SAFC Allocation Budget Request Annual Request

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1 SAFC Allocation Budget Request Annual Request The Services and Activities Fee Committee (SAFC) formally invites entities to submit requests for annual allocation funding. According to the SAFC Primer, The annual budget process will be the primary process for recommending the distribution of S&A Fees for the ensuing fiscal year. Program and budget proposals considered during the annual budget process will be to fund general annual operating costs necessary to run an organization, department, or service. Annual budgets will not include capital expenditures or planned expenditures for specific events or activities, with the exception of the SAB. For specific criteria and timelines, please refer to the SAFC Policies and procedures available online at: Your presence is requested at the allocation meeting for a brief presentation and for possible questions by the committee. The SAFC Chair will contact those submitting proposals to notify them of meeting date(s) and time(s). Please provide the following information: Departmental Name The Ledger (Student Involvement) Contact Abby Williamson, Niki Reading Date Submitted Phone Number (Niki cell) UW Address nikis@uw.eduledger@uw.ed Amount Allocated Last Requested Amount $45,650 Year (if any) for Upcoming Year $111, Signature of the Division Head Date Questions and Budget Breakdown Please provide the following information in no more than four (4) pages: 1. Provide a general statement of the services provided by the department/organization and documentation of strategic alignment. 2. Provide an explanation of how the unit plans to spend the budget for each line item (e.g. salaries). If there has been a percentage increase or decrease from the last budget cycle, please provide that information also and reasoning. 3. If the program/service was previously funded by the SAFC, attach a budget summary of expenditures, encumbrances, and revenue. 4. Provide information on additional funding sources being sought or available to fund the proposal and/or revenue, if any, expected to be derived from program, event, and/or service. 5. Respond to the following questions: a. How many students utilize your department s/organization s services? b. How are students eligible for services? c. What is your evaluation process? d. How is student input collected and used in this process? e. How would your unit respond if your allocation is less than requested? Appeal Information According to the SAFC Primer, An appeal must allege a violation of the State Constitution, applicable state laws, applicable University regulations or a misrepresentation of facts that may

2 serve to invalidate the allocation. An objection based solely on disagreement with the amount of the approved allocation will not be grounds for an appeal. The burden of proof that such a violation has occurred shall be on the proposer or individual making the allegation. Appeals must be submitted to the SAFC chair in writing by 12:00 noon on the second Friday in April. For SAFC Use Only Date Reviewed UW Address Decision Approved Denied Amount Funded Date Contacted Appeal Date (last day to appeal) 1. Provide a general statement of the services provided by the department/organization and documentation of strategic alignment. The Ledger is an independent voice for students published 19 times per year by an all-student staff with one adviser. The newspaper's primary goal is to reflect the interests and ideas of the student body in a forum free from censorship from university faculty or staff. The paper also works to create community by celebrating campus successes, serve as a watchdog and act as an applied learning lab for students. The Ledger creates community by covering -- and providing low-cost means advertising for -- events on and around campus. As a non-traditional, commuter campus, this role is an important one. That said, the Ledger also devotes staff and resources to its role as a watchdog. We cover student government, campus administration and state government as it applies to the UWT community so that students know what those groups are doing. Examples of this range from coverage of ASUWT meetings to the state budget crisis and its effects on UWT. Our efforts to cover the campus would be diminished in meaning if we didn't strive for fairness at all times. The level of ethical standards and fairness requires both a conscious commitment and ongoing training. This year, staff members participated in guided discussions of ethics, professionalism and industry standards throughout the year. Four staff leaders also participated in a two-day planning retreat through Student Involvement over the summer. In the last year, we've recruited and trained about 20 staff members in jobs that range from advertising manager to reporter to page designer. The students must not only learn to do their job, but they also must work together to produce a newspaper on tight deadlines. The teamwork, ethics and time management skills they learn are skills they will carry with them into their careers. A note on strategic alignment: As the independent voice of students on campus, we believe it is critical that the Ledger does not align itself with the goals of university administration. For that reason, we do not have documentation of our strategic alignment with the university.

3 We do, however, have goals that mirror those within Student Involvement and the university. Our main mission is to help keep students informed and educated. We think that fits with the missions of the university. is to increase the frequency with which we provide the campus with news every year. Next year, we plan to add four issues for a total of 23 per year. We've revamped the web site and have posted news there and on Facebook more often. Our goal is to transition to a weekly paper as the campus grows, and during that time we'll continue ramping up our digital publication in order to better serve readers. Our second major goal is increasing student participation. Representatives from the Ledger attend new student and transfer orientation and recruit via classes and outreach to instructors throughout the year. Each year, we hope to involve more students in the Ledger. We also have a commitment to diversity in the Ledger, and strive to recruit and train all types of students so that the voices in the paper are reflective of the diversity on campus. It s important to note that the Ledger s publication manager, Niki Reading, is an employee in the Student Affairs Division and is held accountable to the standards, visions and goals of both that division and the university. 2. Provide an explanation of how the unit plans to spend the budget for each line item (e.g. salaries). If there has been a percentage increase or decrease from the last budget cycle, please provide that information also and reasoning. Personnel: $82,457 Note: Last year, we applied for and received SAFC funding based on staff stipends, which is how Ledger staff had always been paid. But because of the audit over the summer, we were directed to pay all student workers hourly. We worked within our existing budget to calculate hourly rates from stipend allocations. Meanwhile, we had each Ledger employee track the actual number of hours worked so that we could determine if they were being adequately compensated. What we found out after 15 weeks was that most employees were being paid for far fewer hours than they were actually working. The editor, for example, usually works an average of the maximum-allowed 19.5 hours per week, but was only being paid for 13 hours. Furthermore, because we had to make the transition very quickly, we used the same hourly rate for each employee. In other words, new reporters make the same amount per hour as editors who have been at the paper for three years. We submitted a contingency request for more funding to pay each student worker for the work they're doing. As of this writing, we don't know if we'll be granted that funding. For this annual request, we've taken some additional time to take a look at further issues regarding salaries. One example: The editor position was funded for 3.5 quarters in the budget. But the editor works for the entire year -- as soon as school ends, he or she begins interviewing and hiring staff, assessing printing bids and learning the responsibilities of the job. So we've added hours to

4 accommodate that. In addition, all of the staff members begin work on the first edition of the paper about five weeks before school starts, so we've added hours to reflect that. We recognize that the difference between last year's proposal and this year's is astounding. But these figures represent paying students for work they're already doing. We believe it's unfair and illegal to ask students to perform work that they are not paid for. Below is a chart with each staff member's pay. Each quarter, performance of these duties and the availability and skills of the current staff are evaluated, and adjustments to job descriptions and compensation are made to provide for the best possible use of these funds. Salary detail Staff Position Pay Editor in Chief $9360 ($12/hour, 19.5 hours per week for 40 News Assignment Editor $4620 ($11/hour, 12 hours per week for 35 Arts and Entertainment Editor $4620 ($11/hour, 12 hours per week for 35 Opinion Editor $4285 ($11/hour, 11 hours per week for 35 Advertising Manager $4285 ($11/hour, 11 hours per week for 35 Copy Editor $4285 ($11/hour, 11 hours per week for 35 Photo Editor $4620 ($11/hour, 12 hours per week for 35 Video Editor $3872 ($11/hour, 11 hours per week for 32 Reporters (7) $24,500 ($10/hour 10 hours per week, 35 SUBTOTAL $82,457 Benefit at 15 percent $12, TOTAL $ Printing: $ 19,500 Notes: This budget would allow the Ledger to print 23 issues this year -- four more than last year. The Ledger annually reviews printing proposals to get the lowest price, highest quality in the area. We also adjust the number of issues each edition so that we aren't printing extraneous papers.

5 Operations and Office Expenses: $ 4, We have two phone lines, and incur minimal long distance charges. Office costs include paper, ink, fax cartriges, postage, business cards, copying charges, memberships to professional organizations and contest entry fees and other supplies in support of the production of the newspaper. Total Request Staff Stipends $94, Printing $19,500 Operations and Office Expenses $4,600 Subtotal $ Projected Ad Revenue ($7,000) Total Request $111, Notes: We've increased projected ad revenue to account for the addition of 4 newspapers for the year. If the program/service was previously funded by the SAFC, attach a budget summary of expenditures, encumbrances, and revenue. CURRENT BUDGET: Description Annual Allocation Current Balance Encumbered Remaining Stipends/Salaries $29,050 $20,619 0 $8,431 Printing $17,000 $5,961 $5,800 $5,239 Operations and Office Expenses $4,600 $700 0 $3,900 Note: We purchase most office supplies at the end of the school year, when we have time to fully take stock of our needs. Question 4: Our ad revenue is the only source of additional funding. Our advertising manager works with businesses in Tacoma, national syndicate advertisers and UWT student organizations to solicit advertising. Question 5: 5.a. This year, the Ledger expects to employ 24 students throughout the year in paid positions. Additionally, we will anticipate 6-10 contributors, ranging from one-time Op-Ed writers to regular reporters. The Ledger is distributed around campus and we print 1,000 to 1,500 copies per issue and serve a growing audience on the web via the Ledger's Facebook page and our web site. 5.b. Any student at UWT can contribute to the paper -- and anyone can participate by reading the

6 paper, providing feedback or serving on our advisory board. Because of ethical considerations, we do not allow students involved in an activity or organization to write about that activity or organization. But we have worked with a variety of students to find ways they can participate in the Ledger. 5.c. The Ledger editor chooses his or her staff and is responsible for evaluating the staff members based on their performance. Because the Ledger is independent, it is not appropriate for the publication manager to evaluate staff directly. However, the publication manager provides guidance and feedback to staff at their request. Most importantly, the editor and publication manager meet regularly and stay in contact about staff performance issues. Staff members who do not fulfill the obligations of their contract are notified and offered assistance and an action plan for improvement. If a staff member fails to improve, their position can be terminated at any time. 5.d. Student input was collected in the budget writing process through a staff meeting and subsequent conversations, during which the previous year's budget was discussed line-by-line and staff were able to comment on changes and additions. 5.e. If the Ledger receives less than we request, we will have to cut costs -- likely by cutting editions of the paper. We recognize that our request is substantially larger than last year because of reasons explained above. If we cannot fully fund our staff positions, we will have to make drastic cuts to staffing and it will affect the quality of the paper. We wish we could ask for the same amount that we requested last year and we know that the SAFC committee has big requests to deal with. But we cannot continue to pay Ledger employees for only a fraction of the work they do. We appreciate your consideration.