Division of Student Affairs

Class Officer Funding Agreement

In a March, 2007 meeting, the Class Officer Collective and representatives from SEC member organizations met to discuss a permanent structural and funding agreement for the Class Officer Collective. A tentative agreement was reached, and a funding strategy was outlined:

1. Class Officers will become an SEC member organization, providing representatives, a constitution, and all other requirements of an SEC member organization.
2. Funding for Class Officers will come from the SAF — just like other SEC member organizations — which would eliminate any "off the top" distribution. The exact percentages have not been determined, but the percentage will be similar to the allocation that was received this past year.
3. Class Officers will be separate from USG and function as an independent student group, electing officers on a yearly basis outside of the current USG election process.

In order to officially establish this structure, several things must happen:

1. USG constitution and bylaw changes must be made to reflect this recent change.
2. A formal vote of SEC members is required to include the Class Officer Collective as a member board, requiring a 3/4 majority vote. Also, proposed changes to the SAF allocation percentages must be made and voted upon by SEC member organizations.
3. A student referendum must be completed, requiring a 2/3 majority approval of the inclusion of the Class Officer Collective.

These changes require a significant amount of work to be completed in the near future. However, the benefits to these changes are significant. Inclusion of the Class Officer Collective in the SEC will help improve communication between the represented student groups. Budget oversight will become more consistent and allow for Class Officers to monitor their budget internally as well as disclose this information to other SEC member organizations. Also, the structure of student organizations will become more consistent, eliminating a lot of the confusion seen in the past.

SEC will make every effort to keep the campus informed on the new process taking place. If you have questions, please e-mail Mitchell Cooper, Media Board Chairman; Nick Barbuto, RHA President; or David Gasser, USG Vice President of Finance.