A recent resolution passed by Student Senate regarding a restructuring of General Fee funding has raised debate about whether such redistribution would be advantageous for Ohio University given its current budgetary problems.
The resolution, which was passed unanimously, opposes taking money from the General Fee and giving it to the General Fund, according to a previous Post article. The General Fund encompasses all OU funds, and the General Fee is used for academic support programs and student services.
“It’s like trying to fix a sinking ship by stealing parts from another ship,” said Student Senate Academic Affairs Commissioner Zach George, at senate’s meeting last week.
With the implementation of Responsibility Centered Management, a budgeting strategy that provides more power to individual college deans, there is concern about where certain cuts might come from, said Faculty Senate chair Joe McLaughlin.
“From what we’re hearing, we are concerned that cuts to the General Fee funded units will not be as deep as the cuts to the academic units,” McLaughlin said. “And that’s wrong. And one way to correct that would be to charge more for tuition and more for the General Fee so that the cuts would make better strategic sense.”
In a letter to the editor this past Monday, Vice President for Student Affairs Kent Smith showed his support for the General Fee funded programs, which include the Division of Student Affairs.
“The four largest budgets in the division (of Student Affairs) are Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Health Services, Campus Recreation and Baker Center/Event Services. These unique services are essential in a residential campus environment,” Smith said in the letter.
The percentage of first-year students participating in extracurricular activities has jumped from 77 percent in 2006–07 to 88 percent in 2009–10, Smith said in the letter, citing a study conducted by OU’s Office of Institutional Research.
A 1 percent reduction in the General Fee would mean $30,000 less for student programs, said Student Senator Emeritus Chauncey Jackson in an interview last week.
McLaughlin said he fears the cuts might be concentrated in academically important areas but also said he would not like to see Student Affairs take big cuts either.
“Our biggest fear is that Athletics won’t be asked to be cut at all or be asked to be cut in ways that aren’t (equal),” McLaughlin said.
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