Student Services Fee Administrative Procedures: Morris

Campus-Based Procedures

Committee

The Activities Fee Review Committee (AFRC) is the Student Services Fee Committee of the Morris campus as mandated by the regents and administrative policies noted above. It is composed of up to nine student members selected by an AFRC subcommittee, two faculty/professional & administrative representatives appointed by the Chancellor, one Staff representative (appointed by the United Staff Association), and the Director of Student Engagement, ex officio/non-voting.

The election of a Chairperson is conducted in the spring at a joint meeting of the outgoing and incoming members with all those present voting. The Vice Chair is typically elected at the first meeting in the Fall. The student secretary is an employee of the Office of Student Activities and that office coordinates the hiring process with input from AFRC Chair or designee. The student secretary is not a member of the committee and does not participate in the budget deliberation discussions other than to clarify points for the record.

Every member of AFRC will be expected to attend each meeting. However, if one has a legitimate conflict or other reason why one cannot attend, the Chair must be notified. All other absences will be considered unexcused and any member of AFRC who accumulates more than three unexcused absences in a year will be asked to leave the committee.

Requirements for Applying for Student Fees

• All organizations, departments or programs receiving student services fees funding must have students participating in deciding how fee money is spent. Students must be involved in the development of policies and budgets for any proposal that comes before the Student Services Fees Committee.
• Organizations, departments or programs receiving funds from student service fees shall demonstrate expenditures in general compliance with their submitted budgets or provide justification for the changes in budget.
• All budgets and financial records for all organizations, departments or programs which receive student fees shall be available for student inspection. The Office of Student Engagement & Events will maintain financial records for all of the organizations requesting allocations.
• Eligibility of all organizations applying for student service fees must be reviewed by the Director of Student Engagement or their designee and/or by AFRC. All financial records must be provided in a timely manner.
• All organizations applying for student service fees must demonstrate that they have procedures in place to ensure accountability. Examples of this accountability include: attendance figures for events, numbers related to publications or listenership, etc. The intent is to create a descriptive record of each organization’s activities/products/events.
• Membership in the organization requesting student service fees and access to programs and services must comply with the University of Minnesota’s Equal Opportunity Statement.
• All organizations applying for student service fees must comply with the University’s discrimination policy.
• All organizations applying for student services fees must complete the standardized request form(s) and adhere to deadlines established by the Activity Fee Review Committee.
• Partisan political student groups are not eligible to apply for and/or receive general student services fees. “Partisan political student groups” are organizations affiliated with and in support of a registered political party or candidates for election. Such groups may seek funding for their nonpartisan political activities (e.g. candidate forums available to all qualified candidates, nonpartisan education programs, etc.) through other University grant and student funding programs.
• No registered student group may use University funds for partisan activity (defined as any activity in support of a registered political party) or on behalf of a candidate for public office in a political campaign.

Criteria Used for Allocating Fees

• AFRC funding should provide support for educational, cultural, and recreational activities and services.
• The interest in, support for, and potential number of students to be served by the activity will be a consideration in the allocation process. However, a more narrowly focused activity or service designed to meet the needs of a significant special interest group may be considered for funding as long as the activity or service is potentially available to all students.
• The precedent with which previous activity fee allocations have been administered will be a consideration. Organizations, departments or programs receiving funds from student services fees should demonstrate expenditures in general compliance with their submitted budgets.
• The overall effectiveness with which the activity or service meets its stated purpose will be a consideration.
• A comparative evaluation of previous allocations and the projected budget shown in the request will be a consideration. The overall financial base necessary for effective functioning of the activity or service will be taken into consideration.
• All organizations, departments or programs receiving student fee funding must have students participating in the decision as to how fee money is spent. Students must be involved in the development of policies and budgets for any proposal that comes before the Activity Fee Review Committee. The director or administrator of a University department receiving student fee funds shall ensure that adequate student participation occurs regarding the proposed student fee request.
• Other criteria will also be considered in making decisions. These include:
  • Size of membership of organization
  • Actual dollar amount requested
  • Anticipated attendance or participation
  • Size of past allocations to the organization or other organizations for such activities
  • Reports of success or failure of other ventures of a similar type
  • Longevity of the organization and its programming
  • History of spending allocated funds for the purposes and in the amounts requested, or presence of justification for the changes in budget
  • Programs and services targeted to the largest number of students consistent with the need for the programs and services
  • Uniqueness of programs and services. Are they provided elsewhere on campus or in the community?
  • Alternative and/or additional sources of funding
  • Contribution to the University educational experience beyond the academic curriculum.

Student Fee Funding Mechanisms at Morris

AFRC oversees two funding mechanisms at UMN Morris: Annual Allocations and the Assistance to Student Group (ASG) fund. Groups may request allocations from either of the funding sources but not both. ASG is reserved for groups who don’t receive annual AFRC funding. These groups typically do not have ongoing budgetary needs, but wish to request money for special projects.

Registered student organizations, campus departments or programs have the opportunity to request Annual Allocations if the group’s spending and programming is consistent over a three-year period. Stability of programming and associated financial need will be determined through a review of the group’s ASG history and/or through a review of other approved financial records. Groups that have had two years of consistent funding and programming will be allowed and encouraged, but not required, to submit one ASG request for each semester of their third year. These requests will be considered by the committee in the same manner as other ASG requests, but will serve as a transition period for a group moving from ASG funding to annual funding.

Exceptions can be granted by the AFRC to address special circumstances or opportunities that annually funded groups were not funded for. Examples of such exceptions include but are not limited to: competitive groups who are chosen to compete at national level competitions, transportation for students to see a Morris athletic team play in a conference championship game or expenses for a group to accept a special award. Under no circumstances will an exception be granted to provide greater funding due to poor fiscal management by any group.

Annual Allocations

Application for funding is a multi-step process that includes preparation of a comprehensive, budget request application:

• AFRC allocation meetings - groups requesting funding will be invited to attend the meetings and have the opportunity to answer committee questions, clarify and/or add additional detail to their written request.
• There is an opportunity to appeal AFRC’s initial allocation. The appeal must be related to procedural concerns and not related to dissatisfaction regarding the amount of an allocation.
• AFRC recommendations and annual report will be made to the Chancellor, who will make the final recommendation to the Board of Regents.
• Awards are for the fiscal year following application.

Criteria used by AFRC in funding decisions for groups requesting an annual allocation

In general, these funds are allocated based upon the priorities listed below. Type A categories, therefore, are the most likely to be funded and type E categories are the least likely. Though non-binding, these priorities are intended for guidance, and allocations are ultimately subject to the discretion of the committee.

1. Organizational activity/event on or off campus, intended and inclined to have high student attendance.
2. Organizational support, intended to build or replace necessary infrastructure, supplies, or equipment that is fundamental to the purpose of an organization. OR Organizational activity/event on campus open to all students, intended and inclined to have restricted or low student attendance.
3. Organizational activity/event off campus open to all students, but inclined to have restricted or low student attendance.
4. Organizational activity/event off campus (generally out of town) open to members or representatives of an organization.
5. Organizational activity/event on or off campus with restricted attendance. OR Organizational support, intended to go toward infrastructure, supplies, or equipment that is not immediately necessary.

In D–E activities, participants will be expected to contribute a significant portion of the funding for the proposed activity.

Designated AFRC Representative

Every group shall be assigned an AFRC Representative who will be responsible for communicating with the group about their annual request in a timely manner - including assistance with the budget submission software, information about increases, and all applicable deadlines. Failure of the designated AFRC Representative to do so shall be acceptable grounds for an extension for the group’s budget submission as long as it is communicated to the Committee in advance of the deadline.

Annually Funded Group Appeal Process

An annually funded group may appeal the decision of the AFRC after they receive their allocation letter. They must submit a written letter of appeal to the Morris Campus Student Association (MSCA) explaining the grounds of the appeal and the appeal itself must be based on the process AFRC used to get the allocation amount, and can not be appealed on the allocation amount itself. If MSCA (acting as a non-involved third party) feels that AFRC has not followed these procedures, AFRC will grant the group a second hearing. 

Late Submissions of Annual Requests

The deadline for the submission of the annual requests made by annually funded groups will be determined by the AFRC and communicated to the officers of the annually funded groups well in advance of that deadline. Groups may request extensions of that deadline due to extraordinary circumstances and those extensions may be granted at the discretion of the committee. Requests for extensions should be received before the deadline. Any group that does not submit their requests on time and has not received an extension will not be allowed to submit a request and will have to request ASG funds for the next academic year. The committee will allocate additional funds to the ASG fund to compensate for this. The group will be subject to all ASG guidelines, but will be allowed to reapply for annual funding for the following year. 

Administrative Units and Health & Wellness Fee

Administrative units and the Health & Wellness Fee will be reviewed on a rotating three year cycle through the AFRC annual allocation meetings. An administrative unit not scheduled for review can appeal to the AFRC Chair to be heard out of its scheduled hearing cycle during the annual review process.

• Cycle 1 (Spring: 2019, 2022 2025, 2028, etc)

  Health Services

  RFC

  Student Center

• Cycle 2 (Spring: 2020, 2023,2026, 2029, etc)

  Intercollegiate Athletics

  Office of Student Activities

  World Touch Cultural Heritage Week

• Cycle 3 (Spring: 2021, 2024, 2027, 2030, etc)

  Campus Activities Council

  Community Engagement

  Intramurals

Assistance to Student Groups (ASG) Fund

These procedures and priorities are established to yield the most benefit to students and campus organizations as a whole rather than individual students or organizations. There is no guarantee that any request will be approved.

Groups submit an ASG request form for AFRC consideration. Regular deadlines will be established for ASG submissions at the beginning of each academic year. For requests of less than $400, the Director of Student Engagement and AFRC chair or designee may make the award determination. For requests of more than $400 or multiple requests in a given year totaling more than $400, the full AFRC will review and make the award determination.

An ASG Fund Request form is available online to request funds.  Some of the information requested on this form include:

• itemized breakdown of the cost of the project/event/trip
• non ASG sources of income: e.g. co-sponsorships, admissions to be charged, individual participant contributions to help defray expenses, etc.
• the rationale for requesting ASG funds
• what the anticipated benefits are, e.g. cultural, educational, etc.
• a statement of the organization’s assets: this includes funds in campus accounts, checking accounts, grants, etc.
• how many people are involved.

Criteria used by AFRC in funding decisions for groups requesting ASG Funding

In general, these funds are allocated based upon the priorities listed below. Type A categories, therefore, are the most likely to be funded and type E categories are the least likely. Though non-binding, these priorities are intended for guidance, and allocations are ultimately subject to the discretion of the committee.

1. Organizational activity/event on or off campus, intended and inclined to have high student attendance.
2. Organizational support, intended to build or replace necessary infrastructure, supplies, or equipment that is fundamental to the purpose of an organization. OR Organizational activity/event on campus open to all students, intended and inclined to have restricted or low student attendance.
3. Organizational activity/event off campus open to all students, but inclined to have restricted or low student attendance.
4. Organizational activity/event off campus (generally out of town) open to members or representatives of an organization.
5. Organizational activity/event on or off campus with restricted attendance. OR Organizational support, intended to go toward infrastructure, supplies, or equipment that is not immediately necessary.

In D –E activities, participants will be expected to contribute a significant portion of the funding for the proposed activity.

Appeals of decisions for requests that fall under the purview of the Director of Student Activities and AFRC chair, i.e. requests under $400, can be made to the Activity Fee Review Committee.

Procedures Regarding Specific Areas of Expenditure

The many, very different student organizations on the Morris campus make it unrealistic to create a set of rules that would address all possible specifics related to requests for fee funding. The procedures that follow focus on some specific areas, but it is important that organizations be aware that AFRC expects clear justification for all expenditures appearing on budgets and that organizations should be prepared to answer very specific questions relating to all aspects of their budget.

Co-sponsorships

When events are co-sponsored by two or more student organizations, your organization will either be a parent organization and all others will be a contributing organization (see definitions below). Please note your expenses as follows:

1. Parent organization (the organization acting as the main sponsor of the event; contract fees and event expenses are charged against this group's budget): List the name of the event and date, the total cost shared, then the other co-sponsoring groups with their contributions noted as a negative number and the breakdown of major expenses related to the event.
2. Contributing organizations (any organization contributing monetary support to the parent organization): List the name of the event & date, the parent organization to which your funds were/will be transferred, and the total dollar amount your organization contributed.

For projected co-sponsorships, please follow the same format. It is imperative that you confirm your intentions to co-sponsor with the other organizations involved prior to the submission of both groups’ budget requests.

Leadership Stipends and Employment

The policies related to employment evolved from a policy originally established in 1983 with major revisions and additional stipulations adopted by AFRC in 1991. The current version of this policy was adopted by AFRC in October 2001.

Stipends

On December 5, 1991, AFRC adopted a policy restricting salaried positions in student organizations. The Committee was concerned about the proliferation of paid leadership positions. Leadership salaries originally were paid out as non-work study employment through the Financial Aid Office. In a series of meetings between Financial Aid, MCSA, and Student Activities held in 1999-2000, leadership stipends replaced leadership salaries.

Stipends are leadership awards that represent special responsibility and service to the MORRIS campus. They do not reflect actual time/effort/qualifications/responsibilities within any organization, i.e. this is not employment.

Organizations like KUMM, University Register, CAC, and MCSA provide services to the entire campus community. Because of the campus-wide scope of these organizations, we recognize the need for coordinators and administrative assistants to insure the successful management of these organizations. We also recognize the need for such organizations to decide for themselves the specific stipend levels for specific positions. However, we believe we must set ceilings on the total stipend amount available to these organizations. We recommend that no campus service organization allocate more than $1700 and no less than $100 yearly per position. The total allocation for leadership positions in one organization shall not exceed $12,000. If an organization decides that it must have more than the $12,000 limit, then the organization must provide adequate justification to AFRC.

Special interest groups and specific service groups should be separated from campus-wide service organizations when considering stipend positions and non-work study student employment.

Employment

We recognize that certain organizations require the skills of specially trained personnel that provide services geared towards the successful management of an organization. These jobs are non-work study student employment (Hourly Employment). These positions must be advertised campus-wide. Examples include:

1. CAC & Student Activities Graphic Artists
2. Student Center Tech. Crew
3. Student Activities Office Assistants
4. AFRC Secretary

Approved by AFRC February 3, 1983 in order to add further clarification regarding employment expenditures by activity funded groups. Updated February 2000, October 2001, April 2013, May 2019 and November 2023.

Clothing

The purchase of clothing with Activity Fee money is considered appropriate by AFRC when:

1. Fundraising is the main goal and the cost of the clothing is covered by the income generated through sales.
2. The clothing is used as a special recognition of services volunteered and not to outfit an entire organization.
3. The clothing is given out for a promotional purpose or used in marketing, but is not the main attraction.
4. The clothing is used for uniforms and ownership is retained by the organization, and not by individual participants.

Adopted by AFRC 11/5/91, revised 10/24/01

Food

Activity Fee funds may be used for food/meals while traveling, given adequate justification for such usage. Activity fee funds should be used sparingly to purchase food in the following instances:

1. Purchasing food with Activity Fee money is acceptable when it is used to enhance an organization’s activity that is open to the entire campus e.g. receptions at public events, programs promoting cultural awareness and diversity.
2. On occasion it may be deemed appropriate to supply food as a form of volunteer recognition, but not if the sole purpose is to increase meeting attendance.
3. The purchase of food with Activity Fee funding is also allowed (with AFRC discretion) for meetings that aren’t considered ‘routine’, e.g. AFRC’s initial allocation meetings, first of the year/welcome back/celebratory meetings, meetings or events with campus speakers/guests.
4. The purchase of food for overnight trips in situations determined to be acceptable to the AFRC.
5. The purchase of food supplies when the act of preparation is a core component of the activity, even if held off-campus.

The purchase of food by members of an organization for an event that does not directly fall under the goals/purpose is allowed, but should not be funded with Activity Fee funds.

Organizations have autonomy/discretion in purchasing food with money raised through fundraiser net profits that have not been previously identified to AFRC as earmarked for other programs, travel, etc.

Adopted by the AFRC 4/30/03, revised 5/2/19

Travel Expenditures

Travel should be used economically and sparingly. In travel situations, groups should send only a very small number of responsible representatives when it is too expensive to send the entire organization. The committee appreciates any effort directed toward devising more economical travel. Lodging and other costs should be offset by financial contributions from participating students.

The committee may fund up to 90% of an AFRC or ASG group’s travel expenses. The unpaid balance can come from co-sponsorships from non-activity fee funded groups, fundraising, and participant contribution. The exception is for groups whose sole purpose is to procure campus programming. Such groups will receive 100% funding.

Adopted By AFRC 1/15/03  Amended 9/30/24

AFRC support for travel-related expenses for student organizations has the following priorities and guidelines. Under our proposed category 1, travel is most likely to receive funding and under 4, least likely. All funding decisions are based on the impact to the Activity Fee fund.

Categories:

1. Highest Priority Travel is for groups that are: (Recommended: Allocate for 90-100% of the request.)

   Traveling to conferences with the primary intention of procurement of programming and/or skills for campus events.

   • Example: Campus Activities Council

   Traveling locally to gain education or experience relative to the mission of the organization, with a total requested amount less than $200 per trip.

   • Examples: College Bowl, MARCH Local Farms Tour
2. Second Priority Travel is viewed as essential to the organization’s purposes that is neither meant to procure programming for the campus and exceeds $200. (Recommended: Allocate 75-90% of the request.)
   • Examples: International Relations Club, Geology Club
3. Third Priority Travel to a conference, workshop and/or retreat which, though not essential, would clearly benefit the campus and the organization, as well as the individuals involved. (Recommended: Allocate 40-60% of the request.)
   • Example: Leadership Conference
4. Last Priority Travel in which the benefit appears to be primarily for the individual and only remotely so for the campus and/or organization. (Recommended: Allocate no more than 25% of the request.)

Adopted by AFRC 2/9/1986; revised 4/25/2013

Gifts/Awards

Organizations may use activity fee funding for gifts or awards following the current AFRC guidelines:

Gifts/Awards are only appropriate when used as a recognition of a person’s contributions/achievements to the campus and, then, only on rare occasions. Expenditures for such items will come under strict scrutiny by AFRC. Examples of acceptable expenses are the mugs given to graduating student leaders at the annual Student Leadership Recognition Banquet.

As with all expenses and revenues, the purchases must also conform to all-University policies and information about gifts/awards should be included in the groups' budget request to AFRC.

Organizations have autonomy/discretion in purchasing gifts/awards with money raised through fundraiser net profits that have not been previously identified to AFRC as earmarked for other programs, travel, etc.

Revised by AFRC 4/23/03

Student Fee Reserve:

In the 2018-19 year the AFRC created a fee reserve account. The purpose of this account is to help balance funds in years where student enrollment is less than what was anticipated at the time of budgeting. In such a year, funds can be withdrawn from the fee reserve account to assure that there are enough funds to meet the budgeting allocations for the year. In years where the enrollment exceeds expectations at the time of budgeting, excess funds should be moved to the fee reserve account. If the balance of the fee reserve exceeds $30,000 funds above that amount should be directed to the following year’s allocation pool. If the balance of the fee reserve drops below $15,000 funds from the following year’s allocation pool should be directed to the fee reserve to bring the balance back to $15,000.  Any other decisions to move funds to or from the reserve account shall require a ¾ majority vote of the AFRC.

Adopted by the AFRC on 4/4/19; revised 2/11/23

Appendix: Student Services Fee Assessments

Activities Fee

A fee is charged to all students registered for 6 or more credits.  Those registered for fewer than 6 credits have the option to pay the fee to participate in the activities, events, and services it funds.

Athletic Fee

A fee is charged to all students registered for 6 or more credits. This fee is meant to strengthen and support Morris's intercollegiate athletic program and to aid in the University's commitment to comply with Title IX in the establishment of more women's sports.

Health & Wellness Fee

A fee is charged to all students registered for 6 or more credits. Those registered for fewer than 6 credits may elect to pay the fee in order to have access to the Health Service, which provides limited outpatient care (students must have adequate health insurance coverage to supplement this care).

Student Center Fee

A fee is charged to all students to support the ongoing operations of and improvements to the Student Center Facility.

Regional Fitness Center Fee

A fee is charged to all students registered for 6 or more credits to grant them full access to the Regional Fitness Center. $2 per student of this fee is dedicated to a capitol reserve fund. 

Student Activities Operation Fee

A fee is charged to all students registered for 6 or more credits to support the operation of the Student Engagement & Events office and its work supporting student organizations.

Campus Activities Council Fee

A fee is charged to all students registered for 6 or more credits to support the Campus Activities Council charged to produce campus events to provide a variety of educational, cultural, social, and recreational activities and programs for the campus community. 

Community Engagement Fee

A fee is charged to all students registered for 6 or more credits to support the operations of the Office of Community Engagement.

World Touch Cultural Heritage Programming Fee

A fee is charged to all students registered for 6 or more credits to support cultural programming from the Office of Equity, Diversity and Intercultural Programs.

Intramurals and Recreation Fee

A fee is charged to all students registered for 6 or more credits to support Intramurals, recreation and club sports on the Morris campus.