Glen Ford, vice president for Finance and Administration/chief financial officer (CFO) of Linfield College, presented the 2011-12 college budget to Senate on May 16. The presentation was a final step in Ford’s student-involved budget process.

Ford began the presentation with an anonymously written poem describing the importance of the students within the college atmosphere. He went on to  explain how the budgeting process works and acknowledged seniors Katherine Patterson and Arielle Perkins, who served on the College Planning and Budgeting Council and Budget Working Group.

Ford’s presentation provided a breakdown of expenses and revenues for the college from the 2010-11 year and the budget for the 2011-12 year. The expenses are mainly comprised of personnel and departmental operating, with 83 percent of expenses going to those areas. The revenue mainly contains tuition, room, board and food, with 91 percent of revenue coming from those areas. The slideshow presentation also included next year’s projected tuition growth.

Ford says he thinks students should know what the college is doing with the money they pay in tuition.

“The college will continue to be very transparent in the development of the budget,” he said. “We will always include students in the budget process so that we can gain from the students’ perspective.”

Associated Students of Linfield College Vice President junior Bradley Keliinoi said that Senate was  privileged to hear from Vice President Ford about the budget and  to have an administration that is open and accessible.

“I’ve heard that a lot of colleges have a non-transparent budget. I hope [Senate] appreciates it [Ford’s presentation]. I know I did.”

Keliinoi encourages students to look at the budget and to get involved in its creation.

“They should definitely be right there at the table talking back and forth with the administration saying ‘these are our priorities,’” he said.

Dean of Students Susan Hopp was also present at the meeting. She said that the experience of creating the ASLC budget closely mirrors the process of creating the college’s budget and that it is beneficial for senators to see how the college allocates its funds. She also said that the budget completely transparent for all students.

“I think it is important for students to understand how the college budget works,” Hopp said. “What is the revenue side, what is the expense side. It is helpful for [the students] to see the big picture.”

The board of trustees approved the budget during the Spring Semester trustees weekend May 13-15. They approved it on the condition that the college reaches enrollment projections for the fall and brings in the projected tuition revenue.

The budget slideshow that was shown to senators on May 16 is also available for students to view and can be obtained through club senators, residence hall senators or by contacting the ASLC Cabinet.
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Marissa Cole/News editor
Marissa Cole can be reached at [email protected].