 48 travel requests from Registered Student Organizations costing more than $63,000. SABAC also approved 69 programs or banquet requests that cost more than $223,000.
SABAC is a board made up of both students, staff and faculty that vote on requests for funding by student organizations. These votes are passed on to the vice president of Student Success and Enrollment Services, Jerome Ratchford, who makes the final decision.
Every RSO receives $400 in “seed” money at the beginning of each fiscal year, however, RSOs can request supplemental funding for things like banquets, on campus activities, travel expenses and T-shirts. “The T-Shirts are an incentive to get people to come to events, it gives visibility to some organizations on campus, and there is a tradition associated with it,” Ratchford said.
The amount of money used to buy t-shirts is unclear as requests for funding usually fall under the same heading as banquets and on campus events.
“Last year there was a substantial increase in funding that went toward activities that took place here on campus,” Ratchford said.
At the end of the fiscal year 2012, there was more than $70,000 in Prior Year Surplus from all Line Item Budget funds, including Student Government Association, Student Life operations, Student Media and a contingency fund.
SGA President Rosalyn Hedgpeth said she believed the money was used wisely. “We have been challenged yet to say we’ve run out of money.”
Ratchford and Hedgpeth said the Contingency fund is where supplemental funding for RSOs comes from.
“I wonder why so much money is spent on t-shirts and food as opposed to supporting the production of products like OWL Radio,” asked Jordan Dietsch, junior mathematics major. “It seems strange but every university seems to do it.”
Ratchford remembered one instance in five years when he overturned a decision made by SABAC. A quote presented to SABAC by a line- item organization, which he felt uncomfortable naming, requested supplemental funding after the start of the year that he believed did not justify the increase in funding.
Hedgpeth is a voting member of SABAC and urges students to participate.
“I wish more students would come to the meetings and take a more active role in how their student fees are spent,” Hedgpeth said.
If interested in SABAC, student fees and funding or the policies of SABAC, information about the
group can be found online at kennesaw.edu/ studentsuccess/sabac.shtml. Public records of each board meeting are published at this site and a meeting schedule is available. SABAC meetings typically occur every other Wednesday during the semester from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Look for a follow-up on SABAC in the next issue.
