Policies

1. Student Organizations receiving funds from SCTC, Student Senate and/or raising funds must adhere to all related SCTC, MnSCU, and State of Minnesota Department of Finance policies in all activities.
2. All organizations must comply with the Equal Opportunity/Title IX policies.
3. All Student Senate funded organizations are required to maintain all related accounts with the Business Office.
4. All equipment purchased with Student Senate funds remains the property of St. Cloud Technical College and should be tagged appropriately.
5. Student Organizations are responsible for entering into a formal MnSCU professional services contract with speakers or service providers as required by SCTC, MnSCU and State policy.  Contracts must be reviewed and approved by the business office prior to signature.  Contracts must be signed by the club advisor and club treasurer.
6. Any and all funds raised by student organizations must be deposited into Business Office accounts.  Funds are dispersed according to related SCTC Business Office, MnSCU, and State of Minnesota Department of Finance policies.
7. Student Senate funds shall not be used to make a direct contribution to charitable organizations or individuals.
8. Funds may not be used as security for loans.
9. Club funds are to be used for an activity, event or program benefiting all members of the organization or St. Cloud Technical College.
   
   • All requests submitted for funding approval must have both the advisor’s and Director of Student Life’s signatures.
   • Advisors shall ascertain that funds are spent for intended purposes.  The advisor is responsible for all vouchers and other financial records.
      
   • Advisors will not be reimbursed for purchases made without prior authorization.  Advisor expense reports must be signed by the Director of Student Life and the club treasurer.
      
10. Program cost centers and general fund monies cannot be used to fund club activities
11. Active club membership is determined by those paying club dues.  Students must pay their dues on an individual basis and deposit them in their respective club accounts at the SCTC Business Office.

Procedures
These procedures are intended to assist club officers and advisors with the financial operations of their respective clubs.  Advisors should review this information with their club officers at the beginning of each year to eliminate any confusion or possibly delays of club operations.

Signature File
Each year the business office must receive club’s officer and advisor names and signatures on file.  Funds cannot be dispersed without a current signature file.  This is done to prevent any theft or abuse of club funds.

Receipting Money
The Business Office requires that all funds related to club activities be deposited and reciepted at the SCTC  Business Office.   Club advisors, officers, and members must complete deposit forms so funds can be accurately deposited into the proper account.

After funds are deposited, the student will get a copy of the deposit form with a reciept attached to it.  This is to be returned to the club treasurer for record keeping.  A second receipt will be given to the student for his/her personal records.
Funds received for the benefit of the club must be brought to the business office by the club advisor or club treasurer.
If for some reason a student needs to be reimbursed for something they paid for, the business office needs a completed Request for Refund Form signed by the club advisor and treasurer.

Purchase Orders and Expenses
In order to pay for a commodity or service, a representative from the club officer team or advisor must first fill out a Business Office approved Purchase Requisition Form.  This must be completed prior to ordering the commodity or service to ensure that funds can be secured.  (MN Department of Finance Policy)

• When submitting a Purchase Requisition Form out of a club account a document listing the club members who received these services must be attached. (Example 1 – Only nine members attend state competition and are staying at a hotel – a list of these nine students must be attached to the PO.  Example 2 – Club has a pizza party for all members at the end of the year, write “entire club” on the PO request.)   Please allow a minimum of one week for this process.
   
• Purchase Requisitions with club funds must be signed by the advisor, the club treasurer and the Director of Student Life and Athletics.  
• Submit the Purchase Requisition to the administrative assistant of the club advisor's division. He/She will return the processed form with a Purchase Order (PO) to the club advisor, who can then place the order. An order cannot be placed until the Requisition is processed and the PO number is assigned. 
• When the merchandise is received with a packing slip, the packing slip must be dated and signed by the receiver.  The packing slip must be attached to the original invoice and “ok to pay” marked on the invoice along with the PO number and a valid signature.  Documents must be turned in to the Accounts Payable department in the Business Office. 
• If there is no packing slip, the original invoice marked “ok to pay” and a valid signature must be submitted to the Accounts Payable department in the Business Office.
• When organizations/businesses will not accept purchase orders to secure payment, the college credit card may be used.  Purchase orders and necessary documentation must be included at the time the card is used.
• All other methods of purchases and payments must be approved by the Director of Student Life and Athletics in consultation with the Business Office.

Cash Advances

When you have exhausted all of the above methods and you need cash to pay for hotels that won’t take a purchase order, or you want to give your students cash for meals, one of the following methods can be done to take care of this.

§       Find out the cost of the hotel, meals or other items you may want to receive cash for and do a purchase order payable to St. Cloud Technical College.  Include an explanation as to why you are requesting the cash advance, a list of the students who will be receiving this money/or advisor who will be in charge of the money when traveling.  We will request a change order from the bank.  Please allow the 1-week as stated above and 2 extra days to receive the money from the bank.

§       Once the money is received at the B.O., you have the choice of the following options:

1.     Students can come to the B.O. and sign for the money.  (We need a list of the students to receive the money)

2.     A representative from the B.O. can come to your area, hand out the money and have the student’s sign for it.  Please set up a time and place with your students and inform us of the arrangements so we can obtain coverage if needed. 

3.     The advisor/treasurer can sign the money out at the B.O., take care of handing out the money and get the student’s signature.

4.     A purchase order can be done for each student and an individual check can be written for each student. Please keep in mind the number of students this would need to be done for.  If you have lots of students, this would be time consuming for the purchasing agent.

• It would be the club’s responsibility to decide if they wanted to collect receipts from the students for the money received.
• If the money is for hotels, museum entrance fees, etc. that the advisor is going to check out, we would need to have these receipts.