2008 Woodie Awards
Budget cuts for 2007-2008 hit clubs
Annual evaluations change clubs' allocated money
Mark Freeman
Issue date: 5/15/07 Section: News
The Senate giveth and the Senate taketh away-tis the season for budget allocation.
The new budget brings changes for many clubs, in the form of budget increases or decreases. According to the 2006-2007 Associated Students of Saint Mary's College (ASSMC) President Shane Keane, "the budgets for clubs and organizations… change from year to year," due to the annual evaluation process which ranks clubs on key areas. "The assessment is done on a five-point scale (five being the highest). Clubs are evaluated across a number of key areas, which are averaged to get a final score for the year. Based on the score, a club or organization will experience a ten percent decrease (lower evaluation scores), a ten percent increase or no change," Keane said.
Every year, ASSMC determines the funds that each club and organization will receive for the following academic year. According to Merria Iaccino '08, current ASSMC Vice President for Finance, the budget "is determined by the Vice President for Finance as prescribed by the evaluation process in collaboration with the ASSMC executive team as well as the SIL staff members." Though Iaccino is the Vice President for Finance for the '07-'08 academic year, next year's budget was drawn up by her predecessor, Alia Bana '07.
Iaccino explained that "the factors for club funding are laid out in the rubric for organizations and clubs that were handed out when annual evaluation packets were distributed." But even after examining checking how well a club matched up to the factors, "there was also a need-based factor to take into consideration," Iaccino said. She explained that clubs who had been allocated money and did not use or need all of it, as well as organizations that needed more funding, "had their budget adjusted in the same manner."
The budget adjustments can be rough for some smaller clubs. Amnesty International, a club devoted to protecting human rights, had their budget downsized from $250 to $200 according to the organization's vice president, Lindsay Isles '09. Isles said she felt "disappointed at first" when she heard that the club's budget would be cut, but she "didn't think it would matter since we hadn't spent any money or done any events or fundraising that year up to our evaluation." Because the club had not spent the allocated funds, it "got very low scores on our evaluations, so I understand why our budget decreased," Isles said.
The new budget brings changes for many clubs, in the form of budget increases or decreases. According to the 2006-2007 Associated Students of Saint Mary's College (ASSMC) President Shane Keane, "the budgets for clubs and organizations… change from year to year," due to the annual evaluation process which ranks clubs on key areas. "The assessment is done on a five-point scale (five being the highest). Clubs are evaluated across a number of key areas, which are averaged to get a final score for the year. Based on the score, a club or organization will experience a ten percent decrease (lower evaluation scores), a ten percent increase or no change," Keane said.
Every year, ASSMC determines the funds that each club and organization will receive for the following academic year. According to Merria Iaccino '08, current ASSMC Vice President for Finance, the budget "is determined by the Vice President for Finance as prescribed by the evaluation process in collaboration with the ASSMC executive team as well as the SIL staff members." Though Iaccino is the Vice President for Finance for the '07-'08 academic year, next year's budget was drawn up by her predecessor, Alia Bana '07.
Iaccino explained that "the factors for club funding are laid out in the rubric for organizations and clubs that were handed out when annual evaluation packets were distributed." But even after examining checking how well a club matched up to the factors, "there was also a need-based factor to take into consideration," Iaccino said. She explained that clubs who had been allocated money and did not use or need all of it, as well as organizations that needed more funding, "had their budget adjusted in the same manner."
The budget adjustments can be rough for some smaller clubs. Amnesty International, a club devoted to protecting human rights, had their budget downsized from $250 to $200 according to the organization's vice president, Lindsay Isles '09. Isles said she felt "disappointed at first" when she heard that the club's budget would be cut, but she "didn't think it would matter since we hadn't spent any money or done any events or fundraising that year up to our evaluation." Because the club had not spent the allocated funds, it "got very low scores on our evaluations, so I understand why our budget decreased," Isles said.