SGA Funds for Student Impact
Message from SGA Treasurer A.Y. 2022-2023
The purpose of this message is to share some important information with you, as members of the Emerson community. Transparency is a top priority for me and I believe it is crucial, especially when it comes to a topic like finances.
Before diving into the details, I think it's important to provide some context. This will help us better understand the current situation.
As a full-time Boston undergraduate student for the 2022-2023 academic year, the student activities fee of $472 per semester is included in your tuition. This fee is divided among several components, including $126.83 which goes towards funding student organizations through Student Government Association. Additionally, the fee covers other important aspects such as commencement, orientation, and registration fees, amongst others.
The amount collected is calculated by multiplying the number of full-time undergraduate students by the SGA portion of the student activities fee.
As previously noted, the majority of the funds collected from the student activities fees are allocated toward student organizations through the Annual Budget Request (ABR) process. During this process, which takes place each spring, SGA-funded organizations can request funding for the upcoming academic year, which is then reviewed by the Financial Advisory Board and voted on by the Student Government General Assembly. This process is conducted electronically through EmConnect.
Student organizations that need more funds and have spent or allocated their funding can also request additional funding through the Student Government Appeals Request process. This process is open to fraternities and sororities, as well as the ERA Awards and the EVVY Awards, unlike the ABR process.
As the Student Government Executive Treasurer, one of my responsibilities is to oversee the Student Organization Principal Account, a pool of funds that contains multiple "buckets" and "pockets." The main account is divided into operating budgets, which are granted through the ABR process, and appeals funding. Both of these buckets are funded by the annual revenue of student fees.
In 2019, the college transitioned to a new platform called Workday. Organizations were given their allocations through the ABR process and for the most part, spent every cent of it with very little left over.
Historically, any unused funds would simply be transferred into the appeals account for the next academic year to benefit the community.
March 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic hit, leading to most organizations being unable to spend a majority of their allocated funds, resulting in a surplus of unused funds. The spending of student organizations in the last 2 1/2 years, from spring 2022 to the present, has been lower than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, we do not have immediate access to data on organization spending prior to the pandemic due to the transition into Workday.
In the 2021-2022 academic year, we had approximately $548,000 left over from unrequested appeals, and unspent student organization funding through the ABR Process. This was a similar case years prior. When we discovered this, we requested access to the balance of the primary student fees account, which was previously unavailable, and found that it had $1,660,890 in funds that had accumulated over the past few years.
The previously mentioned account breakdown has now changed significantly.
We still have the Student Organization Principal Account, but now it is divided into three sub-accounts, or "buckets of money". ‘
Student Organization Principal Account
Main/Principal account where all funds live.
This account is funded via SGA’s portion of Student Fees ( $126.83 per term)
This Account breaks into sub-principal accounts: Annual Student Fees, Grants & Income, and the SGA Funds for Student Impact
Annual Student Fees
This is the sub-principal account that has all the usable funds for the academic year.
SGA Treasurer has access to see this account via Workday
This Account breaks down into three different budgets: Student Organizations Operating Budgets and Appeals Account
Operating Budgets
This is the Project (Workday Name) each organization has. This account holds the approved Annual Budget Requests funds for each organization for the given academic year.
This Account has a Budget Code (Typically, SG XXXX)
Approved Appeals will be transferred into this account for the approved time.
This Amount does not roll over for student organizations
Leftover funds in these accounts will be transferred to the SGA Funds for Student Impact
Appeals Account
This account is funded using the difference between the total collected students fees and the approved allocations
Total Student Fee - Approved Allocations = Appeals Budget
Please note that if the appeals budget does not reach $200,000 the difference will be taken from the Student Organization Rollover Account.
Approved Appeals amounts will be transferred into the Student Organizations Operating Budget for the approved timeline. Any leftover funds will be removed and put back into the Appeals Account.
SGA-recognized organizations, ERA Awards, EVVY’s, and/or college-recognized FSL (Fraternity and Sorority) can appeal for funding from the Student Activities Fee.
Grants & Income
This is the sub-principal account that has all the usable rollover funds for the academic year. Which include Donations/Grants for any and all Student Organizations. As well as any income generated by any and all Student Organizations.
This account breaks down into one budget: Rollover and Income Account
Rollover and Income Accounts
This account balance would roll over every academic year.
This account would include Fundraising, Gift Account Balances (Workday), check/cash deposits, internal ticket sales (OA Spaces), & other income.
Previously Gift Accounts we put in accounts called “ Institutional Advancement”
Institutional advance accounts are funds donated directly to your organization in the form of Gifts. Based on the agreement with the donor, these funds may be requested for a specific purpose. These funds roll over.
These amounts will include a “memo” in the EmConnect Deposit to the account.
SGA Funds for Student Impact
The SGA Funds for Student Impact includes all the leftover funds from the last years.
Any remaining funds from Student Organization Operating Budgets and Appeals Account Budget will be passed into this account at the end of the academic year.
The newly created SGA Funds for Student Impact, which is made up of funds accumulated over the years, is of great significance to the Emerson College community. To ensure that these funds are utilized in the best possible manner, I have been working for the last few months to establish a well-defined framework to manage this pool of funds. Transparency is a top priority as these funds come directly from student tuition.
In the coming weeks, we will continue to announce information regarding guidelines, proposals, and much more.