Associated Students – UCI

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PROGRAMMING FUNDING POLICY

1. BACKGROUND:

It has been the practice of the Associated Students – UCI (ASUCI) to consider and contribute funding to campus wide programs by registered undergraduate organizations that will enhance the quality of life, encourage school spirit and promote social, cultural and educational activities.

2. PURPOSE:

The purpose of this policy is to define the procedures and guidelines for funding in whole or in part undergraduate organizations’ programs.

3. STUDENT PROGRAMMING FUNDING BOARD:

      (A) Purpose:

The Associated Students Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board is responsible for managing and allocating the Legislative Council approved program funding allocation for undergraduate organizations. The Board shall make available funding applications, reviewing funding requests and approve the allocation of funds in whole or in part to campus undergraduate organizations.

The purpose of the Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board is to ensure through the review and approval process that the selected undergraduate organization programs are open to the entire campus community, have broad campus appeal, and promotes social, cultural and educational activities that are of interest to the greater campus community.

      (B) Responsibility:

The Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board will review all funding requests on a content neutral basis while selecting funding requests that have broad campus community appeal. The Board will submit a final funding determination for each request to the ASUCI Business Office and report it to Legislative Council Finance Committee upon request. Funding Board Minutes will be taken at every meeting and will be made available on the ASUCI website or in writing upon request.

      (C) Membership:

      The Board shall consist of Eight (8) voting members made up as follows:

1) The ASUCI President or another Executive Officer

1) Legislative Council Finance Chair

1) Legislative Council Public Info Chair

1) Legislative Council Rules Chair

1) Legislative Council Committees Chair

1) Cross Cultural Center member appointed by the umbrella council

3) Student At-large members appointed by ASUCI President

The Board shall consist of Three (3) non-voting members that are permitted during both open and closed sessions of the meeting and are made up as follows:

1. Undergraduate Student Programming Commissioner appointed by the Office of the President, and approved by the Legislative Council

1. Assistant Commissioner appointed by the ASUCI President and approved by Legislative Council
1. ASUCI Staff Advisor to the Board.

And the Undergraduate Student Programming Commissioner (non-voting) appointed by the Office of the President, and approved by the Legislative Council.

      (D) Requirements:

1. The term of service is for one (1) academic year with no limit on the number of terms a person can serve.
2. The Board will meet weekly during the academic year; however the Board at their discretion may meet more frequently if there is pending business before it.
3. A quorum consists of Five (5) members present and funding decisions pass with a simple majority.
4. The ASUCI President or designee will be the Chair of the Board.
5. Members may be dismissed with or without cause by their appointing body. Those members with automatic a titled appointment cannot be removed, unless if he or she is removed from his or her position.
6. In the case that a representative has not been appointed to a chair position is vacant or a member is unable to perform his/her legislative council duties or has resigned, the Vice-Chair of the respective committee will assume the responsibilities of the chair in regards to the Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board until the new chair is appointed or the chair has resumed his/her legislative council duties.

• Meetings may be called by the Chair in the summer if needed and if quorum can be reached

• In the case that the Chair is unable to perform his/her duties or has resigned, the Rules Chair, followed by the Finance Chair will assume the responsibilities of the Chair until the new Chair is appointed or the chair has resumed his/her responsibilities.

• Board members affiliated with an organization applying for funding may not vote or unduly influence the decision of the Board.

• At the end of each year, the Board must meet to review and revise the Guidelines to make any necessary and vital changes. changes which are necessary and proper.

• The Student Programming Funding Board has the ability to recommend changes to the Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Policy, but amendments must be enacted by a legislation passed by ASUCI Legislative Council with a two thirds majority.  
 

      (E): Transitions:

Upon election of the New Executive Cabinet, Cross Cultural Center Representative, and two At-Large members, the new members will sit in during all parts of the Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board meetings without any voting rights. The new members will not have authority to discuss applications during closed sessions, nor ask questions regarding applications during the open portion of meetings. New members must attend at least two (2) meetings before their term starts, or receive equivalent training by the current/outgoing Board.  
 

4. FUNDING POLICY:

1) Undergraduate organizations must submit an application for funding to the Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board. Funding applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until all funds have been allocated. Funding Application forms may be downloaded from the ASUCI website www.asuci.uci.edu. No application changes will be accepted after 4pm on the day of the interview. There is no guarantee that addenda/changes will be accepted.

2) Funding is only available to UCI undergraduate organizations for programs or activities that contribute to the social, cultural and educational quality of life of UCI undergraduate students and community.

3) Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

4) ASUCI will fund only one (1) flyer design per event. Any sub events must be included on the same flyer. (Example: ASUCI History Week, consisting of five events, will have one design design funded by ASUCI for entire week of events).

5) Funds will not be allocated to:

• Political candidates, committees or campaigns;

• Programs conducting religious services, including, but not limited to: ceremonies, rituals, sermons, etc.

• Activities that directly benefit organization members and not the UCI community at large, such as – internal club costs, including, but not limited to: costs incurred by regular or non-regular club meetings, banquets, retreats, club banners, club T-Shirts, or other organization merchandise.  
 

Applications that do not satisfy these criteria may be dismissed without an interview. If an allocation is made and it is found that these criteria have been violated it may jeopardize their the organization’s ability to apply for funding in the future.

6) Fundraising events or activities may receive funding on a loan-grant basis. In these instances, it is the discretion of the Board if a loan-grant or a final allocation will be given to the application in question. If a loan grant is chosen by the Board, clubs are given a “loan” from ASUCI, whereby if income (revenue plus the ASUCI allocation) exceeds the total cost of the event, then the revenue must be used to pay back ASUCI up to the amount allocated, at the discretion of the board. In the case of a philanthropic event, tickets may not be sold, although, “suggested donations” are acceptable.

a) Student Programming Funding Board funds may be used to underwrite programs that are expected to generate a contribution to a non-profit organization. In such cases, if a donation is required for entrance to the event, the Student Programming Funding Board allocation must be returned to the Student Programming Funding Board on a pro-rata basis to repay the loan. If donations are not required as a condition of entrance to the event, they may be solicited during the event without invoking the requirement that the Student Programming Funding Board allocation be returned to ASUCI.

b) If there are ticket sales for an event, the organization must provide an accounting of all income and expenses at the conclusion of the event and the board reserves the right to audit their account if they suspect a discrepancy. If the organization refuses the audit this may jeopardize their ability to apply for funding in the future.

6) Funding of a program does not constitute a precedent for funding in subsequent years.

7) The Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board shall consider and evaluate funding requests on the following criteria:

• The number of UCI undergraduate students that will directly benefit from the program.

• The program is held on the UCI campus.

• Whether or not a campus program will occur without the allocation of ASUCI funds i.e. - opportunity for funding from sources outside of ASUCI.

• The degree to which the members of undergraduate organization has engaged in fundraising activities in support of the program i.e. – attempts to obtain funding from sources outside of ASUCI.

• The total amount of the request.

• Whether this is a new or traditional annual program.

8) Pro-rata refunds are not required of Student Government (see section 86.13 of the University of California Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations, and Students.

9) Funding is allocated on a program by program basis and shall only be used for the program and purpose that was approved by the Board. In the event that a program includes a multiple number of events during a multiple day, week, month, or quarter long period, each event within the program must have its own application with the title of the overall program and the event in question (Example – “Club X Month: Workshop A” ; “Club X Month: Workshop B” etc) which will be reviewed individually by the Board. It is suggested that all of these events be submitted by the undergraduate organizations on a single day and that the Board review all of the events on a single day.

10) 60 Business days after the date of an event, any unspent funds will be returned to the Student Programming Funding Board.

11) Any unspent funds at the end of the fiscal year will be returned to the ASUCI reserves.

12) Immediately following the approval of the overall budget for ASUCI, the Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board may be established to hear requests for student programs. The Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board may allocate funds during the first meeting of the academic quarter after the approval of the ASUCI Budget. Current members are not able to allocate monies for the next academic year.  Funding requests are not accepted during the summer sessions.  Until the transition of powers occurs and the new Funding Board members take their seats on the Board, the current Funding Board members will allocate monies for programs which will occur in the following fiscal year. These allocations will not be available to clubs/organization until Day 1 of the New Fiscal Year in question.

13) All interviews of the Undergraduate Student Programming Board are open to the public. Following interviews, the board will deliberate over and allocate funds in private during the closed session at which only board members can be present.  The ASUCI President or Chair has the discretion to initiate the closed session portion of the meeting.. In the event that questions arise during the deliberation, a current contact number (or two) should be taken down and the contact person for the application in question shall be called for clarification purposes.

14) At least one, but no more than three representatives from the club/organization that has submitted an application MUST be present at the date and time of the scheduled interview or the application will become null-and-void and will NOT be viewed at a later date or time during the quarter in which the application was denied. One application for an individual event may be submitted per quarter. If an application has been voted on by the Board, another application for that same event may not be reviewed again by the board unless by appeal.

15) It is suggested that requests are placed at least four weeks before the date the program is set to occur as to ensure that funding, if allocated, is received by the club/organization in a timely manner. If an organization fails to submit an application four weeks prior to the event date, they will not be guaranteed an interview prior to the event. Clubs/organizations will be contacted by the Undergraduate Student Programming Commissioner at least two business days prior to the application’s hearing to ensure proper attendance by the representatives from said club/organization.

16) ASUCI Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board does not control the content of an event or program, and supports freedom of speech within an academic context.

5. APPEALS PROCESS:

1) Any organization that can demonstrate that the funding policies have not been followed for their organization’s application may appeal back to the Student Programming Funding Board. This process is initiated by contacting the Chair of the Board.

2) If the organization’s appeal is denied, they must contact a Legislative Council member and request that they sponsor a legislation appealing the allocation of funding. The legislation must include a valid reason how the funding policies had not been followed during the initial review process to mandate that the application be revisited, and specify a new allocation for the application.

3) The legislation must pass Legislative Council with a 2/3 majority and approval of the Executive Cabinet.  
 

6. FUND MISUSE

The Board reserves the right to freeze allocated funds of any organization if the Board determines that they are not expending the funds in accordance with the original program proposal that was approved by the Board.

• In the event of such a case, the Board Chair will contact the program’s official representatives in writing and notify them of the Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Board's decision to freeze funds.
• Any freezing of funds shall remain in effect until the Board makes a decision regarding the status of the affected program(s).
• A registered student organization representative shall have the right to appear before the Board before a final decision is rendered regarding the frozen funds.
• They may appeal these proceedings to the Legislative Council, by contacting a Legislative Council member and requesting that they sponsor a legislation appealing the freezing of funding.
  • The legislation must include a valid reason how the funding policies had not been followed during the initial review process to mandate that the application be revisited, and specify a new allocation for the application.
• Depending upon the severity of the misuse of Undergraduate Student Programming Funds, the Board may consider further action it deems appropriate up to and including returning the allocation to the Undergraduate Student funding Board, and barring the registered undergraduate organization from applying for ASUCI funds for the remainder of the current academic year.

7. GUIDELINES FOR EXPENDITURE OF STUDENT PROGRAMMING FUNDS:

1. All appropriations must be in accordance with the University of California Policy on Compulsory Campus Based Student Fees (Section 80.00 of the University of California Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations and Students) issued April 14, 2006.

2. ASUCI recognizes the diversity of the UCI campus and shall strive to provide programs and services that will compliment this diversity.

3. No money shall be provided for operating costs of undergraduate organizations.

4. No money shall be expended for internal organization retreats/conferences.

5. No money shall be expended for noncommissioned special recognition programs.

6. ASUCI funded programs/events must be open to the entire campus student population.

7. No money shall be expended for outreach programs.

8. Undergraduate Student Programming Funding allocations where income will be generated, i.e., admission charge, registration fees, merchandise sales (t-shirts), program advertising sales, UCI Academic or Administrative Department funding, etc., may be funded under a Loan/Grant Policy. If an event is funded on a Loan/Grant basis the organization must repay the allocation back to ASUCI, up to the amount which they were funded, before they can use any of the proceeds as profit.

9. Undergraduate organizations shall be funded for programming expenses only, e.g., publicity, equipment rental, facilities setup, honorarium, entertainment, food and refreshments. Note; food and refreshments shall not exceed 25% of ASUCI allocated funds per program/event.

10. The Student Government Programs Coordinator must negotiate all contractual agreements (performance and honoraria).

11. Funds shall not be expended either directly or indirectly for political campaign purposes.

12. All purchases of non consumable items made with ASUCI funds shall become the property of ASUCI.

13. Reimbursements for expenditures will not be made without an appropriate (original) receipt.

14. All expenditures must have prior approval of the appropriate campus organization signature authority (approved signature cards are on file with the Student Government Business Office).

15. Limitations on funding of undergraduate organizations’ Undergraduate Student Programming Funding Requests:

A separate detailed budget must be prepared for each event/program Shall not receive funding for overhead costs, e.g., telephone, office supplies, space rental, etc.

Funds shall not be transferred from one APPROVED event/program to another APPROVED event/program unless the organization writes a written request to the funding board and receives the board’s approval.

16. ASUCI will not fund off campus events, unless there is no viable facility for the event.

17. 75% of the people in attendance at the event must be UCI undergraduate students.

18. No money shall be expended for an event where alcohol is served.

19. No money shall be expended to a non-university entity (Such as a non-profit organization).

20. Any undergraduate organization that receives money from the Student Programming Funding Board must complete and turn in an evaluation form for the funded event no later than two weeks following its conclusion. The form is available at www.asuci.uci.edu

21. Any undergraduate organization that receives money from the Student Programming Funding Board may not receive money from another branch or office in ASUCI. Doing so will result in automatic forfeiture of the SPFB allocation.

22. Failure to comply with any of these criteria could result in funding being revoked or an organization being ineligible to apply for funding for one academic year

23. These guidelines are to be applied subject to the discretion of the Board.