USF student orgs, departments might see budget cuts

Student Government leaders warned that dwindling rollback funds might cause cuts to future budgets. ORACLE GRAPHIC/WILL RAINSBERGER

Activity and service (A&S) fees fund the pot that keeps most campus-life organizations afloat at Florida universities.

At USF, these fees fund 12 Student Success Departments’ programming, such as homecoming events, and these departments’ payroll. They also fund over 250 student organizations. 

But Student Government (SG) leaders say the Tampa campus’ pot is dwindling each year, meaning student organizations and departments might see budget cuts.

Related: 2023-24 A&S budget down $5 million from last fiscal year 

What are A&S fees?

A&S fee rates have not changed in 10 years, said Ava Moreno, SG Tampa governor. At USF, these fees include a $7 flat rate and a $12.08 fee per credit hour for each student. 

The per credit hour rate varies by university. In fact, even USF’s St. Pete and Sarasota-Manatee campuses each have different per credit hour rates, which are more than double the fee at the Tampa campus.

Related: SG Senate allocates just shy of $28 million in A&S fees across campuses for 2022-23 fiscal year 

The average rate across all State University System campuses is $15.11, roughly $3 more than what USF Tampa charges.

In Florida, A&S fees, plus athletic and health fees, cannot exceed 40% of tuition. USF Tampa’s fees for these three categories this school year combine to roughly 35% of the $105.07 credit hour tuition rate.

Why is the pot dwindling?

Each spring, SG determines how much of the A&S fees each department and organization will get. 

The A&S allocation is “use it or lose it” funds, meaning if a student organization or department does not use its entire budget, the rollback money gets given back to SG and added to the following year’s pot.

This year’s $18 million budget is composed of roughly $13 million in A&S fees collected for the 2024-25 fiscal year and roughly $5 million in rollback money from the previous year, said Emma Goodwin, SG’s Tampa lieutenant governor.

However, Goodwin said the amount of rollback money SG gets to add to the pot each year is dwindling because of inflation and increasing minimum wage.

“It’s hard when we’re trying to keep up with the economy and everything, but eventually, we’re only gonna have that $13 million to give,” she said.

The “overhead” cost for A&S-funded organizations, including processing fees and human resources, has increased from 6% to 9% in the past year, a change that could cost organizations thousands of dollars, Moreno said.

She said this year’s rollback is expected to be only $3 million, meaning there is a possibility SG could only be able to allocate around $16 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year. 

This also means organizations and departments that rely on A&S fees could see cuts when budgets are finalized around March.

Related: USF sports clubs were almost defunded by SG. Here’s how they felt. – The Oracle 

So, the problem isn’t that SG is getting less money from A&S fees (credit hours and enrollment have stayed roughly the same). The problem is there is less rollback money that can be reallocated the following year because A&S-funded groups are utilizing most of the budget they are given.

Student Government analysis of the A&S fees budget shows dwindling rollback funds. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/AVA MORENO

What can be done?

SG could be forced to make budget cuts to all student organizations and departments. 

Last year, all department programming, such as free pizza at SG events or homecoming activities, received an 8% budget cut. Department payroll, such as student employees, received a 1% budget cut and all student organizations got a 26% cut, Moreno said.

However, departments are allowed to move money between their two budgets. For example, if a department didn’t want its student employees to see fewer hours or a decrease in pay, it could move money from the programming budget to the payroll budget and just have less money to spend on events, Moreno said.

“Hopefully they can make the internal decisions that are best,” she said.

Moreno said she could not imagine cutting an entire student organization from the A&S budget, but they could cut specific line items from its budget.

“We don’t really vote on ‘Should this organization be funded or not?’ because there’s hopefully a home for everybody at USF, but what it may come down to is utilization rates,” Moreno said.

So far, during budget allocation, SG has treated all student organizations and departments the same, which is why they have made overall cuts, Moreno said.

Related: New USF SG leaders plan to tackle parking, funding issues – The Oracle 

Goodwin said SG is starting to advocate for an increase in A&S fees, but that amount is set by the state, so it’s likely a process that will take a while to achieve.

“It’s a long-term goal that’s going to go past us being in student government,” she said. “We have the hope that our successors continue work, but it is going to take a really long time.”

Goodwin said SG is doing internal research, looking at the budgets of other state universities and what they charge for their A&S fees. 

The next step is getting the SG President on board and presenting the problem to USF’s Board of Trustees. From there, the issue could be brought to the state with support from other Florida universities.

LILY BELCHER, MANAGING EDITOR

Lily Belcher is the managing editor for The Oracle. She's a mass communications and professional and technical communications double major. She started at The Oracle in summer 2023 as a correspondent and worked her way up to news editor. She has been freelancing for local newspapers for four years and hopes to write for a major newspaper following her graduation. Reach her at belcher20@usf.edu

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