The University’s Organization Relief Fund remains in the red for its third fiscal year with an overdrawn account of $8,177.48.
As of Jan. 24, the account balance was reported as $52,046.79 in debt, but after student fee payments for the spring were posted Feb. 1, the debt was reduced to its current total.
In an effort to keep some University account balances on track, the Office of the Dean of Students and Student Government are reviewing applications for a business manager to monitor account balances.
Darrell Ray, associate dean of students and Center for Student Leadership Involvement director, said the professional position was created this semester to have a manager assist in the implementation of account funds – including the ORF account.
Ray said the manager’s duties will be split to oversee SG financial operations and financial matters within the Office of the Dean of Students. Another responsibility of the manager includes assisting the SG executive branch in the implementation of programming and initiatives.
Donna Torres, associate vice chancellor for accounting services, said the ORF is still in debt because Student Life and Academic Services administers the funds and continues to make withdrawals for student organization use. She said the University has allowed the negative balance in an effort to maintain University representation throughout the nation.
Each undergraduate student pays a $3.00 spring fee to finance the account. Documentation drafted in 1979 says the ORF was set up to distribute funds to worthy campus organizations for travel expenses during the academic year.
The account ended with a positive balance of $21,095.53 during the 2004-2005 fiscal school year. Torres said red flags went up the following year when poor oversight of the account caused $54,187.43 worth of steep debt to accumulate.
“What occurred was that more funds were awarded than were collected,” she said. “We don’t want to stop awarding ORF funds because it’s not fair that students in one year received ORF benefits that students in subsequent years are paying. Rather than stop all ORF funding,,we’ve tried to curtail it.”
The ORF committee began a repayment plan during the 2006-2007 fiscal year with the intent to decrease the overdraft by $10,000 each fiscal year. Student fees decreased the debt when the plan went into effect, but the account was still down $43,408.07 by the end of the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
Torres said the account debt soared to $72,206.70 in December following fund distributions to campus organizations.
Sabina Tungaraza, SG director of finance, chairs the ORF committee and said she works with Torres to execute the repayment plan. Because the account directly impacts students, it is the responsibility of the SG finance director as ORF committee chair to update SG on the account balance.
Torres said the repayment plan aims to clear the account debt by the 2010-2011 fiscal year. She said the repayment plan restricts the amount each organization receives. It also functions as a supplementary source of funds instead of the sole source of funding for an organization.
“We are trying to be fair,” Torres said. “We are trying to award at least registration fees or a part of the registration fees. We are allotting a partial amount of the request.”
To be eligible to receive funds, an applicant must be a full-time student in good academic standing with the University. Torres said allotted funds cover all or partial fees associated with transportation, lodging and registration.
Torres said because CSLI is headed by Student Life and Academic Services, the new business manager will benefit Student Life, Academic Services and SG.
“In 2005, we paid more toward trips than the funds actually allowed us because nobody was monitoring the account balances,” Torres said.
Dean of Students K.C. White said she applauds the ORF committee efforts with the repayment plan.
“Instead of penalizing everybody with a blanket approach, they have taken a fiscally responsible strategy – let’s give at least something while we pay it off,” she said. “I think it was with a good commitment and consciousness to serve the students that the decision was made.”
—-Contact Natalie Messina at [email protected]
ORF account remains $8,177.48 in the red
February 7, 2008
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