Issue #5: Allocation

In the past we have been blessed by not needing to worry too much about budget constraints in Student Congress. The Student Congress Allocation Handbook provides reasonable and conservative limits to the ways money can be used and amounts of money that can be allocated for specific reasons.

Student Congress funding is determined by the number of students enrolled for the semester. A certain percentage of the student fees is earmarked for Student Congress. As long as enrollment remains relatively constant, we should not see a significant decrease in the amount of money that Student Congress can allocate to student organizations. Considering the record number of applicants that the Admissions office has seen this year, coupled with President Brand's commitment to maintaining student programs through this economic downturn, my hope is that the Student Congress budget for next year will be sheltered from the effects of the economic downturn.

That said, there is a possibility that the budget will be tight. I plan to change the way that finances are dealt with on the Student Congress. I will work with my treasurer to create a budget for the school year that takes all our anticipated expenses into account. If the budget is tight, I plan to make allocations to student organizations the priority for funding and try to reduce spending in other areas.