With the success of Georgia State’s academic teams, funding for the upcoming 2015-2016 fiscal year has not increased enough to accommodate their growth, according to Dr. Jeannie Grussendorf, spokeswoman for the university’s Academic Team Fee Council.
“Our funding stayed pretty much the same from this current financial year to the next, but our academic teams all increased their membership as well as their participation at regional, national and…international conferences,” she said. “In other words, our overall resources have declined in the face of greater student demand. As a result, many of our students have to carry a greater personal share of the costs to participate at academic team competitions.”
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Darryl Holloman said academic teams were granted more funding this year than the last with $158,513, which is a $1,341 increase.
“The funding for academic teams did increase slightly from last year,” he said. “…Of the allocations for which the Student Activity Fee are responsible, academic teams [are] one of the five areas whose funding is over 150,000 dollars.”
Grussendorf said since Georgia State’s academic teams have been successful at national and international conferences, students should receive financial resources to uphold their high reputations.
“It is certainly newsworthy that the university has not been able to help offset the increasing costs of these activities,” she said. “I fear that if this continues, students will no longer be able to compete at these events which will have a negative effect on our records as well as on the university’s reputation.”
Although the Mock Trial Association and the Model African Union were the only academic teams to face a decrease in funding this semester, Grussendorf said all academic teams are afflicted.
“All teams saw a decrease compared to the number of students their organizations are supporting,” she said. “So, per student, each team saw less money.”
Next fiscal year, academic teams will receive roughly $97,000 less than requested, according to Grussendorf.
This margin of desired funding is $43,000 greater than the previous year’s due to the increase in student registration, according to Grussendorf.
Krishna Shah, Georgia State Mock Trial competitor, said she believes the university’s academic organizations have proven their abilities, only to be left financially disappointed.
“The Student Academic Team Fee Council isn’t allotted enough money by the university to support its internationally award winning teams,” she said. “They pit the five teams against each other to fight for funding in order to compete at conferences. The Fee Council had to endure a nine hour meeting in order to allocate a budget that was far too small for our needs.”
During these times of resource scarcity, the fees council must determine appropriate means of dispersing their limited funds based on a criteria of budgeting guidelines, according to Grussendorf.
“It would be nice if more financial support could go into these teams as proof of how much GSU values high achieving students who increase the university’s reputation,” she said.
However, as this semester comes to an end, the Mock Trial Association has $10,923 remaining in their budget to be reallocated to aid Model United Nations, Model African Union, and the Synthetic Biology organization, according to Holloman.
In light of how the division of mandatory undergraduate fees yields athletic teams three times the funding of academic teams, Grussendorf said she believes educational institutes should aim to address educational endeavors as the first priority.
“…I find it a little shocking to see $277 per student spent on athletics compared to the $92 on activity [services]…I love sports. I recognize the benefits they can bring but I am little biased towards academic pursuits, possibly because I teach at a university and the focus at a university in my opinion should be on academics,” she said.
Associate Athletics Director of Communications Jerry Trickie did not wish to comment on the matter. Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Douglas Covey was unavailable for questioning. The university’s finance and administration department did not respond in time for remarks. This article is liable to be updated upon receipt of further information.
