By Signe K. Skinion

An Undergraduate Student Government proposal to change the funding process for the Student Programming Council could save the USG Finance Committee time and resources, committee members say.

David Vingren, Thompson Point senator and member of USG’s Finance Committee, said the senate is creating an advisory board that would closely monitor council funding.

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As it looks right now there would be three USG representatives, two Graduate and Professional Student Council representatives and two faculty members on the board, Vingren said. This board would lessen the burden of funding SPC.

SPC sponsors various activities for students, such as movies and concerts, throughout the school year.

Eric Bottom, USG Finance Committee chairman and College of Business senator, said the proposal, still in planning stages, may also allow SPC to have representatives on the board, but they will not have a vote in the decisions.

We’re (USG) also considering other representatives to be on this board from Student Development, possibly the Black Affairs Council, International Student Council and Inter Greek Council, Bottom said. But if the board gets too large, it won’t be as effective.

The USG Finance Committee allocates about $400,000 a year to various organizations on campus, with about $200,000 of that money going to the four priority one organizations, such as SPC. The money comes from a percentage of the student activity fee taken by SIUC through student tuition and fees.

Vingren said through the proposal, the council would not have to go through the annual review and fee allocation process by the USG Finance Committee.

The funding for SPC would come out of the student activity fee and go straight to SPC, Vingren said. It would not touch USG’s hands..

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USG normally makes SPC go through an annual review and funding allocation procedure to receive funding for the next year. Bottom said by taking the money straight from the student activity fee and giving a set amount to SPC, the time spent on reviewing council funds would be transferred to the board. He said this will make everyone’s job easier.

Bottom said for the past three years, USG has allocated about $130,000 to the council to sponsor student events, and the advisory board would help to oversee the spending for the events, while not taking additional money from students.

This process would take $3.60 (per student) from the student activity fee per semester to go to SPC only, Bottom said. The students won’t be paying more than what they already are, and SPC would still be getting the same amount of money as they have been. This just makes the fee process easier for everyone.

Bottom said the proposed board will benefit everyone involved in the process.

This board will be a good communication tool between USG, GPSC and SPC, Bottom said. Also, the faculty members on the board will provide some consistency because they will be there year after year.

Vingren said the faculty members also pose one of the only problems for the proposal. He said because faculty members will have seniority over USG and GPSC members, more weight could be given to the faculty members’ decisions.

Maybe the faculty members won’t take that stance, but it does give them an unfair advantage over the USG/GPSC members who would be changing every year, Vingren said. And it’s not even the faculty money they are dealing with. It’s the students money.

Bottom said the senate is considering setting up a similar board for the other priority one organizations on campus Black Affairs Council, International Student Council and Inter Greek Council but it is not the right time.

SPC is a program council and is different from the other priority ones, because they are self-interest groups, Bottom said. Separate boards for each group are not feasible at this time because they aren’t the same in their functions or target audience.

Bottom said if the proposal passes at this week’s senate meeting, the board will begin July 1, 1996 at the beginning of fiscal year 1997. He said if approved, the board should be in full swing by next fall.

The USG meeting will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Student Center Renaissance Room.