Student Government Association President Jason Nichol said he hopes to increase the total funding of the Campus Programing Fund to $1 million from $800,000.

“We’d like to get this done by next fiscal year,” the Mount Pleasant senior said. “It’s a matter of finding money.”

CPF funds a variety of programs, including the Student Budget Allocation Committee, Program Board and the Volunteer Center. It is funded by the university.

Nichol is reporting to the Board of Trustees in December, where he hopes to have some form of progress to take back to SGA.

Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services David Burdette said there is a possibility of funds increasing in the future.

“SGA has done a good job of allocating funding so far,” he said. “We need to keep an eye on inflation and then decide if we need to increase these funds over time.”

However, with the struggling Michigan economy, it remains to be seen if an increase is possible, said Carol Haas, director of Financial Planning and Budgets.

“With uncertainty in state appropriations, we want to position ourselves for possible budget reductions,” Haas said.

The state awarded more than $83 million to CMU for the 2008-09 academic year. Interim University President Kathy Wilbur told Central Michigan Life in June that the university would be ‘lucky’ to keep this year’s state appropriations at the same level as last year. Last year, the university received an increase of 1 percent in appropriations, instead of the 3 percent it requested.

Nichol is still hopeful CPF will receive an increase. He said SGA will work to find a situation that works for everyone.

He feels that not increasing the budget would hurt the college experience.

“In essence, the stagnant allocation is illogical when you consider a significant increase in student enrollment and an increase in general programming costs,” Nichol said.

Other funds being cut

While Nichol is searching for increases in CPF, other areas are being reduced.

The SBAC had its budget cut to approximately $88,000 from $99,000 this year, said Director of Student Life Tony Voisin.

SBAC helps a variety of people on campus by funding trips and events for various registered student organizations, Nichol said.

“The SBAC has had money left over in their account in previous years,” Nichol said. “Groups like Program Board and Volunteer Center have a tighter budget threshold. This gives them some breathing room.”

Nichol said the position of coordinator of student activities, held by Damon Brown, receives rollover money from program funding as part an annual salary, and will not be affected by the cuts in SBAC.

CMU has the ability to pay the salary through other areas, Nichol said, and an increase in CPF funding also would help. SBAC is under an umbrella of programs receiving funding from CPF.

“SGA, in general, and me, personally, believe that programming is absolutely vital to retention and building a community experience on campus,” Nichol said. “In addition, the creation of an event center alone will not bring large events to Central Michigan University. You need the financial capabilities to hold an event.”

E-mail the author: Griffin Fraley