Student Funding Board
Purpose
The Student Funding Board (SFB) assists the Dean of Students in determining the funding allocated to HLS student organizations. The Board seeks to provide maximum student input into decisions made regarding student activities budgets.
Composition
Eight HLS students comprise the Board. Members serve for a 12 month period and meet throughout the academic year as necessary. Six members are selected by the Law School Council (LSC). Two members are selected by the Dean of Students to maintain diversity on the Board and ensure that student populations and organizations within the HLS community are represented adequately. To be eligible to serve on the Board, members may be active participants in student organizations, but cannot be officers of any student organization whose budget is set by the SFB.
The LSC selects students to fill the six positions on the Board by the same procedure used to make appointments to student-faculty committees. Candidates submit statements describing their relevant experience, reasons for interest in the position, and student organization affiliation(s). LSC members review the statements, interview the candidates and select six students to serve on the Board. Midterm vacancies on the Board are filled in the same manner. The treasurer of the Law School Council serves as the chair of the Board who votes only in the case of a tie. The chair also has the power to call Board meetings.
Board Procedures
Each organization that wishes to obtain funding must submit a budget proposal to the Board by the date in the spring set each year by the Board. Organizations may also make a presentation to the Board regarding their budget proposals. The Board then votes on budget allocations, and the results are forwarded to the Dean of Students. Student members of the SFB will be expected to recuse themselves from voting on the budget of any organization in which their active involvement may create an actual or perceived bias. While the decisions of the Board are formally advisory in nature and are subject to final approval by the Dean of Students, the Dean will overturn the recommendations of the Board only for good cause. The standards used by the Dean to review the decisions of the Board include:
- ensuring that a wide range of activities and organizations are funded by the School;
- enabling student population groups within the School to have resources adequate to serve the specific needs of their constituents;
- ensuring that funding reflects specific priorities of the HLS administration; and
- ensuring that proposed activities do not violate University regulations.
The Dean of Students informs the Board of any changes to the Board's budget decisions and outlines the reasons for those changes. The Board has the right to meet with the Dean to discuss the revised budget figures. The budget of each organization is confidential. Annual reports of the Board, however, may summarize general funding trends, annual changes expressed as percentages, or average funding levels for cohorts of similar student organizations.
Factors Used in Allocating Funds
While no one factor determines funding decisions, the following are taken into account. These factors are all considered in light of an organization's proposed budget and activities; no exact weight is assigned to any particular factor(s):
- size of the organization, as measured by the number of people planning and attending events in recent months, the number of individuals on the mailing list, the size of the student population likely to participate, etc.;
- target audience for the group's activities (e.g., programs directed at the entire Law School vs. smaller meetings for members only);
- level of the organization's activities in recent years;
- organization's history of financial responsibility;
- types of activities planned (e.g., law-related education vs. purely social events);
- representation of populations traditionally under-represented at the Law School;
- equity among organizations (e.g., a single organization may not be funded for seven out-of-town speakers when other organizations are funded for only one);
- whether an organization's activities duplicate any other organization's activities, and whether the organization undertakes administrative functions the School would otherwise have to perform.