Due to the lack of university-affiliated trips over the last two years, ASUU has found themselves with a surplus in budget for clubs on campus. University of Utah clubs can apply for several types of funding, both for travel and normal club expenses.

Current Finance Director and ASUU President-Elect Taylor VanderToolen explained where the surplus of funds came from.

“We had a lot of rollover budget from the presidency from last year, you know,” he said. “And a lot of that is due to COVID and not being able to do events and the limitations regarding that and no travel occurring whatsoever.”

ASUU discussed opening up travel funding for the current school year, and eventually decided in favor.

There are four kinds of ASUU funding boards, all of which deal with campus affairs and clubs.

“I guess you could say you have a travel budget which you know, I preside over specifically,” VanderToolen said. “And then we have our assembly budget, which is student organization funding just for events that don’t have to do with travel that happen on campus. And then we have our executive cabinet budget, which is very large and is for student events and campus events and that sort of thing that aren’t specifically for student works. And then we have a Senate budget, which is for colleges to be able to get money for their various events.”

VanderToolen has exclusively worked with travel funding. He explained what kinds of trips are applicable for the funding and how the travel has switched from just being available to academic conferences to more events and conferences that have some sort of academic benefit to students.

ASUU allotted $600 per student for travel purposes. VanderToolen hopes in future years the budget constraints will allow for as much freedom for travel in clubs, but is unsure where the budget will stand.

One of VanderToolen’s goals during his time as the Campus Finance Director was to use the entirety of the budget.

ASUU uses the Campus Connect system to receive requests and to process them. Students who wish to gain money for their organizations must submit requests for the things like trips and travel, and the same for more local requests, such as club food and merchandise. Receipts submitted are the best way to get reimbursed.

“In order to get funding you submit a budget request, you include all the line items for things that you would like to be reimbursed [for], and I think that’s another really important thing for students to understand is this is a reimbursement,” VanderToolen said. 

The process then begins, with four different committees meeting in order to assure financing. The delegating takes upwards of a month to two months to complete.

Tracyn Otterness is the president of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, a religious group on campus. In March, they took a trip to their yearly spring conference held on Catalina Island, California. Otterness was determined to find a way to get some funding for the students attending the conference. 

“The greatest challenge with using the fund is it is a slow and bureaucratic process,” Otterness said.

He succeeded by tapping into the ASUU travel fund, and the club was able to attend their conference, with most of the students getting refunded for their costs. 

Otterness is grateful for how the fund has helped his organization, even with the delays that come with the process. 

“I kind of wish that there was a way to like, merge the steps in … it would be nice if you could, like get reimbursed for that before going and not have to wait until after for the reimbursement,” he said. “That’s just something you got to live with when you’re dealing with a big government like ASUU and it’s certainly preferable to not being funded.”

The funding request form for 2021-22 school year closed April 1, but the form will re-open in the fall for the new year.

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@allisonchrony