University Business Policies and Procedures Manual

1310
STUDENT FEE REVIEW BOARD POLICY
Effective Date: December 3, 1996
Revised: 10/16/98, 08/23/99, 01/01/01, 06/24/03, 08/01/06
Subject to Change Without Notice

Authorized by UNM Regents' Policy 4.7 "Tuition and Fees

1. General

There are four (4) components of the mandatory tuition and fee rate paid by all students: tuition, facility fee, student activity fee, and student government fee. Taking into consideration the recommendations of the University President, the Board of Regents annually approves both the total tuition and fee rates paid by the various categories of students and the individual amounts for each component.

Revenue generated by the student activity fee is used to support a variety of student activities that enhance the academic and intellectual environment at UNM by encouraging, contributing to, or providing appropriate services which create a more complete environment for students at UNM. The University of New Mexico encourages student participation in the decisions about which student activities and organizations should receive support from student activity fee revenue.

The role of the Student Fee Review Board (SFRB) is to recommend to the University President student activity fee amounts and allocations. The SFRB acts as a joint committee of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM) and the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) and functions through student action and with the advice of both faculty and administration representatives.

2. Definitions

2.1. Student Activity Fee

The student activity fee is the per-student portion of the mandated general fees used to support a variety of student activities. It does not include the student government fee, which is a fixed dollar amount approved separately by the Board of Regents for ASUNM and GPSA.

2.2. Student Activity Fee Revenue

Student activity fee revenue is the total amount available or projected to be available from the student activity fee, based on enrollment.

2.3. Unit Allocation

The unit allocation is the amount (dollars and/or cents) of the per-student activity fee designated for a specific purpose.

 

2.4. Term of Office (Term)

The term of office of an appointed member or alternate of the SFRB, except for a person filling an unexpired term, is the period of time that begins with the appointment of the member, as provided in this policy, and ends with the end of the term of the ASUNM or GPSA official making the appointment or the official's successor in the case of two-year appointments.

2.5. Organization

An organization is a University department, division, other organization unit or program funded by student activity fees or seeking funding from student activity fees. Chartered student organizations are not eligible to receive funding from the student activity fee. A chartered student "organization" is not an organization for the purposes of this policy.

2.6. 21-day Statistics

The 21-day statistics are the official enrollment figures that will be used to estimate student activity fee revenue, on a semester-by-semester basis. Actual revenue (which includes adjustments to 21-day statistics) will be posted to individual revenue accounts at the end of each semester.

3. Student Activity Fee Recommendation and Approval Authority

3.1. Board of Regents

The Board of Regents shall approve any change in the total amount of the student activity fee.

3.2. University President

Taking into consideration recommendations of the SFRB, the President shall:

• recommend to the Board of Regents any change in the total amount of the student activity fee;
  
• approve recurring funding status for organizations;
  
• approve annual unit allocations of the student activity fee; and
  
• approve expenditures from the Student Activity Fee Special Fund.

The President may designate this authority to one (1) or more individuals. References in this policy to the University President are intended to include any designee.

3.3. Student Fee Review Board

The SFRB shall make annual recommendations to the President regarding:

• any change in the total amount of the student activity fee;
  
• recurring funding status for organizations; and
  
• annual unit allocations of the student activity fee.

In addition, the SFRB shall recommend to the University President expenditures from the Student Activity Fee Special Fund, as provided for in this policy.

4. Membership of the Student Fee Review Board

There will be seven (7) voting members of the SFRB (two [2] ex-officio and five [5] appointed), two (2) alternates and four (4) non-voting members. Of the seven (7) voting members, four (4) will represent ASUNM and three (3) will represent GPSA. One (1) of the alternates will represent ASUNM and the other GPSA. The officials making appointments to the SFRB should use their best efforts to ensure that SFRB's overall membership reflects the diverse makeup of the University.

4.1. Ex-officio Members

The two (2) ex-officio, voting members of the SFRB shall be:

• The ASUNM president serves on the SFRB as the elected representative of the undergraduate student population and as a recognized student advisor to the Board of Regents. The ASUNM President shall serve as Chair of the SFRB in academic years beginning in even-numbered years and shall serve as Vice-Chair in academic years beginning in odd-numbered years.
  
• The GPSA President serves on the SFRB as the elected representative of the graduate and professional student population and as a recognized student advisor to the Board of Regents. The GPSA President shall serve as Chair of the SFRB in academic years beginning in odd-numbered years, and shall serve as Vice-Chair in academic years beginning in even numbered years.

4.2. Appointed Members

The five (5) appointed members of the SFRB shall be:

• One (1) ASUNM Senator is appointed by the ASUNM Vice President to serve a one-year term coinciding with the term of office of the ASUNM Vice President making the appointment.
  
• One (1) student is appointed by the ASUNM President to serve a two-year term commencing in academic years beginning in odd-numbered years.
  
• One (1) student is appointed by the ASUNM President to serve a two-year term commencing in academic years beginning in even-numbered years.
  
• One (1) student is appointed by the GPSA President to serve a two-year term commencing in academic years beginning in odd-numbered years.
  
• One (1) student is appointed by the GPSA President to serve a two-year term commencing in academic years beginning in even-numbered years.

4.3. Alternate Members

4.3.1. Selection of Alternate Members

The two (2) alternate members of the SFRB shall be:

• One (1) student appointed by the ASUNM president to serve a one-year term.
  
• One (1) student appointed by the GPSA president to serve a one-year term.

 4.3.2. Responsibilities of Alternate Members

The alternates are non-voting members of the SFRB. An alternate becomes a voting member only to fill an unexpired term, as provided in this policy. The alternates are subject to the same meeting attendance requirements as voting members. (See Section 4.7. herein.) The alternates may participate during all hearings and deliberations with all rights and privileges of voting members with the exception of the right to vote.

4.4. Non-voting Members

The non-voting members of the SFRB serve as advisors to the SFRB and may represent the interests of faculty and administration. The four (4) non-voting members of the SFRB shall be the following:

• the Associate Vice President For Budget Planning & Analysis or designee;
  
• the Director of Student Activities; the Senior Accountant from the Student Government Accounting Office, who shall keep the year-to-year financial records of the SFRB; and
  
• one (1) faculty member is appointed by the Faculty Senate President for a one-year term.

4.5. Unexpired Terms of Appointed Members and Alternates

If an appointed student member fails to complete the term for which appointed, the alternate for that student government association shall serve the unexpired term. If an additional appointed student member or an alternate fails to serve the complete term for which appointed, the current ASUNM or GPSA official responsible for the appointment, according to Section 4.2. or 4.3. herein, shall appoint another member who shall serve the unexpired term.

If the appointed faculty member fails to complete the term for which appointed, the Faculty Senate President shall appoint another member who shall serve the unexpired term.

4.6. Initial Appointments

When the initial appointments are made under this policy, the ASUNM and GPSA Presidents shall appoint members to initial one-year terms as necessary to establish the staggering of terms contemplated under Section 4.2. herein.

4.7. Resignation

Any appointed member or alternate of the SFRB may resign by submitting a signed and dated letter of resignation to the SFRB chair or is deemed to have resigned by failure to attend three (3) regularly scheduled SFRB meetings in an academic year, regardless of the reason. In the case of resignation because of non-attendance, such resignation shall automatically become effective at the close of the third meeting which the voting member or alternate has failed to attend.

4.8 Removal

Appointed voting members serving one-year terms and alternates may only be removed by the officer who made the initial appointment. Voting members serving two-year terms may only be removed, during the first year, by the appointing ASUNM or GPSA President while still in office and, during the second year, by a vote of the SFRB in which five (5) of the seven (7) voting members vote in favor of removal.

5. Organization and Meetings of the Student Fee Review Board

5.1. Regular Meetings

The SFRB shall meet as needed throughout the year. By October 31, the Chair of the SFRB shall communicate meeting dates to all members of the SFRB and to the Daily Lobo for publication and shall provide at least three (3) day's notice of any change in regular meeting dates. The Chair shall be responsible to ensure that all departments, divisions and organizations applying to the SFRB have adequate notice of any meeting or hearing in which funding for the organization is to be discussed.

5.2. Special Meetings

Special meetings may be called by a majority vote of the members at a duly called meeting or by the Chair or Vice Chair of the SFRB. Sufficient notice must be given to all voting and non-voting members and alternates for a special meeting to be valid, but in no case may notice be fewer than three (3) days.

5.3. Quorum

A quorum at SFRB meetings shall consist of a majority of the voting members of the SFRB.

6. Annual Recommendation and Transfer Process

Based on the process described in this policy, unit allocations shall be established for organizations and for the Student Activity Fee Special Fund. As provided in Section 8. herein, the Student Activity Fee Special Fund may be used for emergency expenditures of organizations on recurring funding status and for unit allocations to organizations on non-recurring funding status.

In the fall of each year, the SFRB shall initiate the budget process by requesting information from organizations funded by student activity fees and organizations seeking funding from student activity fees. This information should provide evidence that the organization is meeting the requirements as stated in Section 1. herein. The SFRB may establish different criteria and request different information for organizations on recurring funding status and organizations on non-recurring funding status.

After reviewing projections for student activity fee revenue and funding requests, the SFRB shall make recommendations to the University President. Recommendations for funding will require a majority vote of the SFRB. Recommendations for recurring funding status will require a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the SFRB. In March of each year the Board of Regents will approve any change in the student activity fee, and the University President will approve unit allocations for the following fiscal year.

The estimated annual funds available to organizations and to the Student Activity Fee Special Fund shall be based on the unit allocations approved by the President and the 21-day statistics. The actual funds available will be based on the unit allocations and the actual student activity fee revenue. 

6.1. Deadline for Submission of Recommendations

The SFRB shall submit its recommendations for the following fiscal year to the University President by March 1 of each year.

6.2. Content of Recommendations

The annual recommendations shall consist of the following:

• the proposed change, if any, in the total amount of the student activity fee;
  
• the proposed unit allocation for each organization on recurring funding status; and
  
• the proposed unit allocation for the special fund (see Section 8. herein) and the proposed expenditures from the Special Fund, including the amount set aside for emergency expenses of organizations on recurring funding status and unit allocations to organizations on non-recurring funding status.

6.3. General Guidelines for Funding Organizations

The student activity fee shall be used to supplement University organizations which benefit students directly.

6.3.1. Organizations on Recurring Funding Status

In order to foster stability and the ability to engage in long-range planning, the SFRB will recommend organizations to be placed on recurring funding status. The total unit allocations for all organizations on recurring funding status will not exceed 95 percent (%) of the student activity fee.

Once an organization has been placed on recurring funding status and the unit allocation for the organization has been determined, that amount shall not be eliminated or reduced from year to year, except through the probation process described in Section 7. herein or voluntarily by the organization.

6.3.2. Organizations on Non-Recurring Funding Status

In order to assist with start-up needs or special needs of organizations of the type described in Section 1. (General) herein, the SFRB will recommend organizations to be placed on non-recurring funding status. These organizations will be funded through unit allocations from the Student Activity Fee Special Fund (Section 8. herein).

Each year a decision will be made about the unit allocation for each of these organizations. There should be no expectation that the funding for any of these organizations will continue from year to year.

7. Probation

• An organization on recurring funding status may be placed on probation for one (1) academic year, based on a recommendation by the SFRB and approval by the University President. Probation will be invoked only if an organization fails, in significant ways, to meet the criteria for funding or experiences serious operational problems. When an organization is placed on probation, the SFRB shall communicate the reasons for the probationary status and a written action plan which provides the opportunity for the organization to work with the SFRB to remedy the problem. As part of the probation, the SFRB may recommend a reduction of up to 5 percent of the organization's unit allocation.
  
• If at the conclusion of one (1) academic year on probation, the organization has failed to fulfill the requirements of the action plan, the SFRB may recommend a reduction in the unit allocation not to exceed 35 percent.
  
• If at the conclusion of a second academic year on probation, the organization has still failed to fulfill the requirements of the action plan, the SFRB may recommend any further reduction in the unit allocation, including eliminating the unit allocation.

8. Student Activity Fee Special Fund

8.1. Funding

The Student Activity Fee Special Fund shall be funded by a unit allocation.

8.2. Use of the Fund

The Special Fund may be used for emergency expenses of organizations on recurring funding status. These expenses may include one-time expenses required to replace or maintain equipment owned or operated by organizations. The intent of the fund is to avoid raising student activity fees or unit allocations to cover one-time expenses. The Special Fund may also be used to make unit allocations to organizations on non-recurring funding status as provided in Sections 6. and 6.3.2. herein. Any deficit from student activity fee allocations shall be paid from the Special Fund at a rate of $50,000 per year until repaid.

8.3. Expenditure Approval

Expenditures from this fund shall be recommended by the SFRB and approved by the President or designee.

9. Amendments

Amendments to this policy can only be adopted by the University President. Approval by three-quarters (3/4) of the voting members of the SFRB is required to submit a proposed amendment to the President.  

Comments may be sent to UBPPM@UNM.edu
http://www.unm.edu/~ubppm