Student clubs and programs to suffer budget cuts

Due to a continued estimated decrease in enrollment in 2015, MHCC will likely continue to see more cuts in the student fee budget, affecting several student groups.

The student fee budget covers the utilities and events for the athletics and co-curricular programs, such as ASG, Student Activities Board, The Advocate, etc. Each student at Mt. Hood is required to pay a fee of about $3 per credit, with a cap of $45. Unfortunately, the more student enrollment declines, the more the student fee budget is reduced and additional cuts are forced.

Last quarter, the MHCC budget office informed the ASG Finance Council of a 5.5 percent decrease in enrollment. This is expected to create a projected 5.5 percent reduction in the student fee budget for the 2015-16 academic year.

Due to this change, the deadline to submit budget request forms has been extended to Jan. 16.

All programs and teams will need to review and adjust their budget requests according to the changes. They must determine where to cut 5.5 percent from their specific program budget.

Fluctuation is to be anticipated, since enrollment could change throughout each quarter.

Last year, a sharper enrollment drop forced a 17 percent reduction in the student fee budget.

“It can be very challenging managing things when you’re dealing with budget cuts like that,” said David Sussman, MHCC manager for the Student Union and specialized student support services. “We required all the programs to really take a good look at their budget and figure out where cuts can be made.”

Sussman said no teams or programs were cut outright during last year’s process, but that every program and team made sacrifices. This year, for example, the forensics team will not attend a tournament that they have in the past.

Sussman said there is less money in the ASB Senate available to student groups, and that the money will pass quicker than previous years.

Major repairs needed in the Athletic Department facilities may have to wait another year.

This will be the first year that Rho Theta is officially a part of the co-curricular process. Rho Theta, Mt. Hood’s honor student group, has been connected to ASG financially, but will now be able to manage its budget “autonomously”.

A budget structure of this type is very unique for a community college, according to Sussman. It gives students power, trust and authority over a large budget, which is their own money generated from the student fees.

The entire budget process should take around three months and be finalized in May,Sussman said.

In February or March the student fee budget will be sent to the college’s budget office to confirm the math, before final approval from the MHCC District board of education.