The Observer, April 18, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 25
USG providing $15,000 for project to improve student life
One thing that Case organizations typically don't find is $15,000 in spare funds they can use to get a project off the ground. For a group with the right plan, though, the USG Student Life Improvement Grant, designed to foster student life improvements, could change that.
The bill establishing the grant, presented in USG last week, calls for a committee overseeing the process to be selected by the USG president.
Such a committee would collect submissions from campus groups – campus offices, student organizations, Greek chapters, and media organizations would all be allowed to submit project proposals. The committee would then pick the proposal that is judged to have the most potential to improve students' experiences at Case.
The selected group would then receive the $15,000 grant to implement their proposed improvement project.
According to the USG bill, criteria for judging proposals includes the degree of impact on student life, long-term sustainability of the project, likelihood of completion, distinctiveness from existing university programs, and appeal to students. Also to be taken into account is the willingness of the group to work with USG in the long term, and the state of said group's existing funds.
The committee would be formed and detailed information made available to the campus community by June 1, and proposals would be due by the third Monday of the fall 2008 semester.
David Gasser, vice president of USG's finance committee, explained the circumstances that led to the formulation of the grant idea.
"Over the past few years, USG has trimmed its internal budget, freeing up more funds for use by student organizations and projects that improve student life," he said. "As a side effect, the amount of money going unspent from semester to semester has increased."
Though most of USG's money is passed along to other student organizations, Gasser explained that these groups do not always use the total amount allocated to them. The money not spent by groups each year accumulates in the form of rollover funds.
Such rollover gradually increased to the point where USG essentially had two options: they could either increase funding for student groups overall, or, Gasser said, "make funds available to a worthy endeavor that would otherwise not receive large-scale support from USG or other funding sources."
USG is anticipating that the opportunity to get a focused project well funded will stimulate creative approaches on the part of campus groups.
"I think each office or student would have a unique perspective" on how to improve the university's student experience, USG president Adam Rupe said.
He was optimistic that not only will the eventually selected proposal be creative, but that the resources provided by way of the grant will ensure it has a lasting effect.
"I think the strongest asset at the university is the potential of the people here at Case," Rupe said, expressing the hope that a combination of provided resources and an organization's resourcefulness will be a boon for student life.
