As some student organizations wait to be approved as Registered Student Organizations, their approved Student Services Finance Committee funding remains frozen. This year's particularly tedious approval process has slowed organization planning and action, some student leaders said.
Hmong Christian Student Fellowship spokesperson Maijee Thao said group members ""didn't know what our status [was]"" and ""wish [the process] was faster.""
For an organization to receive funding from the university, it has to officially become a RSO member by the approval of the Student Organization Office. The SOO scrutinizes each applicant under strict guidelines, which can slow down the process.
University spokesperson John Lucas said the SOO has tried to go as quickly as possible but reviewing 800 applications is time consuming.
However, student organizations are not always informed as to why the delay takes place.
United Response is an alliance of Christian groups including Student Impact, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, The Navigators and New College Madison. United Response Director Vern Visick said he has been given ""no update on funding or the application.""
The reason for the increased scrutiny, Lucas said, is an audit performed by the system administration and Board of Regents to be more diligent with fees.
""There is a number of reasons but the primary reason is the audit,"" he said.
""I think that's the way the university works, so it's a big bureaucracy,"" Visick said. All groups in student organizations are getting questionnaires, which delay the entire process, he added.
As organizations await the SOO's decision, their interests are hurried by deadlines.
Student organizations need to make reservations for rooms to hold their meetings at buildings on campus. The deadline for reserving rooms in campus buildings is Nov. 2, while the last day a group can be granted RSO status is Oct. 31. This leaves three days to reserve rooms for the entire semester.
""It's affecting our reservations with our group,"" Thao said. If the Hmong Christian Student Fellowship does not gain RSO status in time, room reservations will be canceled for the year, she said.
Sorum applied for a travel grant well in advance of the deadline, but it is being put into jeopardy because the Association for Women in Communication has yet to be approved as an RSO. She said she is worried funding will not be received before the date of the trip.
Many other groups are still awaiting a response from the SOO as Oct. 31 nears.
