Summary of the main changes in the GPSAFC Guidelines (04/08/2019)

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GPSAFC Funding Guidelines for Graduate Student Organizations

The new GPSAFC guidelines

- Broaden the definition of “Cornell Campus:” now “Cornell Campus” includes Cornell Tech’s NYC campus and Auxiliary Cornell Properties (lines 67-77)

- Clarify the budget request submission process. The new FC Guidelines

  •  Eliminate the budget types “Annual Budgets” and “Special Project Request;” this means that organizations, if they choose so, can submit separate budget requests for their events
  • Clarify certain details of the budget submission process (e.g., budgets must be submitted before the event takes place) (lines 26-31)
  •  Make minor revisions in the deadline chart for budget submissions and tier increase requests (line 86) • introduces principles for why certain budget items are ineligible for funding: “GPSAFC funding is inclusive, need-based, and extracurricular” (lines 166-175)
  • Include a clause about allocating funds for alcoholic beverages and spending cap on alcohol (lines 210-214)
  •  Introduce rules for reassigning and cancelling allocated funds (lines 216-236)

- Clarify some aspects of the tier assignment process (such as, when and how to submit tier increase requests and how the tier appeal process works) (lines 279-282, 302-316)

- Clarify summer funding (lines 406-408)

- Clarify the requirements for applying for Initiative Funding (GPCI funding) (lines 353-368)

 

Comments

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Strike Proposed Limitation on Alcohol Expenditures

Submitted by Rachel Lauren Kessler on Fri, 2019-04-26 15:50

I echo everything Kimberly Lee has submitted on behalf of the Society of Wine & Jurisprudence. The club is very helpful. I learned things, made new connections, and had fun during a stressful time in law school.

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Strike proposed limitation on alcohol expenditures

Submitted by Kimberly Lee on Fri, 2019-04-26 15:37

The proposed cap on GPSAFC-funded alcohol expenditures would effectively eliminate the ability of the Society of Wine & Jurisprudence (SWJ) to hold campus events. The organization relies heavily on GPSAFC funds, with only a small $250-allocation from Cornell Law School.

SWJ is a student organization whose mission is to educate the greater Cornell community on wines from around the world, and to encourage the appreciation of local and world-class wines through meetings and social events. SWJ also looks to engage its members in professional etiquette training and various other professional development opportunities where knowledge of wines can be helpful for networking and career events. All of our events are open to the entire graduate community, and many students across the Cornell graduate programs have attended our educational wine tastings, as well as our casual gatherings.

Given SWJ’s financial dependency on GPSAFC funds, we ask that the clause limiting alcohol expenditures not be passed. It would mark the end of our organization, which has long been enjoyed by students not only as a break from the typical rigors of graduate school, but also as a unique opportunity to learn about wine. If the clause must be passed, we would then like to ask for an exception for student organizations whose missions are intrinsically related to wine.

- Kimberly Lee, President of SWJ 2018-19
- Zora Franicevic, Incoming Co-President of SWJ 2019-20
- Johnna Purcell, Incoming Co-President of SWJ 2019-20

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I like them

Submitted by Tim Luttermoser on Tue, 2019-04-23 05:04

These changes look great, thank you for working on them.

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Thanks for making these

Submitted by David Wayne Moreau on Thu, 2019-04-18 11:47

Thanks for making these updates. They clarify some points that have confused me in the past.

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Clarification of Deadlines

Submitted by Jenny Robin Wilson on Thu, 2019-04-18 10:44

It would be helpful if the deadline for submitting reimbursement requests was clarified. On lines 60-62, it states "Events funded through GPSA Fall/Spring budget allocations must occur during the academic year, defined for GPSAFC purposes as starting the first day of graduate student classes in August and ending the day of commencement in May." The event must be held before commencement, but when does the reimbursement need to be submitted? Do we still have 30 days after the event to submit?

Also, the table of deadlines on page 3 does not seem to be accurate. For instance, last year the form to submit summer budgets wasn't even available by the last Friday in March, the listed due date. These deadlines should be adjusted to reflect the actual dates forms are available and due on OrgSync. Or if the deadlines are flexible (which would be preferable), this can also be represented. It was also helpful last spring when messages from Beth Yarze went out on OrgSync announcing the opening of the budget periods.

I also noticed on page 3 that the spring budget submission for the following academic year has been removed. I know one of the other changes is we can now submit multiple budgets, but it would be good for the spring budget submission to be reinstated as the next budget deadline isn't until the end of August and not reviewed until September 15th, so organizations cannot hold events in August after classes start (since this beyond the time frame of summer budgets but before the next budget submission) and organizations that hold events in early September won't know if their budget is approved until mid-September. Our organization always submits our annual budget in the spring so we can form committees to plan events for the following academic year. Flexibility is good, but that spring deadline is crucial for our and likely other organizations.

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Advance budget submission for following year

Submitted by Anna Isabell Weaver on Thu, 2019-04-18 10:30

In the previous guidelines, you could submit a budget for the following year by the last Friday in April of the current year (ie, submit a 2019-2020 budget by next Friday, Apr 26th) for approval by Aug 15th. Is that option still available? It doesn't appear in the new table of deadlines and it would be a nice option for welcome events held between the start of the semester (Aug 29th) and the first budget approval deadline of Sept 15th. Thanks!

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Submission with Electronic Version

Submitted by Yaoyao Ma on Thu, 2019-04-18 00:12

It would be nice if we can submit the reimbursement request online or suggesting people submit it with an additional electronic version of the receipts if it is for things bought online since it might be clearer to look at.

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Annual Budget Elimination

Submitted by Nate Godfrey Rogers on Wed, 2019-04-17 21:27

I like the idea of getting rid of the distinction between annual budgets and SPRs since functionally, annual budgets have ceased to work that way. I think, though, that with this change it would be good to clarify that multiple events can still be submitted as a group and that an organization would not have to submit a separate budget for every event that they plan.

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