Student Assembly

Executive Boards of Byline Funded Groups:

On behalf of the 2008–2009 Student Assembly (SA), I would like to thank you for your leadership and programming that contributes to improving the quality of life of Cornell undergraduates. The undergraduate community at Cornell is grateful to have the student leadership and student activity advising necessary to run successful programs and initiatives.

As the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 byline funding cycle approaches and you begin to prepare your byline funding applications, we would like to layout some clarifications and expectations to ensure the efficiency of the SA’s setting of the Student Activity Fee this Fall 2009. This year we are asking all groups to submit a preliminary application, or letter of intent by noon on April 27, 2009. This letter of intent will include the amount your organization will be requesting for your byline funding application. The actual application, complete with all budget information will be due to the Student Assembly by noon on September 11, 2009. Please find all application material and information on our website. This timeline will allow the Student Assembly to perform some aggregate planning of Student Activity Fee during this spring 2009, while at the same time allowing byline funded organizations the appropriate time to gather budget information after the fiscal year ends on June1st and regroup early in the fall semester 2009.

Due to the university’s recent financial constraints, the Student Assembly has adopted the following set of expectations for every byline funded organization in their SAF request. In an effort to control the Student Activity Fee in a way that does not negatively affect the current level and quality of programming for byline funded groups, we are asking for any requested increases in a byline funding allocation to exclusively compensate for a decrease in funding from university departments or any other sources of revenue. In other words, the Student Assembly has adopted the standard of awarding SAF increases only to compensate for lost revenue. Theoretically, there will be no “expansion” of programming for the next byline funding cycle, but a maintenance of the quality of programming.

Please keep these expectations in mind when filing your SAF funding application. Again, I appreciate your cooperation and dedication to improving the life of Cornell undergraduates despite any financial constraints that we might face. Please contact me with any questions or concerns you might have.

Sincerely,
Ryan Lavin
President, Student Assembly 2008–2009