S&A Fee Committee Guidelines

Western Washington University Board of Trustees Guidelines for the Service and Activities Fee Committee

Ref: RCW 28B.15.045

The Board of Trustees (“the Board”) approves Services and Activities Fee levels and budgets. The board has a responsibility to ensure legal obligations are met for which Services and such fees have been pledged, including but not limited to, bond covenants and other contractual obligations. The Board is also expected to protect the stability of student programs funded with the fee and to ensure Services & Activities (S&A) Committee guidelines and procedures are in place that assure students a strong voice in reviewing programs and recommending budget and fee levels through an open, transparent process in which the S&A Committee’s desires are given priority consideration.

I. The Service and Activities (“S&A”) Fee Committee shall be established under RCW 28B.15.045 with members approved through the Associated Students. The Committee shall solicit input from the campus for the fee level and distribution to student programs and activities. The S&A Committee shall develop procedures consistent with the following provisions:

A. Disclosure of Information
Constituents representing the Associated Students, Housing and Dining, and the broadly defined departmentally related categories shall provide each member of the S&A Fee Committee the following information about individual budgets under their jurisdiction upon presentation of their budget proposal:

The current year’s budget allotment.
The beginning and estimated end of the current year fund balances.
The current reserve fund levels.
The proposed budget allotment for the following year.

This information shall be in an accessible form and used for informational purposes only.

B. Publicity and Staff Support
The S&A Fee Committee shall publicize its meeting times and timeline in appropriate communication formats to ensure it is easily accessible.

C. Public Hearings
1. The S&A Fee Committee will ensure time in their public meetings for
each of the S&A Fee funded areas to discuss its budget proposals.
2. Preliminary Hearing. The S&A Fee Committee shall hold an open public
hearing after receipt of budgets from funded areas but before
determination of the S&A budget proposal is made. This can be
incorporated into their business meeting with appropriate notification.
3. Final Hearing. The S&A Fee Committee shall make its recommendation
accessible to the campus via its website and shall hold at least one open
public hearing not less than one week after it determines the S&A budget
proposal. The Committee shall hear appeals and accept testimony. The
Committee shall review testimony and change its proposal if the
suggested changes are supported by the committee.

II. The S&A Fee Committee shall submit is budget proposal in a timely manner in the
Spring term with enough time to allow public hearings, administrative response, and
recommendations to the Board of Trustees for their June meeting:

A. S&A Funded Areas
The S&A Fee Committee shall provide a copy of its budget proposal and program
priorities to the appropriate representative groups of S&A Fee funded areas and
make it accessible to the campus via its website.

B. The University Administration
The S&A Fee Committee shall provide a copy of its budget proposal and program
priorities to the University administration via the Vice President for Enrollment
and Student Services, with supporting documentation in sufficient time to comply
with RCW requirements for process.

C. Board of Trustees
The S&A Fee Committee shall submit its final budget proposal and program
priorities to the Board of Trustees and University administration, with supporting
documentation.

III. Response by the Administration

A. Upon receipt of its copy of the S&A Fee Committee proposal, the administration
shall provide an written response to the recommendations accessible via the
website. This response will identify any differences with supporting
documentation and shall also be submitted to the S&A Fee Committee and
included with the Board of Trustees documents.

B. In the event of a dispute or disputes between the S&A Fee Committee’s and the
University administration’s proposal, the two shall meet in a good-faith effort to
resolve any disputes prior to submital of final recommendations to the Board of
Trustees. If not resolved, the dispute resolution procedures outlined in RCW
28B.15.045 shall be followed.

C. Before adoption of the final S&A Fee budget and program priorities, the Board of
Trustees shall address any areas of differences between the various proposals.

IV. Presentation to Board of Trustees

A. Presentation of the S&A Fee Committee‘s proposal to the Board of Trustees shall
be made by the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services.

B. Student representatives of the S&A Fee Committee shall be informed of their
ability to directly address the Board of Trustees regarding the recommendation.

V. Monetary Shifts and Right to Delegate

A. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to delegate portions of its authority while
meeting the intent of the RCWs. Such delegation would be approved in writing by
the Board of Trustees.

B. If the University administration requests that funds be shifted from approved budgets,
they are required by the RCW to provide written justification to the S&A Fee
Committee and the Board of Trustees for final approval of the change.

VI. General Expenditure Rules
Services and Activity Fees are collected from student for the express purpose of funding
nonacademic student activities and programs. S&A Fees are considered public monies of
the State of Washington. As such, each purchase from an organization’s account must be
allowable, authorized, recorded and appropriately used. In no case will S&A fee dollars
be utilized to pay for core academic or administrative functions that are not related to
student activities.

Adopted by Board of Trustees, June 5, 1986
Revised August 21, 2014