by Jennifer Onuska
ASUNM president
Do you know where your student fees go?
Currently, as undergraduates, we pay $274.10 per semester in our student fees. This amount is divided up into three parts. The first part, the facility fee, equals $106.25. This portion helps to maintain the grounds and buildings on our campus. The second portion is given directly to the Associated Students of UNM to allocate to student groups. This amount equals $20.00 per undergraduate student. The third portion is the Student Activity Fee given to the Student Fee Review Board. This amount equals $147.85 per student.
The role of the Student Fee Review Board, as stated in the Student Fee Review Board Policy developed in 1996, is to "recommend to the University president student activity fee amounts and allocations. The board acts as a joint committee of ASUNM and the Graduate and Professional Student Association and functions through student action and with the advice of both faculty and administrations representatives."
The board recommends the allocation of money to any organization that is a University department, division, other organization unit or program funded by student activity fees. The board policy requires four undergraduate students and three graduate students to serve on the board. The ASUNM president and GPSA president automatically sit as chair and vice chair, alternating yearly between the two student governments. The ASUNM president appoints two undergraduate students to the board, one of whom will serve a two-year term. The ASUNM vice president appoints one ASUNM senator to serve on the board as well. The GPSA president appoints two graduate students, one of whom will serve a two-year term.
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As ASUNM president, I am chairwoman of the Student Fee Review Board. GPSA president Lorena Olmos is the vice chairwoman. The two-year undergraduate appointment is Amanda Sims and the one-year undergraduate appointment is Tim Reed. The ASUNM senator appointed is Tio Vega. The two-year graduate student serving on the board is James Meiers and the one-year graduate student is Adam Chavez.
The board applications to apply for funds are available in the ASUNM and GPSA offices today. The applicants will have until Dec. 6, 2002, by 5 p.m. to fill out the application. At this time the board will review all applications.
This year, the departments/programs applying for funds will have an opportunity to attend board workshops on Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. in Scholes Hall, Room 100 and Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. in the Roberts Room in Scholes Hall. These workshops will give the board a chance to explain the application, fiscal status, and hearing process.
In January, the Student Fee Review Board will hold hearings on the 17th and 18th before the spring semester begins. At this time, board applicants will have 30-minute interviews with the board. The applicants will give a brief presentation and go through a question-answer period with board members. The hearings are open to the public; so if you would like to attend, please call the ASUNM office to get more information.
It is important to note that the Student Fee Review Board Policy has strict guidelines when recommending allocations to UNM departments. The board was set up so that organizations may be placed on recurring funding status to foster stability and the ability to engage in long-range planning. However, the total unit allocations for all organizations on recurring funding status cannot exceed 95 percent of the student activity fee. This means that five percent of our student fees go to departments on nonrecurring status.
Once an organization has been placed on recurring funding status and the unit allocation for the organization has been determined, that amount shall not be eliminated or reduced from year to year, except through the probation process described further in the board policy. The current departments that are on recurring funding status are Center for Academics Support (CAPS), Recreational Services, General Library, the Student Union, Student Health Center, Child Care Center, Public Events/Popejoy Hall and the Student Government Accounting Office.
Other departments that received nonrecurring funding from the board's process last year are African American Student Services, American Indian Student Services, Career Services, El Centro de la Raza, International Program and Studies, KUNM, Theatre and Dance, UNM bands and the Women's Resource Center.
If you are a concerned student and would like to let the board know which department or program you would like your student fees to go to, please come to the town hall meetings. The first meeting is Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. in Dane Smith Hall, Room 326. The second meeting will be Jan. 27, at 6 p.m. The meeting place has yet to be announced.
In addition, if you would like a copy of the board policy to learn more about the process, you may get one at the ASUNM office.
