When then-Comptroller Jeff Rickert crafted the Student Association’s tier system, he envisioned a framework that would protect the financial interests of Syracuse University students.

‘My biggest pet peeve as the comptroller was seeing activity fee money wasted,’ he said. The Finance Board would grant organizations $15,000 or more for events, many of which didn’t happen by the end of the semester, Rickert said.

The four-tier system was added to SA’s financial vision last session before it was solidified in the codes several months ago. Groups were previously funded if their budgets adhered to the Finance Board’s standards, but there were few guidelines that factored in organizations’ track records, he said.

And while the tier system safeguards against potential abuse of the student activity fee, some individuals, including Rickert, believe it has room for improvement.

The system is not meant to be static, and the fact that it is now written in the SA codes will lead to thoughtful discussion if changes are proposed, he said. Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo recognizes areas where the system can be improved and is working to address concerns of student organizations before SA’s next budget season.

Rickert said he devised the levels, and placed student organizations accordingly, by extensively analyzing financial data from the past 10 years — or as far back as this information went for newer organizations. All of this data is publicly available, he said.

At tier one, an organization is eligible for amounts up to $5,000. This increases to $12,000 at tier two, Rickert said. By tier three, a group can submit budgets up to $25,000, and organizations deemed to be tier four are not subject to a cap, he said.

The Finance Board tries to keep the cost per student under $35, ensuring that student money is used in the most efficient way.

‘Can you have a group request $80,000 for something? Sure. But there aren’t a lot of venues where you’re going to get funded for that because of that kind of threshold,’ he said.

The only tier four organization that usually receives substantial funding — amounts upward of $150,000 — is University Union, he said.

During SA’s April 9 meeting, Donald Saint-Germain, president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council at SU, voiced concerns about the lack of clarity regarding several aspects of the system.

‘The intention behind it was great,’ Saint-Germain said. ‘But now I feel there are too many questions behind it that are negatively affecting student organizations and affecting the programming on campus.’

Saint-Germain said it is essential for the Finance Board to know if the organizations they are funding are trustworthy, but it’s unclear how a group is moved up or down in the system.

An amendment to the Finance Board’s codes about what conditions these changes occur under could help alleviate the problem, he said.

He said SA should clearly differentiate between what it means to be the sponsor and co-sponsor of an event, perhaps by using different terminology.

At the April 9 meeting, Phi Beta Sigma, a fraternity of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, was not granted $62,655.50 for its comedy show because Omega Phi Beta was incorrectly listed as the sponsor of the event.

‘I do think they’ve done a great job, and I truly support them,’ Saint-Germain said. ‘But I do feel they made an error at that point in using the definition of co-sponsor and the placement of one name over another to prevent an organization from getting funding.’

Phi Beta Sigma was fully funded for its event through the appeals process after this mistake was corrected.

Though Saint-Germain said he is unaware of other groups being critical of the system, he acknowledged that there are some organizations that are most likely displeased with the tiers they fall in.

The Finance Board is looking into creating an application for groups who want to move up a tier, but this process will only be used in select cases, said DeSalvo, the SA comptroller.

‘There might be other instances where the comptroller will have sole discretion,’ DeSalvo said. ‘Groups that are going to be moving down probably aren’t going to be submitting applications to do so.’

The term ‘co-sponsor’ could also be changed to make it clear when a group is not the headliner responsible for handling the funding SA distributes, he said.

And though he did not hear any concerns about the system before the budget meeting, DeSalvo said the Finance Board is willing to work with groups that are unhappy with where they stand.

Said DeSalvo: ‘I’m open to hearing people’s claims or assertions that they should be higher in the tier system.’

dmsegelb@syr.edu  

Published on April 24, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum