Topics Map > Funding > Student Services Finance Committee (SSFC)
SSFC Policies and Procedures
Last update: 26th Session, April 20, 2020
The following are policies passed and maintained directly by the Student Services Finance Committee.
GSSF Budgets
1. Limitations for Proposed GSSF Budgets
a. A proposed budget may not include costs for student hourly positions exceeding 60% of an individual GSSF group's budget. This does not include costs for fringes.
2. Limitations for Approved GSSF Budgets
a. Professional staff and Project Assistantship costs may not exceed $65,000. This does not include costs for fringes.
b. No GSSF group shall receive a budget of more than $200,000.
3. Budget Alterations
a. All alterations must correctly complete the Budget Alteration Request Narrative and Budget Alteration Request Template.
b. All alterations involving a purchase must be submitted at least three weeks before the purchase will be made.
i. Requests submitted less than three weeks prior to a purchase will not be considered.
c. The "10% of total budget" threshold is cumulative for the fiscal year.
d. Vote Thresholds
i. Alterations that are not allowed:
1. Moving money from Core or Supportive Programming to Salaries
ii. Alterations that require full approval by the SSFC:
1. Moving 10% or more of the total budget.
iii. Alterations that require a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the SSFC:
1. Moving money from Core Programming to any other line item.
2. Moving money from salary lines to non-salary line items.
iv. Any other alteration below 10% of the total budget may be approved by a majority vote of the SSFC or at the Chair's discretion.
e. Alterations requiring a vote by the SSFC must be submitted three weeks before the end of the ASM Session.
f. The SSFC or Chair can request the group to present their alteration to the full committee.
GSSF Student Wage Policy
1. No student position shall be budgeted for more than 20 hours per week without two-thirds (2/3) vote by the committee.
2. Student hourly salaries will be budgeted at $10.50/hour.
3. Student hourly salaries shall be budgeted in separate line items for the academic year and summer semester.
a. Academic year positions shall not exceed 33 weeks in position.
b. Summer semester positions shall not exceed 15 weeks in position.
4. No student employee may work over 20 hours in a week without a wage exemption form. Wage exemptions must be approved by the committee with a two-thirds (2/3) vote prior to the end of the pay period in which the exemption occurs. Failure to do so will result in a wage violation. At any point when the SSFC does not meet, wage exemptions are at the Chair's discretion.
5. No student employee may work over 29 hours in a week under any circumstances, with or without a wage exemption, per Affordable Care Act requirements. This includes time worked at all campus jobs.
Hours Approval Policy
1. No student employee may be paid for travel time, time spent at conferences, staff development seminars, retreat time not focused on training directly relevant to the GSSF, in-services, etc. regardless of whether or not the SSFC is paying for those travel costs or events.
2. No student employee may be paid for time spent over the summer outside of Dane County, excluding authorized signers.
3. All time sheets must be submitted and approved by the Authorized Signers by the appropriate deadlines.
4. Prior period time sheets will be accepted and paid, but will be considered a violation of the wage policy.
5. Additionally, student employees must record their hours worked in a wage accountability form demarking the date, time in and time out, location, and work accomplished.
a. This form is to be kept on record for the entirety of the fiscal year and submitted to the SSFC with its mid-year and end-of-year report.
b. This form should be kept up to date with each time sheet and reviewed by the Authorized Signer for consistency, and should be available upon request by the SSFC.
c. Failure to maintain the required records or inconsistencies between time sheets and wage accountability forms will be considered a violation of the wage policy.
GSSF Branding Policy
1. The ASM Logo and Disclaimer must be included on every printed advertisement, publication or other media in which segregated fees are used in the creation of such media, including but not limited to printing costs, development costs, and staff wages that are distributed to students and other members of the UW Madison Community.
2. The ASM Logo and Disclaimer can be any color, but it must be readable.
3. Vendors are not liable for any orders that do not comply with the policy.
4. No orders can solicit for donations, sales of promotional materials, or admission.
Printing Placement
1. The ASM Logo and Disclaimer must be included on all print media and advertising in third-party publications
a. Exceptions can include the following:
i. Business Cards
ii. Stickers smaller than 2 inches by 5 inches (2"X5")
iii. As granted by the SSFC Chair
2. For an 8.5 inch by 11 inch (8.5"X11") sheet of paper, the ASM Logo and Disclaimer must not be reduced lower than three-fourths (3/4) of an inch in height.
3. For a banner, the ASM Logo and Disclaimer must be seen from 10 feet away.
4. For booklets, magazines, and brochures the ASM Logo and Disclaimer should be on one of the following places:
a. Front Cover
b. Back Cover
c. Inside Front Cover
d. Dedicated Acknowledgement Page
Electronic Placement
1. The ASM Logo and Disclaimer must be included on all web advertising in third-party publications
2. Electronic media must also carry the ASM Logo and Disclaimer under the same conditions as print media.
a. If exact adherence to these regulations is impossible due to web design constraints, please consult with the SSFC Chair of SSFC Financial Specialist prior to publishing.
3. Social Media
a. The bio of each GSSF social media page must include "Funded in part by the Associated Students of Madison."
b. IF there is no bio option on a social media platform used by a GSSF group, they must consult with the SSFC Chair on appropriate ways to include ASM on that platform.
4. Multimedia
a. "Multimedia" is defined as any video or slideshow publication.
b. All multimedia must contain the ASM Logo and Disclaimer and display such for at least 5 consecutive seconds either at the beginning or at the end of the publication.
i. The ASM Logo and Disclaimer may also be displayed during the credits.
Exemptions:
1. GSSF leaders may apply to the SSFC for a specific exemption.
a. The exemption can be based on the following reasons:
i. Size of the item
ii. Shape of the item
iii. Web design constraints
iv. As granted by the SSFC Chair
2. The SSFC Chair or the SSFC by majority vote may exempt a specific product form part of these requirements in writing.
a. It is the SSFC Chair's responsibility to contact all involved parties any time an exemption is granted. Involved parties include the SSFC Financial Specialist, vendor, GSSF organization leaders and other organizations contributing to the advertising.
GSSF Food Policy
1. Food costs per diem for students, professional staff, and speakers must fall within state guidelines.
2. Food can be funded if:
a. It serves a cultural or educational purpose that furthers the group's mission
b. It supports retreats, conventions, and other long events or programs planned and administered by groups in which food would allow the group to continue the program effectively without disruption (i.e. without participants leaving to eat), both on and off campus.
c. It supports kick-off or recruitment events.
Exemptions to the food policy may only be made with a two-thirds (2/3) vote by the SSFC.
GSSF Apparel Policy
1. The total cost of apparel for any GSSF group must not exceed $300 dollars for a single fiscal year.
2. The GSSF group must justify to the SSFC that the apparel is absolutely essential to the success of a particular program or programs.
Exemptions to the apparel policy may only be made with a two-thirds (2/3) vote by the SSFC.
Wage Policy Violations
What counts as a wage policy violation?
1. Over logging hours:
a. If a student(s) is doing work for a GSSF organization, they must be paid for the work that they do.
b. If a student(s) logs over 20 hours in a week without a wage exemption form, it will count as a wage policy violation.
2. Prior Period Time Sheet
a. If a student(s) is doing work for a GSSF organization, they must be paid for the work that they do.
b. If a student(s) submit a prior period time sheet, it will count as a wage policy violation.
General Wage Policy Violation Guidelines
1. If the same policy is violated multiple times in the same pay period, it will count as one violation.
a. Example: multiple employees log over 20 hours a week without a wage exemption.
2. If there are two or more different policies violated in the same pay period, it will count as two violations.
a. Example: multiple employees log over 20 hours a week without a wage exemption AND an employee submits a prior period time sheet.
3. After the first violation occurs, there must be a meeting with the SSFC Chair, Vice Chair, and Funding Advisor within five (5) business days of notification to the GSSF organization.
a. Example: SSFC Chair emails a group on Tuesday, they have until the next Tuesday to have a meeting with the SSFC Chair, Vice Chair, and Funding Advisor.
4. After a second violation occurs, responsible Authorized Signer(s) must attend another Authorized Signer training. The Authorized Signer(s) will have their status frozen until the re-completion of the Authorized Signer Training.
a. Responsible Authorized Signers will be determined by the SSFC Chair.
b. If all Authorized Signers are new to the GSSF organization, a different consequence will be determined by the SSFC Chair.
5. After a third violation occurs, the group's funding will be frozen for the remainder of the semester, or if incurred during the summer, until the next academic semester begins.
6. Violations of the same policy that occur between the date of the first violation and the date of the meeting are excusable and do not count as violations.
a. Example:
i. An employee logs 21 hours without a wage exemption form during the week of March 15th.
ii. The SSFC Chair is notified of this March 30th.
iii. The SSFC Chair notifies the GSSF group March 31st.
iv. The GSSF group meets with the SSFC Chair, Vice Chair, and Funding Advisor on April 7th.
v. All instances of employees logging more than 20 hours per week betwen the week of March 15th and April 7th are excusable by the SSFC Chair and would not count as violations.
7. All wage policy violations reset at the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1).
Accountability Sheet Policy Violations
1. After the first violation of an Accountability Sheet policy, the group must present a written plan to the SSFC within five (5) business days of notification by the Chair outlining steps that will be taken to prevent future policy violations.
2. After the second violation of an Accountability Sheet Policy, the group must meet with the SSFC Chair and/or Vice Chair to discuss the Accountability Sheet within five (5) business days of notification of the violation.
3. After the third violation of an Accountability Sheet policy, the group's funding will be frozen for the remainder of the semester, or if incurred during the summer, until the next academic semester begins.
4. All Accountability Sheet policy violations reset at the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1).
Branding Policy Violations
1. After the first violation of a Branding Policy, the group must present a written plan to the SSFC within five (5) business days of notification by the Chair outlining steps that will be taken to prevent future policy violations.
2. After the second violation of a Branding Policy, the group must meet with the SSFC Chair and/or Vice Chair to discuss the Branding Policies within five (5) business days of notification of the violation.
3. After the third violation of a Branding Policy, the group's funding will be frozen for the remainder of
the semester, or if incurred during the summer, until the next academic
semester begins.
4. All Branding Policy violations reset at the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1).
General Policy Violations
1. After the first violation of a General Policy, the group must present a written plan to the SSFC within five (5) business days of notification by the Chair outlining steps that will be taken to prevent future policy violations.
2. After the second violation of a General Policy, the group must meet with the SSFC Chair and/or Vice Chair
to discuss the applicable SSFC Policies and Procedures within five (5) business days of
notification of the violation.
3. After the third violation of a General Policy, the group's funding will be frozen for the remainder of
the semester, or if incurred during the summer, until the next academic
semester begins.
4. All General Policy violations reset at the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1).
Intentional Policy Violations
If any member of the SSFC believes that a group's actions may constitute an intentional policy violation, they may file a complaint to the Student Judiciary or the Committee for Student Organizations. The SSFC may not be considered an arbitrational body. The following consequences for intentional policy violations only apply after the Student Judiciary completes their process and a policy violation has been deemed intentional:
Immediate:
If an individual has committed an intentional policy violation, that individual will be removed from the ASM payroll permanently and their pay line will be frozen for the remainder of the year.
If a group has committed an intentional policy violation, that group's budget will be frozen for the remainder of the year.
Ongoing:
SSFC will deny eligibility to a group that has intentionally violated ASM and/or UW System financial policies, state, or federal law, or the group's written governing documents since September 1st of the previous year.
SSFC will zero-fund a group by voting down its budget proposal if the organization has intentionally violated ASM and/or UW System financial policies, state, or federal law, or the group's written governing documents since September 1st of the prevous year.
Transition Policy
The following policies apply to groups who are deemed ineligible to apply for funding from the GSSF:
1. The group must have a meeting with the SSFC Chair and Funding Advisor by the end of the ASM Session.
2. The group must return their equipment to the SSFC no later than July 1st.
3. The group must submit their end-of-year report on time.
Transition Policy Violations
1. The group jeopardizes their ability to receive GSSF eligibility during the next two fiscal years.
2. The group jeopardizes their ability to receive event grants, travel grants, and/or operation grants from ASM Grant Allocation Committee during the next two fiscal years.
3. SSFC may freeze the remaining funds of the group until the process is completed.
Exceptions to the transition policy may only be made with a two-thirds (2/3) vote by SSFC.