This Friday, UTRGV departments and organizations will present their funding requests for Fiscal Year 2019 to the Student Fee Advisory Committee.
SFAC meetings will be conducted simultaneously on both campuses through video chat.
The committee creates recommendations for programs funded through the Student Services fee.
At UTRGV, students pay $249.96 per long semester, which is $20.83 per hour capped at 12 credit hours.
Student Services fees are collected for activities that are separate from academic functions and that directly benefit students. The fees help support various programs and departments across the university that serve students.
The SFAC makes recommendations on the allocations of projected fees to UTRGV President Guy Bailey. Projected fees are based on enrollment.
UTRGV’s enrollment for Spring 2018 is 25,888 and 28,051 for Fall 2017, according to the university’s enrollment reports.
SFAC meetings are open to the public and a notice of their agenda must be posted 72 hours before the meeting is convened, according to Texas Education Code, Section 54.503.
Moreover, the law also requires that the final recommendations made by a student fee advisory committee must be recorded and made public as well.
What exactly does all this mean?
Basically, any organizations that are separate from academic functions, such as clubs and departments that provide extracurricular services, that want funding from the university can submit a request.
At this point, it is too late to submit a funding request as the deadline was in mid-January.
However, students can know what departments or organizations requested funding, how much and what their justification is.
Keep in mind that the revenue collected is limited.
For FY 2018, 55 programs submitted funding requests but only 50 were approved.
The SFAC is tasked with determining how the revenue will be distributed. That is why these meetings are held.
As students who have taken part in the presentations, The Rider encourages the campus community to attend SFAC meetings to show the committee how important and beneficial an organization or department can be.
The committee also takes into consideration how a program affects students on all UTRGV campuses.
This year may be a bit different from previous as UTRGV will present a proposal before the UT System board of regents later this month that recommends a three-way split in the Student Services fee.
The proposal recommends an athletics fee of $13.65 per credit hour capped at 12 credit hours, a transportation fee of $5 per credit hour capped at 12 credit hours, and a Student Services fee of $7 per credit hour capped at 12 credit hours.
In previous years, Athletics has requested more than 60 percent of the total allocation of Student Services fees while Shuttle Services has asked for about 5 percent.
SFAC departmental presentations will continue from 1:30-5 p.m. this Friday and on Feb. 16 in Life and Health Sciences Building 2.604 on the Brownsville campus and in Mathematics and Science Academy building 1.102 on the Edinburg campus.
To view the upcoming SFAC meetings, visit utrgv.edu/sfac.
Again, The Rider encourages students to get involved in the process by attending the SFAC meetings to find out how your money is allocated.
