THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY
Student Government Association
Student Activity Fee Committee By-laws
Amended February, 2009
PREAMBLE: UMKC Students pay activity fees to the University based on the number of credit hours in which they are enrolled. The Student Activity Fee represents Student Activity Fee Revenue that are allocated by the Chancellor and/or his/her designee, The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, to support out of classroom aspects of the University life based on the University of Missouri System Collected Rules and Regulations, 230.040 Student Facility and Activity Fees.
COMMITTEE PHILOSOPY: The Student Activity Fee Committee serves ALL students of the University of Missouri- Kansas City by making allocation recommendations to the Chancellor and/or his/her designee, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. Committee members must strive to represent the opinions and views of the entire campus and not just the views of the organizations they are a part of. The Student Activity Fee Committee (SAFC) respects the variety and diversity of UMKC students, organizations, and events and acts to promote campus programming that support student learning.
I. The Committee
A. Name
1. Under the direction of the Chancellor’s designee, The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, the committee responsible for the allocation of the Student Activity Fee is the Student Activity Fee Committee (SAFC).
B. Membership
1. The SGA Comptroller will serve as the SAFC Chair.
Duties of the Comptroller are:
a. To represent the Executive Council at Student Senate meetings.
b. To chair the Appropriations Committee (SAFC).
c. To prepare and present an annual allocation budget recommendations made by the Appropriations Committee to the Student Senate.
2. The position of Co-chair of the SAFC shall be elected from the Student Representatives of the SAFC by nomination or declaration of interested parties. This position shall be filled during the first fall meeting or no later than the second fall meeting of the academic school term.
Duties of the Co-chair are:
a. Chairing the SAFC Committee at the request of the Chair.
b. Helping the Chair prepare the annual SAFC retreat.
c. Keeping in regular contact with the SGA Comptroller and helping get materials ready for regularly scheduled meetings.
d. The Co-Chair of the SAFC committee cannot at anytime serve as President Pro-Tempore of the Student Senate.
e. The Co-Chair of the SAFC committee should chair the SAFC bylaws committee and hold (1) meeting per month to review the SAFC bylaws through-out their term.
3. The committee membership will consist of seventeen (17) students. These 17 students include the Chair and one from each of the twelve (12) academic units. To ensure diversity, there will also be a single full voting seat allowed for each secondary council: (a) the Residence Hall Association, (b) the Minority Student Council, (c) the International Student Council, and (d) Greek organizations. Any UMKC student eligible to be a student organization officer is eligible to serve on the committee.
4. The scribe shall be recommended by the SAFC chair to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management for approval of appointment.
5. No Student Government Association (SGA) Executive, other than the Comptroller, may serve on the SAFC.
6. If there is not a student willing to serve as the representative for a divisional council, only the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs can appoint a student from that academic unit.
7. The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management will select a faculty advisor, with first preference given to the Director of Student Involvement. The committee may select two additional faculty or non-student- UMKC staff members to form a non-voting resource council. The committee will select these members by majority vote, and may remove these members by majority vote. At any given time, the resource council may not exceed three (3) members.
8. Any SAFC member can nominate a resource council member for committee consideration.
C. Election of Committee Members
1. The election of new members from academic units must be from unit-wide elections. All academic council Constitutions must address the issues of elections, removal, succession, and alternates of SAFC.
2. The election of (a) the Residence Hall Association, (b) the Minority Student Council, (c) the International Student Council, and (d) Greek organization representatives must come from their membership organizations.
3. If individual councils require assistance in running an election, they may refer to the election guide or the election director.
D. Terms and Limits
1. A committee member’s term will last one calendar year.
2. Committee members may serve as many terms to which they are elected and remain eligible.
3. All 17-committee members making up the SAFC shall be elected and their names along with their alternate’s names must be submitted to SGA by May 1. Failure to comply will result in the loss of representation and funding until the council is able to submit the name of the representative and alternates to be on the SAFC committee to the SGA.
E. Meetings
1. The committee will meet at least once every two (2) weeks during the fall and spring semesters.
2. The committee will meet at least twice during the summer to review only annual budgets submitted by both divisional and secondary councils.
3. The scribe will be responsible for the recording of minutes and submitting it to the Chair within 72 hours after the meeting.
F. Voting Eligibility
1. Only student members of the committee may vote.
2. The Chair of the committee will vote only to break a tie.
G. Attendance
1. Attendance shall be defined as an SAFC representative being present from the time of Call to Order to Adjournment.
2. Members of the SAFC must maintain adequate attendance throughout his/her term in office. Failure to maintain adequate attendance is defined as two (2) consecutive unexcused absences or three (3) unexcused absences overall during the course of his/her term. Failure to attend meeting may be grounds for removal by the Chair.
3. The scribe is responsible for recording member attendance and submitting it to the Chair.
4. A committee member will not be deemed absent if he/she has sent the alternate from his/her respective group. The alternate will count towards quorum and be awarded full voting privileges. A committee member will be allowed the use their alternate for no more than three (3) regularly scheduled meetings during the course of his/her term. If the member exceeds this allowance, the absences will be unexcused. The Chair must be informed of the intention to use an alternate a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours in advance of a regularly scheduled meeting.
a. Only one (1) student may be selected as the alternate for a sitting member.
b. Students who place second in the SAFC election shall serve as the alternate for their respective groups. In the event that an individual runs unopposed, only the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management can select an alternate member.
c. Alternates must meet all eligibility requirements.
5. The Chair may recommend that an academic councils whose representatives that miss two (2) consecutive regularly scheduled committee meetings should have their academic unit council’s Student Activity Fee funds frozen by Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management recommendation.
H. Quorum
1. At least a majority of the voting membership shall be present in order to conduct any business of the SAFC.
2. The SAFC will not make up a meeting that fails to reach quorum. Requests that are on the docket will be automatically tabled for the next scheduled meeting.
I. Compensation
1. Committee members will receive $250 for each semester they serve on the committee and maintain adequate attendance.
a. The funds required for SAFC salaries will come from the SGA operations budget.
b. Recommendations to adjust SAFC salaries requires a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Student Senate. No Student Senator who concurrently serves on the SAFC may participate in such a vote.
c. If an SAFC representative resigns during the academic semester, the SAFC member forfeits all of their allotted compensation to the replacement member.
2. The scribe will receive $250 for each semester they serve on the committee.
3. The Co-Chair will receive $350 per semester (this includes the $250 stipend for being a representative.
J. Training
1. All committee and alternate members must go through a training of appropriate SGA and University policies led by the SAFC Chair and faculty advisor before the first summer session. Failure to attend the training meeting will result in loss of representation on the committee.
2. The Chair will help create SAFC training manual with the faculty advisor.
II. The Allocation Process
A. Eligibility to Request Student Activity Fee Revenue
1. Organizations recognized by SGA, students, and UMKC organizations that support student activities are eligible to apply for Student Activity Fee Revenue.
2. Applications may be submitted by a recognized student organization, student, or an academic unit council.
a. All organizations should be treated equally.
b. The committee shall not base their funding decision on the political or religious ideology.
3. Student Activity Fee Revenue cannot be used for direct contributions to philanthropic organizations or political campaigns.
4. Student Activity Fee Revenue cannot be used to pay an ongoing permanent salary to a student who is currently employed in a full-time salaried position by UMKC.
B. Example of Permissible Uses for Student Activity Fee Revenue
1. Student Activity Fee Revenue may be used for, but are not limited to: honorariums for speakers or performers, refreshments or meals, production expenses, and publicity.
2. Equipment and Materials:
a. Anything purchased with Student Activity Fee Revenue are the property of the Curators of the University of Missouri.
b. Organizations are accountable for any policies or procedures relating to the use of equipment or materials by their membership.
c. The purchase or disposal of any equipment or materials must follow all University guidelines. Refer to SGA for further guidelines.
d. Organizations must provide the SAFC with copies of vouchers and/or invoices for any purchased equipment or material (valued over $100).
3. Student Activity Fee Revenue may be used for individual as well as student organization travel. Individual travel must benefit UMKC rather than further individual academic career.
4. Student Activity Fee Revenue may be used for the operation of a student organization. In this sense, the funds would provide for daily organizational expenses, salaries, and other central operating needs.
C. Student Activity Fee Revenue Budget Request Requirements
1. Any group seeking funding must submit a Student Activity Fee Revenue request form, along with any supporting documentation deemed important to the funding request; these include itineraries, honorarium, and receipts etc. The organization must also submit a mission statement, strategic plan, or the specific goals that the money will support.
2. The Student Involvement Office must provide the SAFC with copies of University accounting summary income statements for the past two (2) years that a requesting organization has existed.
3. Requests must have a stamp by the Student Involvement Office verifying the submission date. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their application is turned into the SAFC’s mailbox.
4. Funds allocated during the summer meetings will only be used for future travel and events.
D. SAFC Request Deadlines and Meeting Procedures
1. The Chair will establish at least a regular bi-weekly meeting time. These meeting times must be publicly posted by the first week of each semester. The Chair, above and beyond the bi-weekly minimum, may call emergency meetings.
2. Organization funding requests must be submitted at least one week in advance of the meeting where the recognized organization would like to present the request.
3. For single event requests, the SAFC must receive requests a minimum of three (3) weeks before the date of the event. For events requiring travel or contracts, the SAFC must receive requests a minimum of five (5) weeks before the event.
4. Organizations seeking annual funding are required to make their request by the first three (3) weeks of the fall semester.
5. Divisional councils are required to submit their annual budgets one (1) week prior to the first (1st) summer meeting.
6. Secondary councils are required to submit annual budgets by the third (3rd) week of the fall semester.
7. Annual budgets are expected to reflect strategic planning. All councils and organizations that receive funding from SAFC based on annual budgets may not return to SAFC for additional funding.
8. Organizations may request funds on an event-by-event basis, but total annual funding for event-by-event request may not exceed $5,000 per calendar year.
9. Organizations that request $5,000 or more are required to submit an annual budget. An organization that requests an event-by-event basis may not have their request reviewed if they have already received $5,000 in a single allocation or in multiple allocations per calendar year.
10. Meeting Procedure
a. The Comptroller provides members with the submitted application(s) and supporting documentation. All of these documents must be available for committee member pick-up a minimum of twenty-four hours (24) in advance.
b. The Chair must call the meeting to order.
c. SAFC roll must be taken at each meeting.
d. Minutes from prior meetings should be reviewed and voted on for approval.
e. Any tabled business should be considered first.
f. A vote should be taken for all SAFC decisions. The majority vote must be recorded in the minutes.
g. New annual budgets should be considered next.
1. There should be a short presentation by a representative(s) of the organization. The representative(s) is allowed up to a total of ten (10) minutes to present.
2. The SAFC should then discuss the application and question the presenter(s).
h. New non-travel budgets are considered next.
There should be a short presentation by a representative(s) of the organization. The representative(s) are allowed five (5) minutes to present.
The SAFC should then discuss the application and question the presenter(s). The supporting documentations will be used to decide the appropriate level of funding.
i. New travel budgets are considered next.
1. The Chair reviews the request prior to the meeting.
There should be a short presentation by a representative(s) of the organization. The representative(s) are allowed five (5) minutes to present.
The SAFC should then discuss the application and question the presenter(s). The supporting documentations will be used to decide the appropriate level of funding.
j. After all budget requests are presented,
1. The committee will go into closed session and make recommendation for each presentation in the order it was presented. A closed session meeting will only include the Chair, scribe, committee members, and faculty advisors.
2. For travel request the Chair will make a funding recommendation to the committee and then the committee discusses the request.
3. For travel request the committee decides to vote or table for additional information the request. A majority vote is required to uphold the Chair’s recommendation.
4. For travel request a two-third (2/3) majority vote is required to overturn the Chair’s recommendation. If a recommendation is overturned, the committee must then make an additional motion with a new recommendation.
E. Criteria for Reviewing Requests
1. The SAFC Chair will create a funding request form that each requesting party will detail; (a) the major mission and functions of organization, and (b) the budget items to be considered for funding. This form will become part of all subsequent evaluations for the organization.
2. Organizations submitting annual budgets may combine travel and non-travel expenses in a single request.
3. Organization Annual and One-Time Requests:
a. Requests by organizations will be judged based on:
Available funds,
Past financial performance of the organization
Thoroughness of the budget request
Relevance to the organization’s mission
The number of students likely to be involved or participate in the organization’s effort.
4. Travel Requests:
a. Requests by organizations for travel will be judged based on available funds.
b. Travel funds may be used to support travel that advances the
organization and or the university.
c. The maximum travel funds allowed for an individual student is $500 per semester. The maximum travel funds allowed for a recognized student organization is $1500 per semester and shall be deducted from the maximum of $5000 per year for each recognized student organization.
F. Estimate of Student Activity Fee Revenue to be allocated by SAFC.
1. The Chair will request the estimated Student Activity Fee Revenue to be allocated from the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management prior to scheduling the first summer meeting.
III. Communication
A. Applicant Contact Information
1. Each application will include the contact information for the organization’s requesting representative. The contact area will include:
a. Name
b. E-mail address and Postal address
c. Phone number, preferably with voice mail
B. Application Submission Notification
1. After an application is submitted, the SAFC Chair will notify the submitting party by an e-mail to the address listed on application.
C. Request Date Notification
1. The Chair will notify the submitting party of which meeting they must attend to receive funding from SAFC via e-mail.
2. Meeting date, meeting place, time, suggested/required documentation, and an outline of how the meeting will run will also be e-mailed to them.
D. Applicant Notification of SAFC Decision
After the SAFC reaches a funding recommendation, the Chair will send a copy of the minutes to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. If the Vice Chancellor or his/her designee does not contact the Chair within five (5) business days of the decision being submitted, the applicant(s) will then be notified of the committee’s decision by e-mail.
IV. Campus Community Notification
A. In a reasonable amount of time following each meeting, a list of fund recipients, amount received, and description of the activities funded by committee will be posted on the official SAFC website (part of the SGA website) for at least (1) one year.
B. SAFC meeting minutes will also be posted on the official committee website and remain on the site for a period of one (1) year.
V. Oversight
A. Responsible party for the distribution of funds.
1. The Student Involvement Office is responsible for ensuring that student organizations receive their approved funding.
a. The Chair will notify the Student Involvement Office of the committee’s funding decision.
b. The Student Involvement Office then releases funds to the specified account.
2. The SAFC reserves the right to review the performance of any organization receiving funds from Student Activity Fee Revenue.
B. Communication of Available Funds
1. On a monthly basis:
a. The Student Involvement Office will provide the Chair with financial statements of
the Student Activity Fee Revenue available to student organizations.
b. The Student Involvement Office will provide the Chair with a summary financial statement of the allocated funds to all student organizations.
VI. Appeals
A. Grounds for Appeal:
1. The Bylaws of the SAFC are not applied properly.
2. Difference in the interpretation of the Bylaws (terms and definitions).
3. Difference in the assessment of an application or criteria.
4. An incorrect mathematical calculation.
5. Inaccurate information was used to determine the funding allocation.
6. Biases demonstrated by members of the hearing committee.
7. Exceptional circumstances may be considered on a case by case basis. The applicant must clearly state the circumstances and provide the necessary documentation/rationale.
B. Appeals Process
1. All appeals should be forwarded, in writing, to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management or their designee as soon as possible by stating the grounds of appeal and proposed resolution.
2. The Vice Chancellor or designee will review each appeal on a case by case basis and provide a written response to each appeal decision.
VII. Miscellaneous
A. Non-discrimination
1. The allocation of University funds should be fair and equitable. All aspects of the process should support the University of Missouri’s non-discrimination policy. The process should not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, or Vietnam-era veterans’ status.
2. Political and Religious organizations
a. Funds may be used for political and religious student organizations.
b. Funding may not go to philanthropic or campaign contributions.
B. Disclosure of Potential Conflict of Interest
1. SAFC members will submit a Conflict of Interest Form to the Chair that outlines affiliated student organizations.
2. SAFC members should update their Conflict of Interest Form for additional conflicts as soon as possible.
3. Committee members who are active members of the organization requesting funding or who would receive a direct benefit from a request should not vote on the application and should not participate in the deliberation discussion.
4. If at any time a committee member is aware of another member’s existing unreported conflict of interest, they should bring this to their colleague’s attention. If a conflict of interest remains unreported the committee member may come before the committee for a two-third (2/3) majority vote for removal.
5. Due to a conflict of interest, an SAFC representative cannot present a budget for any organizations they may be an active member of. The exception to this clause shall be that an SAFC representative may present a travel budget if he/she is the only one traveling.
C. Communication
1. Issues the Chair should publicly communicate:
a. The availability and election of a SAFC member.
b. The convening of any meeting to discuss the policies and procedures of the committee.
c. The convening of any meeting to hear presentations by organizations who request Student Activity Fee Revenue.
d. The committee’s allocation decisions.
VIII. Committee Expenses
A. SGA Operations Budget Expenses
1. Salaries: The salaries of committee members.
2. Copies, paper, training materials, the Student Activity Fee policy manual and any documents necessary for the operation of the Committee.
3. Recording and other equipment costs agreed to by the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management or their designee.
IX. Amendment
A. Any amendment to this document requires a 2/3’s vote of the Student Senate in order
to submit it as a recommendation to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
B. The Chair is responsible for forwarding amendment recommendations including supplemental Student Activity Fee Revenue to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
X. Implementation
A. Communication
1. Once the new policies governing Student Activity Fees Revenue allocations to organizations supporting student activities are in place, a campus-wide communication will be sent to students, faculty, and administrators in order to inform the campus of the new policies.
2. The new policies will be posted in the Student Involvement Office and SGA
TRAVEL APPROPRIATION GUIDELINES
All travel requests must be turned in to the Student Involvement Office and date-stamped a minimum of five weeks prior to anticipated travel dates. SGA will obtain the completed forms from the Student Involvement Office.
Only currently enrolled UMKC students can apply for travel appropriations.
Travel must occur during a time period that a student is currently enrolled at UMKC.
It is an expectation that any individual student or student organization traveling should contact their individual school councils (if applicable) for travel monies prior to seeking funds from SGA. Most school councils have funds available for travel. If your organization falls under a school council, you must have a representative from the school council sign off on your form in the appropriate space. Ask the Student Involvement Office for additional information or assistance in this area..
It is to your benefit to attach as much supporting documentation as you can to your request. Examples include: a copy of the conference registration, approved presentation proposal, etc…
SGA funds may not be allocated to any student or student organization for the purpose of directly supporting an individual’s academic needs. For example: a student requesting funds to travel to New York to do research for his/her dissertation will not be accepted.
Please remember that submitting a request is no guarantee that SGA Appropriation will award the allocation. Funds are limited and only those requests that show a direct impact upon the UMKC student body will be given serious consideration.
You will receive notification when the committee has reached their decision regarding your request. Once SGA has made an allocation, it is your responsibility to contact the Student Involvement Office for information on how to obtain your reimbursements.
Please Note: In addition to these by-laws, organizations receiving SGA money must follow UMKC policies for all organizations and the University of Missouri policies. Once you are allocated funds, please review the travel policy.