The ASSU recently approved its budget for the 2011-2012 academic year, with major changes occurring in its appropriations for discretionary funding. Presidential discretionary spending rose by 31 percent and Graduate Student Council (GSC) discretionary spending swelled by 83 percent under the new budget.
Drafted by the ASSU Executive team and financial managers, this year’s budget included a shift from line item appropriations — funding pre-appropriated for specific ASSU initiatives — to general discretionary spending, which can be spent on any ASSU project. ASSU Vice President Stewart Macgregor-Dennis ’13 said that these changes were implemented to allow the ASSU greater flexibility in meeting the needs of the student body.
“I think that the increase comes from the realization that it’s incredibly hard to predict the exact line items that will be needed in the next year,” Macgregor-Dennis said. “People realize that there needs to be flexibility in the budget for ASSU leadership teams to implement their initiatives, and discretionary funding allows us that flexibility.”
A number of line items from last year’s budget were consolidated into general discretionary spending in order to emphasize flexibility, according to GSC Chair Aaditya Satija, a graduate student in electrical engineering and energy resources engineering. Satija said this shift represents a more efficient and strategic use of ASSU funding.
“We merged advertising, communications and public relations line items into discretionary spending, as these expenses can be difficult to predict ahead of time,” Satija said. “With a greater flexibility in the way we spend funds, we can ensure that the budget meets the evolving needs of the Stanford student body.”
Responding to concerns about the potential for misuse of unallocated funds, both Macgregor-Dennis and Satija said that there are numerous safeguards to prevent inappropriate spending.
“The key to addressing these concerns is total transparency,” Macgregor-Dennis said. “Sure, we’re obligated by the Constitution to release our quarterly spending reports, but we’re going above and beyond that to involve the student body. Before we spend discretionary funds, we’re telling you about it, and after we spend it, we’re telling you about the value of that money spent and whether it was a good use.”
Satija also noted the importance of transparent spending, stressing the value of ASSU financial analytics and publicly available spending reports.
“Our financial manager audits ASSU spending, providing detailed analysis of where funds went and why they were spent,” Satija said. “This independent review is a powerful check on discretionary funding because we get a detailed breakdown of ASSU spending.”
Macgregor-Dennis was also optimistic about the potential of the Division of Internal Review (DIR) to ensure efficient spending and address student concerns. Unanimously passed last Tuesday, the bill establishing the DIR called for the creation of an independent body to evaluate spending on ASSU Executive and Senate initiatives, in addition to monitoring other groups that receive ASSU funding.
“I think it’s going to be unbelievably effective,” Macgregor-Dennis said of the DIR. “It’s clearly going to be a great asset to the ASSU, as it will allow us to understand which initiatives add value and enable us to quantify their impact.”
According to Macgregor-Dennis, the passage of the DIR, ASSU financial auditing and open communication with the student body are all key in ensuring the proper spending of discretionary spending. He said many of these initiatives are directly aligned with the goals of the 2011-2012 ASSU Executive team.
“One of our primary objectives this year is transparency,” Macgregor-Dennis said. “We want students actively involved in student government, and the budget is no exception. We’re optimistic about our ability to have a big impact, and the active review and evaluation of discretionary funding allows us to bolster that goal.”