Source: https://www.wlu.edu/executive-committee/student-organization-resources/recognition-and-budget-policy
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 10:41:09+00:00

Document:
Recognition and Budget Policy Adopted March 27, 2016. Last Amended July 21, 2017.
Official Student Organizations at Washington and Lee University may be classified as recognized organizations or Law School organizations. Recognized shall be further classified as active organizations, which may be funded by the Executive Committee if they adhere to Article IX of this policy, or inactive organizations.
I. A new organization may apply for recognition at any point during the academic year prior to budget allocations in the Spring. An organization applying for recognition must provide a Constitution and a Student Body Recognition (SBR) application to the Executive Committee at least one week prior to scheduling an interview with the EC during a Business Meeting.
II. Student Organizations seeking recognition from the Executive Committee must fill out a SBR application, which can be found on the Executive Committee website, http://ec.wlu.edu and submit it by email to the Executive Committee Vice President.
IV. After recognition, the organization's Constitution will serve as a reference for future members of the Washington and Lee student body. Future student generations may use an archived Constitution to restart an inactive recognized organization. The Constitution should, therefore, provide a thorough description of the organization.
V. If the organization is a club sport, the SBR Application must be pre-approved by the Director of Campus Recreation before presenting it to the Executive Committee along with the group's Constitution. If the sport is denied "University Club Sport" status, it may seek to become a general club or organization.
VI. Following a recognition hearing and consideration of the SBR application by the Executive Committee, the Executive Committee shall decide whether to recognize the organization by a majority vote.
a. The Vice President shall forward a copy of the full SBR application of recognized organizations to the Office of Student Activities along with a brief justification of the Executive Committee's recognition decision. The leaders of the organization shall be copied on this communication.
i. The leaders of the organization should contact the Office of Student Activities in order to utilize a cubicle in the Commons and register for the Student Activities Fair.
b. Student organizations denied recognition by the Executive Committee may seek recognition from the Office of Student Activities. Recognition from the Office of Student Activities does not result in recognition by the Executive Committee. A denial of recognition by the Executive Committee cannot be appealed. Organizations may reapply for Executive Committee Recognition no sooner than one calendar month from the most recent application.
I. Recognized organizations shall be divided into active and inactive organizations.
a. Active organizations shall receive a page on the Executive Committee website. This page will include a brief description of the club, contact information for club's current leadership, and the club's constitution.
i. Active Organizations may submit additional resources to be included on their respective pages through the Continuing Active Status application or through communication with the EC Vice President at any point in the year.
b. All active organizations will be included in the Student Organization Handbook to be distributed at the activities fair each fall.
i. Organizations may submit changes to their respective sections in the handbook through the Continuing Active Status application.
iv. The organization holds no meetings or events over the course of an academic year.
b. Inactive organizations will not be eligible to receive funding during budget allocations in May, October, or January. They shall maintain accounts with the Business Office that are monitored by the Executive Committee Vice President.
IV. Upon being classified as inactive, an organization's website page will be listed under a separate page of inactive organizations for archival purposes in case any students wish to reapply for active status.
V. Inactive organizations may regain active status through the SBR application process.
a. Organizations that remain inactive for more than four academic years will have any unused funds returned to the Student Body Working Reserve provided those funds did not come from an academic department.
I. The Executive Committee reserves the power to revoke the recognition of a student organization at any time by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee.
ii. Conduct unbecoming of a Washington and Lee organization.
II. If an organization's recognition is revoked, all of that group's Executive Committee funding will roll back into the Student Body Working Reserve. The Executive Committee Vice President may ask the Business Office to close the organization's account, provided the Office of Student Activities does not recognize the organization.
III. The organization's website page will be marked as inactive, but remain on the Executive Committee website.
I. In March following the election of the new Executive Committee officers, the Executive Committee will publish an application for Continuing Active Status (CAS) on the Executive Committee website (http://ec.wlu.edu).
i. Any name and contact information given in accordance with this section will be listed as a contact on the organization's page on the Executive Committee website.
i. Any name and contact information given in accordance with this section will be the organization's contact with the business office.
1. This officer shall be responsible for attending a training session with the Business Office regarding the use of Executive Committee funding or shall find an alternate who will provide them with the information from the meeting.
ii. This person may be the same person listed under Article VII, Section II, Part a.
i. When creating the CAS application, the Vice President shall note in writing on application that, if possible, the individual(s) listed as the leaders of the organization are the preferred representatives when the organization applies for budget allocations in May.
f. Any updates to the organization's page on the Executive Committee website.
III. All CAS applications must be submitted to the newly elected Executive Committee Vice President before 5:00 PM on the last day of undergraduate Winter Term exams.
IV. All organizations submitting a complete and satisfactory CAS application before the deadline will be considered active for the next academic year. Organizations submitting a CAS application will not need to appear before the Executive Committee to remain recognized.
V. Recognized organizations failing to submit a CAS application may be considered inactive by the Executive Committee.
I. There shall be six categories relating to an organization's overall cost used to classify recognized student organizations seeking funding from the Executive Committee. These classifications shall be Highest Cost, Higher Cost, High Cost, Average Cost, Low Cost, and Lowest Cost. A final decision of these classifications rests with the Executive Committee.
b. The Executive Committee and the Student Bar Association shall be Highest Cost organizations.
c. Newly recognized organizations shall be classified as Low Cost or Lowest Cost in their first year.
i. Exceptions to this rule may be made upon motion by an Executive Committee member with two-thirds approval of the Executive Committee.
II. These classifications shall act as guidelines for student organizations as they apply for budget allocations in May. These classifications become meaningless after budget allocations are decided in May. Each organization's will be classified yearly as a part of the CAS application.
III. The Executive Committee shall inform organizations of their cost classification by the end of the first week of spring term and at least 7 days before budget applications are due.
I. If a student organization is strictly a part of the School of Law, it may be recognized in accordance with the Student Bar Association's law student organization recognition policy.
a. Upon recognition of a new law student organization, the SBA shall appoint a representative to meet briefly with the Executive Committee during a business meeting. This representative will describe the newly recognized organization to the Executive Committee and send a digital copy of the organization's file for Executive Committee records.
II. The Student Bar Association shall allocate funds to Law School Student Organizations.
I. The Executive Committee shall require all organizations that request funding to be active and recognized in accordance with the Executive Committee's Policies regarding recognition of student organizations. In order to be considered, an organization must submit an application for funding.
II. The Executive Committee's Fiscal Year shall run from June 1 to the end of the second week of the undergraduate Spring Term. The Executive Committee shall use the second two weeks of Spring Term to determine its budget for the following EC Fiscal Year.
a. All student organizations must settle their accounts by the end of the EC Fiscal Year.
i. Exceptions to this clause may be made in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Executive Committee, in consultation with the Student Body Treasurer.
ii. A majority vote of the Executive Committee shall be required to make an exception to this clause.
b. The Executive Committee credit card may not be used after May 8th in any given Fiscal Year.
III. The Executive Committee shall hold its primary allocations in May. It shall also hold emergency allocations in October and January.
a. The Executive Committee shall allocate no more than 88.5% of the next academic year's total funds before the end of the undergraduate spring term.
b. The Executive Committee shall allocate no more than 92.5% of its total funds before the end of the undergraduate fall term.
c. The Executive Committee shall allocate no more than 96.5% of its total funds before the end of the undergraduate winter term.
IV. During the undergraduate spring term, the Executive Committee shall make an effort to have at least one member of the EC meet with every highest cost, higher cost, high cost, and average cost organization in order to discuss the budget application process and learn more about the organization's role on campus. Low cost and lowest cost organizations may request such meetings if they plan to apply for funding in addition to their automatic allocations.
V. The Executive Committee shall require all recognized organizations requesting funding to present an accounting of their income and expenses over the previous year, as well as a projection of their income and expenses for the next year following the budget request. The president of the requesting organization shall certify that the representations in the aforementioned documents are made in good faith to the best of his or her knowledge.
VI. Organizations classified as Highest Cost, Higher Cost, High Cost, or Average Cost shall appear before the Executive Committee for a budget hearing. Budget hearings shall be conducted in open session and any student is welcome to observe.
VII. Organizations classified as Low Cost or Lowest Cost shall only appear before the Executive Committee in the event that the Executive Committee has a question regarding its application or if the organization chooses to apply for more funding by presenting the EC with compelling reasons for needing more funds.
VIII. The Executive Committee shall deliberate on allocations in closed session.
a. Highest Cost organizations should not expect to receive an allocation greater than $120,000 unless they present exceptional circumstances to the Executive Committee during the budget allocation process.
b. Higher Cost organizations should not expect to receive more than $75,000 unless they present exceptional circumstances to the Executive Committee.
c. High Cost organizations should not expect to receive more than $10,000 unless they present exceptional circumstances to the Executive Committee.
d. Average Cost organizations should not expect to receive more than $2,000 unless they present exceptional circumstances to the Executive Committee.
i. The Executive Committee shall initially allocate $350 to Low Cost organizations, and these organizations may receive up to an additional $150 in the same year.
1. If the initial $350 is exhausted, the organization may directly petition the Executive Committee Vice President for up to an additional $150, and the Vice President shall have the authority to approve or deny this request.
a. The Vice President shall contact leaders of Low Cost organizations at the beginning of each academic term to remind them of this option.
b. If the Vice President denies the request, then the student organization may appeal this decision in writing to the EC president, who will put the matter to a vote during the next business meeting. The EC may overturn the Vice President's denial by a majority vote.
a. The Executive Committee shall initially allocate $125 to Lowest Cost organizations, and these organizations may receive up to an additional $100 in the same year.
i. If the initial $125 is exhausted, the organization may directly petition the Executive Committee Vice President for up to an additional $100, and the Vice President shall have the authority to approve or deny this request.
b. The Vice President shall contact leaders of Lowest Cost organizations at the beginning of each academic term to remind them of this option.
i. If the Vice President denies the request, then the student organization may appeal this decision in writing to the EC president, who will put the matter to a vote during the next business meeting. The EC may overturn the Vice President's denial by a majority vote.
ii. The Executive Committee may allocate additional funds during emergency allocations.
X. The Executive Committee shall allocate no more than $40,000 to Mock Convention each year. It shall be the responsibility of Mock Convention to budget these funds over the course of the four-year Mock Convention cycle.
i. Exceptions to this rule may be made by the Executive Committee. This decision shall be made as a part of budget deliberations and be considered during any vote to approve the budget.
ii. Following their initial appointment but before the end of the same term, the core leadership shall meet with the Executive Committee in order to discuss funding for the cycle.
1. Before May allocations, the Financial Chair must submit a nonbinding plan regarding EC funding requests to the Executive Committee.
iii. In the year of the convention, the Executive Committee will meet with the outgoing core leadership after the convention but before the end of the academic year.
XI. A student organization with a particular cost classification may receive less funding than an organization in a lower-cost classification depending on the results of the Executive Committee's budget allocation decision.
a. Executive Committee funds will be used first.
i. Unused Executive Committee funds will be returned to the Student Body Working Reserve at the close of the fiscal year.
1. At the discretion of the Executive Committee, an organization may maintain some or all Executive Committee funding for the next fiscal year. This decision shall be made as a part of budget deliberations and be considered during any vote to approve the budget.
b. Any fundraising funds will be used second.
i. A student organization shall maintain fundraising funds from year to year.
c. Any department funding to the organization will be used third.
a. Transportation: The Executive Committee shall not fund the following items related to transportation for students or university employees including but not limited to airfare, rental of vehicles, tolls, etc. However, the Executive Committee may include in the organization's allocation mileage expenses for driving to and from organization's events.
b. Uniforms: The Executive Committee shall not fund any articles of clothing for use as uniforms. Any article of clothing made exclusively for members of the organization shall be considered a uniform.
c. Lodging: The Executive Committee shall not fund any expenses related to lodging for students or university employees including but not limited to hotel reservations, fees, and/or room service.
d. Alcoholic beverages: The Executive Committee shall not fund any expenses for alcohol.
e. Politically partisan organizations and religious organizations: It is the Executive Committee's policy not to directly fund politically partisan organizations or organizations that advocate a certain religious faith.
f. Honor societies: It is the Executive Committee's policy not to directly fund honor societies.
g. Greek organizations: It is the Executive Committee's policy not to directly fund Greek-affiliated organizations that have been chartered and active at Washington and Lee for more than six consecutive years.
III. The Executive Committee, if necessary, shall define other budgetary items that are not funded as deemed necessary.
IV. The Executive Committee may fund any of the aforementioned budgetary items as deemed necessary under exceptional circumstances.
V. The Executive Committee reserves the right to revoke funding and/or active status for an organization that fails to adhere to these spending restrictions.
v. Should use funding to effectively advance conversations about important issues facing Washington and Lee or a larger segment of society.
III. Student organizations meeting all of the recommendations within their respective categories may not necessarily receive the same level of funding. Final judgment rests with the Executive Committee to weigh the overall impact and financial need of each organization submitting a budget request.

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