Off-campus financing a possibility for RSOs

By: Kaylia Cornett

Posted: 4/23/09

As early as July 1, Eastern's qualifying registered student organizations (RSOs) may be able to maintain self-generated funding from membership fees, fundraising or private gifts with commercial banks in addition to their on-campus accounts.

Linda Herzog, associate vice president of financial affairs, said the University strives to assist each RSO with their financial needs within the framework of the university's operating policies and procedures.

She said some RSOs have recently been required to use their regional and/or national affiliate's banking services, and others may have unique needs the university is unable to provide.

"The new policy permits organizations the opportunity to bank off campus at a financial institution of their choice," Herzog said.

Brandee Petrey, director of student involvement and leadership, said the proposal arose because the current process for using funds is prohibitive to RSOs, specifically when they are spending their own funds and not those provided by Eastern.

Petrey said RSOs must maintain an on-campus account, and when an RSO wishes to use its funds, the student leader either pays for a purchase up front and gets reimbursed or has Eastern make a check to the vendor.

Petrey also said more national student organizations are moving toward online banking and Eastern's chapters are not able to comply with their national organization under the current setup. She said this can sometimes translate to late fees for certain organizations.

She said the proposed changes would help solve this problem, but that they added to the rseponsibilities of the leaders of the RSOs.

"The greatest advantage will be that student leaders will have greater autonomy when managing their RSOs' business," Petrey said. "The disadvantage will be the level of accountability the student leaders will assume for their RSO."

The draft of the proposal states that an RSO must present proof of a federal tax identification number to the Office of Student Life and the Office of Financial Affairs before opening a bank account with a commercial institution.

An RSO can retrieve its tax identification number from its national organization or apply for one from the Internal Revenue Service.

Although the passing of the policy would give RSOs additional banking options, it would not mean RSOs would be able to completely cut ties with Eastern financially.

According to the draft, all RSOs would still be required to maintain an on-campus financial account, and all funds issued through Eastern would have be kept in the on-campus account.

And in order for RSOs to qualify for an off-campus account, they would have to have been registered with the Office of Student Life for at least three years.

The proposed policy draft was released by Eastern's Policy Compliance and Governance Office on April 13 for the campus community to review and comment on until May 16. The draft can be read at http://www.policies.eku.edu/comments.