Class Officer Collective 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.
History of Case Class Officers
Class officers were organized several years ago and funded through the Student Activity Fee (SAF). The group was given a certain percentage of the SAF "off the top" before any money was distributed to member organizations such as UPB or USG. This funding was disbursed similar to the way large campus events such as Springfest and Senior Week are funded. However, it was believed that this did not allow for sufficient budgetary oversight.
Class Officers had been a member of USG, allowing for class representation and an established election structure. But this past year, they were operating under a more complex funding strategy. A portion of their funding came from the SAF and through a fixed percentage of the USG budget. These budgets were combined and managed as a single budget, with oversight from the USG Finance Committee, similar to other USG-recognized student groups.
Since oversight of the budget is complex, this led to significant confusion between USG, the Class Officers, and the SEC. As a result, a temporary agreement was made with the stipulation that a permanent solution would be reached for the 2007-2008 academic year. The meeting that occurred in March, 2007, was meant to find a permanent, sustainable structure and funding strategy for the Class Officers at Case.
New Funding Agreement
During a productive discussion, the following guidelines were established:
- Class Officers will become an SEC member organization, providing representatives, a constitution, and all other requirements of an SEC member organization.
- 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.
- 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:
- USG constitution and bylaw changes must be made to reflect this recent change.
- 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.
- 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.
Further Updates
March 28, 2007 - The SEC met and decided upon a course of action regarding the Class Officer Collective. The SEC will proceed according to an outline included in the minutes of this meeting. View the amendment to be voted on. View the current allocation changes to be discussed. (Proposal 2).
April 4, 2007 - The SEC voted unanimously to include the Class Officer Collective in the SEC as a nonvoting member for the Fall 2007 semester. (Voting rights will be granted in Spring 2008). This decision requires a 2/3 majority approval in a student referendum, which will be held April 9-10, 2007. Information will be distributed by various means to publicize the referendum.
April 10, 2007 - The campuswide referendum to include the Class Officers in the Student Executive Council passed with over 87% majority approval. The SEC is scheduled to meet on April 11, 2007 to discuss modifications to the Student Activity Fee (SAF) allocations. Changes to the SAF allocation percentages require a 2/3 majority approval of all SEC member organizations. When final percentages have been determined, they will be published online and in The Observer.
April 11, 2007 - The Student Executive Council approved changes to the Student Activity Fee (SAF). These percentages reflect the inclusion of the Class Officer Collective as a member board on the SEC. These percentages are taken from money remaining from the SAF after allocations to Springfest and Senior Week have been set aside.
Undergraduate Student Government, 24.86%
University Program Board, 41.77%
Student Media Board, 22.11%
Greeks (Panhel and IFC), 7.37%
Class Officer Collective, 3.88%