Finance Committee looks at SAF

Author: Zamir Ahmed

The Finance Committee is preparing a recommendation to the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate to raise next year's Student Activities Fee (SAF), according to Finance Committee chair Amanda Goodwin '07. Following a year in which the Finance Committee was forced to cut the budget of nearly every student organization by 12.5 percent, potential increases of 50 percent or more over a period of time have not been ruled out by students involved in the decision.

Because a final number has not been decided on, Goodwin could not provide a concrete number but indicated that the Committee hopes the new SAF will provide it with enough funds to sufficiently finance student groups.

" I cannot cite a number but what we are doing now is looking at how much we budgeted this year, not including the 12.5 [percent cut] but before the 12.5 cut," said Goodwin. "We would increase that with inflation, perhaps adding some security padding, and then use that as a base chunk. On top of that, we would add money for new initiatives and programs that are being discussed."

"I have already met with most of the major social programming groups on campus to discuss their wishlists for the future," continued Goodwin. "Once we see how their expenditures line up, we will be working to ensure the greatest benefit for the most people by trying to give every major group a chance to see their ideas carried to fruition. It is important to have this information in advance, so that we can accomodate major expenses and set the SAF right, even before we hit budgeting season in the spring."

The SAF, which is collected from every student who enrolls at the College, is the fund through which student group-sponsored events are supported. A survey of NESCAC schools conducted every couple of years found that Middlebury currently spends less money on student activities than most other colleges, according to Director of the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership Doug Adams.

"We looked at the actual cost per student, which puts us at $240, which puts us in the lower third [of the surveyed colleges]," said Adams.

According to Adams, the Finance Committee is looking at a number of models in which to raise the SAF over the next few years.

"The highest fee charged [by surveyed colleges] is one percent of the Amherst tuition, which is roughly $428," said Adams. "That's something the Finance Committee has looked at - should it be tied to something that is not random? Should it be tied to something like if the tuition goes up, the fee goes up? Should it be tied to some type of market indicator? Should it go up every two or three years by 10 to 15 dollars, to make it less arbitrary? I think that's something they're looking into this year," Adams said.

In addition to looking into increasing the SAF, the Finance Committee is also exploring amending the process through which funds are allocated.

"We decided to start the budgeting process earlier during second semester," said Alex Stanton '07, president of the SGA. "This will give student groups who are unhappy with their allocation enough time to appeal the decision through the SGA. It will also give the Finance Committee enough time to ensure that all questions are resolved fully before the end of the year."

The Finance Committee is awaiting the recommendation of the Comprehensive Fee Committee, a subset of the Finance Committee, regarding increasing the Comprehensive Fee before deciding on raising the SAF. The Comprehensive Fee Committee is currently collecting information about financial needs from a number of departments and facility offices on campus before making its recommendation to the Board of Trustees regarding tuition.

"We work with the college model to plug in percentage increases," said Goodwin. "We don't really plan for an increase. In a perfect world, we wouldn't increase it but we know we need to increase it at least by inflation, maybe a little more."

"It's always a constant struggle because you don't want to be at the head of the pack," added Goodwin of tuition prices. "You don't want to be the most expensive, but you don't want to be the least expensive college either. You want to be near the top but not at the top."