Proposal for Student Programming Board Policies

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Proposal for Student Programming Board Policies

• Ms. Carrie Anderson
• Ms. Julie Sharrow

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Student Fees

• How much are the student fees at YSU?
• Where do the fees go?
• What are the fees used for?
• Who decides how the fees are spent?

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How much
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(No Transcript)
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Revenues
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Revenues
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Where does it go????
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(No Transcript)
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2006 Expenditures
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Changes in 2007
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What Are The Fees Used For?
Student Organizations
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Who decides how the fees are spent?
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YSU Student Government
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What does it do?

• A board that initiates, plans, implements, and
  evaluates major events for students and the
  University community.
• These programs are designed to fulfill student
  identified needs and preferences.

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Information About The Board

• The Board is made up of 5 appointed students and
  6 students chosen through an interview process.
• The Board is responsible for one major activity
  for the campus and community each semester.
• The Board has a base budget of 75,000
• Money comes from the General Fund
• Student Fees are part of the General Fund
• This account rolls forward each year.
• Money cannot be used to pay salaries or stipends.
• Students manage the fund and have the autonomy to
  choose which activities to fund under the
  supervision of the Penguin Productions Advisory
  Committee.

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Reason for Our Proposal

• The Board has no formal policies in place.
• Due to prior court cases such as Rosenberger v
  University of Virginia and The Board of Regents
  of the University of Wisconsin v Southworth, we
  feel that policies are necessary.
• The Board needs to create policies to protect
  itself and Youngstown State University from
  possible litigation.

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Related Court Cases

• The Board of Regents of the University Wisconsin
  System v. Southworth. 529 U.S. 217 (2000).
• Rosenberger v. University of Virginia. 515 U.S.
  819 (1995).

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Rosenberger v. University of Virginia. 515 U.S.
819 (1995).

• University of Virginia provided student activity
  funds (SAF) to student newspapers.
• The university refused to give student funds to a
  Christian group that published an expressly
  religious magazine.
• The court stated that refusal to fund the
  magazine was a violation to the First Amendment
  of the United States Constitution.
• This case involved viewpoint discrimination
  whereas the University chose not to fund the
  magazine because of student journalistic efforts
  with religious editorial viewpoints.

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The Board of Regents of the University Wisconsin
System v. Southworth. 529 U.S. 217 (2000).

• In April 1996, three University of
  Wisconsin-Madison law students filed a lawsuit
  against the university claiming that the student
  fee system violated their First Amendment rights
  by forcing them to support political and
  ideological student organizations to which they
  objected.
• After a series of lower court battles, the U.S.
  Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in
  the spring of 2000 in favor of student fee
  autonomy, meaning students make the decisions of
  to whom the fees are allocated.

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University Wisconsin Cont.

• The court stated that it is constitutional for
  universities to foster a wide variety of views
  and ideas because it enhances the educational
  experience by creating an open forum of student
  expression where controversial and contradictory
  viewpoints are expected and encouraged.
• The court added this stipulation to secure First
  Amendment rights, stating that the institution
  must allocate funds in a viewpoint-neutral
  manner.

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What does viewpoint-neutral funding mean?
Viewpoint-neutral funding means that funding
decisions cannot be based on a groups point of
view. Thus, an organization cannot be denied
funding because it advocates a particular
opinion, no matter how deplorable or unusual.
Viewpoint neutral criteria for evaluating funding
proposals would only consider factors that are
NOT tied to viewpoint such as fiscal
responsibility, relevance to mission, and level
of services provided.
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Does viewpoint neutrality mean that funding
levels must be equal for all organizations?
No. Viewpoint neutrality is about the process,
not the outcome. So, different groups may be
funded at different levels, but NOT because of
the viewpoints that they espouse. Different
organizations require different amounts of money
to function effectively on campus. It would
usually be absurd to suggest that the chess club
should receive the same amount of money as the
student newspaper. The newspaper costs more
money to run and serves a larger percentage of
the campus population.
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How do you make sure that a funding process is
viewpoint neutral?

• Though funding allocation processes vary across
  the country, there is a set of basic criteria
  that should be adopted to ensure the process is
  viewpoint-neutral
• The group must be an officially registered
  organization
• The group and/or activity must demonstrate how it
  contributes to the universitys mission
• The group must present a detailed plan about its
  mission, goals and activities
• The group and/or activity must not duplicate
  current offerings
• The group and/or activity must be open to all
  students
• The groups proposal must be fiscally
  responsible
• The group must attend its hearing.

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How do you make sure that a funding process is
viewpoint neutral?
To further ensure a viewpoint-neutral process,
the student government, and its committees,
should adopt the following policies The student
government (or the appropriate committee) must
document all hearings regarding a groups
request The student government (or the
appropriate committee) must have a clear, fair
and open appeals process that follows a
reasonable timeline The student governments (or
the appropriate committees) funding decisions
must be based on how the group met the above
criteria and not on the group and/or activitys
viewpoint or opinions.
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Currently at YSU

• Student Government Association complies with
  these regulations through its policies
• Financial Path
• http//www.ysu.edu/studgov/
• As the YSU Student Programming Board creates its
  policies, it must keep these regulations in mind.

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Suggestions for the Board

• Many Universities have expanded student
  programming boards. YSU and the Board may want to
  consider creating bylaws.
• Depending on how extensive the YSU Student
  Programming Board becomes
• The Board members are appointed or volunteers it
  will be changing as students graduate.
• Bylaws will assure that the original intent of
  the Board and the adherence to the Universitys
  mission is carried out.

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Suggestions for the Board

• We recommend bylaws which resemble those created
  for Linn-Benton Community College in Oregon.
• YSU mission and Linn-Benton mission are very
  similar
• We embody the same values
• Linn-Benton bylaws can be found at
  http//cf.linnbenton.edu/depts/stugov/web.cfm?pgID
  27

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Bylaws Will.

• Create job descriptions for members
• Define duties and responsibilities for each of
  the members
• Ease the transition between previous and future
  members

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Resources
Anderson, Cynthia E., Vice President for Student
Affairs, Youngstown State University, Personal
Interview, (2006, November 6). The Board of
Regents of the University Wisconsin System v.
Southworth. 529 U.S. 217 (2000). McNally, Neal,
Director of Budget Planning and Resource
Analysis, Youngstown State University, Personal
Interview, (2006, November 8). Rosenberger v.
University of Virginia. 515 U.S. 819 (1995).
Starlin, LeAnn, Coordinator of Campus
Involvement, Hiram College, Personal Interview,
(2006, November 3). Youngstown State University.
(2005). The Financial Path of the Youngstown
State University Student Government Association.
Retrieved November 7, 2006, from
http//www.ysu.edu/studgov/