GPSA Funding Policy Committee

Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Guidelines for Allocating the Graduate Student Activity Fee

I. Preamble

The Graduate and Professional Student Activity Fee (GPSAF) is allocated to by-line funded organizations by the GPSA, per Appendix A of the GPSA Charter and the delegated authority given to us by the President of the University and the Board of Trustees. This fee is mandatory for all graduate students of the university, and is used to pay for activities and programs that benefit the Cornell Community. The GPSAF is voted on every two years.

II. Setting the Fee

The Graduate and Professional Student Activity Fee shall be determined every two years by the GPSA through a series of votes.

A) By-line funded groups are:

1) registered student or university organizations

2) require 50 cents per student per year or more

3) serve/benefit the entire Cornell community

4) allow all students equal access to services or participation

5) owns a university operating account

6) has a qualified advisor with oversight of the account

or:

7) groups that currently receive by-line funding or have received by-line funding in any previous GPSAF cycle

B) Registered By-Line funded organizations that have previously received by-line funding must adhere to the following criteria in order to be considered for such funding:

1) Submit financial statements for the past completed four years, a budget and spending to date for the current year, and budgets for the two years in the funding cycle applied for. Organizations are encouraged to seek financial help, professional or otherwise, in preparing these statements and budgets. The budget must state the amount of funding the group is seeking in terms of dollars per student per year. In addition, the groups seeking funding must present to the Assembly a copy of its most current constitution and by-laws, as well as all other relevant information. This will provide the Assembly with an opportunity for questions and information gathering.

2) If deemed necessary by the Funding Policy Committee, Appear before the Funding Policy Committee with the same five (5) year budget (detailing income and expenses) in which only official voting members (as selected in staffing committee in accordance with the charter and by-laws) will make a recommendation to the GPSA. The Funding Policy Committee will make recommendations based on a simple majority approval of the present sitting voting members.

3) Each registered by-line funded group’s allocation recommendation will be presented to the GPSA by the Chairman of the Funding Policy Committee on an individual basis at the next scheduled GPSA meeting.

C) Following the above mentioned criteria, the below procedure will take place:

1) An e-mail to the entire graduate and professional student population will be sent to inform them of the upcoming GPSA GPSAF hearings.

2) An initial vote will be taken on each by-line-funded group separately, in which either a “Yes” or “No” vote will be cast on the Funding Policy Committee’s recommendation. A simple majority is necessary for the initial vote.

3) If a majority of the Assembly votes in favor of the Funding Policy Committee’s recommendation for a particular organization, that by-line funded organization becomes eligible to be voted on in the final budget.

4) If a majority of the Assembly fails to uphold the recommendation of the Funding Policy Committee, the President of the Assembly will then call for another vote. The chair will pose a question asking the Assembly if it would like to send the organization back to the Funding Policy Committee to modify its funding request, or if the Assembly wishes to remove that particular organization from its eligibility to receive funding for that 2 year funding cycle. A 2/3 vote is required to remove a particular organization from funding eligibility. A vote to send the organization back to the Funding Policy Committee will start the process all over again (Go back to B-1). The organization seeking by-line funding then has 1 more opportunity to revise its budget in Funding Policy (for a total of 2 visits to Funding Policy and 2 visits to the GPSA).

Note- If an organization feels as though it should receive more funding than the funding policy committee designates, that organization has the right to persuade the assembly to vote “no” on the recommendation and send it back to the funding policy committee;

5) If the initial majority vote by the GPSA has not been reached after two visits to the Funding Policy committee (and the GPSA), the group seeking by-line funding loses its eligibility to receive that funding for the two year cycle.

6) After the initial status of all the organizations seeking by-line funding has been voted on (needing a majority vote to continue) a collective GPSAF budget with all the “eligible” organizations is then presented to the Assembly as an “old business” resolution, which is debatable, amendable and follows all other rules of Parliamentary procedure. (e.g. This means that any member can change the funding of an organization by an amendment.) The GPSAF budget then will require a 2/3 vote by the entire assembly.

7) After the GPSAF budget is approved by the required 2/3 vote of the GPSA, it will automatically be rounded up to the nearest whole, even number. The difference between the Graduate and Professional Student Activity Fee budget and the new rounded figure will be allocated to GPSAFC.

8) No by-line funded group, except the GPSAFC, can ever receive a higher amount of funding than initially requested in the first presentation to Funding Policy Committee.

9) The previous GPSAF is in effect until a new one is voted upon. (Through debate and amendment, the GPSA is urged to pass by 2/3 vote the new proposed GPSAF.) All organizations that were initially defunded (in II-C-3) will not receive funding if the previous SAF is in effect, regardless of if they received funding in that GPSAF.

10) Once funded during any GPSAF funding cycle, a by-line funded organization will follow the guidelines for funding by-line funded organizations as prescribed in Appendix A of the Charter.

III. New By-line funded organizations (rules for new student groups to seek by-line funded status)

A. Rules for independent organizations (definition of independent organizations found in the latest edition of the SAO Organization and Event-Planning Handbook ):

1) apply for, and receive GPSAFC funding for a minimum of 4 semesters as “trial period”;

2) after the GPSAFC “trial period”, they must obtain petition signatures from 10% of the graduate student body in the spring before the allocation process begins;

3) present the GPSA with copies of their constitution and by-laws, in which the GPSA and the community at large may asks questions regarding any aspect of the organization and its potential funding, including but not limited to, its history, mission and purpose, leadership, target audience etc.;

4) Attend/help advertise at least one informational forum regarding the GPSAF and the individual group requesting funding;

5) After these conditions are satisfied, the group then follows procedures for registered by-line funding organizations with the exception of II-C-3. II-C-3 will read for all new groups: If a majority of the Assembly fails to uphold the recommendation of the Funding Policy Committee, the President of the Assembly will then call for another vote. The chair will pose a question asking the Assembly if it would like to send the organization back to the Funding Policy Committee to modify its funding request, or if the Assembly wishes to remove that particular organization from its eligibility to receive funding for that 2 year funding cycle. A simple majority vote is required to remove a particular organization from funding eligibility. A vote to send the organization back to the Funding Policy Committee will start the process all over again (Go back to B-1). The organization seeking by-line funding then has 1 more opportunity to revise its budget in Funding Policy (for a total of 2 visits to Funding Policy and 2 visits to the GPSA).

B. Rules for university organizations (definition of university organizations found in the latest edition of the SAO Organization and Event-Planning Handbook ):

1) The group must obtain petition signatures from 15% of the graduate student body in the spring before the allocation process begins;

2) present the GPSA with copies of their constitution and by-laws, in which the GPSA and the community at large may asks questions regarding any aspect of the organization and its potential funding, including but not limited to, its history, mission and purpose, leadership, target audience etc.;

3) Attend/help advertise at least one informational forum regarding the GPSAF and the individual group requesting funding.

4) After these conditions are satisfied, the group then follows procedures III-A-5.

IV. Petitioning Guidelines:

1) Petitions must be registered with the Office of the Assemblies before presenting to the public.

2) Petitions must state the name of the organization, the mission statement of the organization, and the initial monetary request it seeks when presented to the public.

3) Organizations seeking to receive by-line funding will follow the same procedures and time limits for acquiring petition signatures as students seeking placement on the election ballot.

V. Amending this document:

After passing this document as Appendix B to the GPSA Charter, a 2/3 vote would be needed to amend this document.

VI. Voting Procedures:

1) The total number votes equals “yes” votes plus “no”. Members who either are absent or who abstain, do not count as part of the total vote when calculating either a majority or 2/3 vote. This applies to both the Funding Policy Committee, and the GPSA.

2) Excused absences (under the discretion of the executive board) in which proxies are cast, will count as part of the total vote when calculating either majority or 2/3 votes.

3) Proxies will not be allowed to be cast for any legislation that has been amended, and therefore that vote will not be counted in the total amount of votes cast.

VII. Time Line:

1) The GPSAF process must be finished by the last meeting of the first semester. The funding levels which have been approved by 2/3 of the GPSA shall be presented to the President of the University as the official GPSA GPSAF proposal.

Attachment A: Criteria for Setting and Allocating the Student Activity Fee

Cornell University
March 1, 1999

Pursuant to a letter dated March 1, 1999, the President of the University has delegated responsibility for the setting and allocation of the Student Activity Fee to the Student Assembly (SA) and the Graduate & Professional Student Assembly (GPSA) within the following guidelines:

1. The SA and the GPSA shall each amend their respective charters to include the criteria for the setting and allocation of the Student Activity Fee, including the guidelines set forth herein and which criteria shall be reviewed by and meet the approval of the President of the University.
2. The Student Activity Fee for undergraduate students and for graduate and professional students shall be set every two years for a period of two years by the SA and the GPSA, respectively.
3. The amount of the Student Activity Fee shall be determined by the last day of classes in the fall semester of the fee-setting year by the SA and the GPSA, after substantive input and active participation in the fee-setting process by their constituencies. In the event the SA or the GPSA is unable to meet this deadline, the applicable Student Activity Fee will default to the amount and allocation currently in effect during the fee-setting year.
4. In general, in order to be considered for funding from the monies collected through the Student Activity Fee, an organization must meet the following criteria:
   1. Register as a student or university organization with the Student Activities Office
   2. Allow students equal access to the services being provided by the organization or participation in the organization’s activities
   3. Operate primarily for students by students with funds disbursed through a university operating account
   4. Have an advisor to assist with oversight of the university operating account.
5. Funding from the monies collected through the Student Activities Fee may be provided directly to an organization, which applies for and receives “by-line” funding status, outside of the established Student Assembly Finance Commission or Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Finance Commission processes. In addition to the general criteria set out above, an organization wishing to receive by-line funding must demonstrate:
   1. Its activities are of direct and primary benefit to the entire Cornell community represented by the respective assembly; and
   2. It has a demonstrated budgetary need equivalent to at least 50 cents per student per year.
6. The SA and the GPSA may also elect to provide by-line funding for other programs and services, which are not registered organizations (e.g., Students Helping Students, club insurance) but whose organizational structure and programs and services are consistent with the criteria outlined above for by-line funded organizations. Such funding would require the approval of the respective assembly and the President of the University.
7. The SA and the GPSA will ensure that an appropriate balance is maintained between funds allocated to by-line funded organizations and the Student Assembly Finance Commission or Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Finance Commission, respectively. The SA and GPSA shall allocate no less than 35% of their respective Student Activity Fees to the applicable Finance Commission for disbursement among non-by-line funded organizations.
8. Neither a check-off option nor an option to pay an amount in addition to the established Student Activity Fee for specific programs or services will be allowed for purposes of exempting a student from paying the full amount of the Student Activity Fee, due to the funding instability inherent in administering such a system. Exceptions may be considered if recommended and approved by the respective assembly and approved by the President of the University.
9. These guidelines and the procedures established in accordance therewith shall be reviewed by the SA and the GPSA and a representative of the President of the University at least every four years in a non-fee-setting year.

Appendix A