The Associated Students of Madison Eligibility Criteria Review Committee met Tuesday to revise a draft of the eligibility criteria for General Student Services Fund.
The committee composed the criteria to move eligibility focus away from the current direct-service component and align more with learning outcomes of The Wisconsin Experience.
The Wisconsin Experience describes what is unique about receiving a degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, according to the university’s website.
The current eligibility criteria requires GSSF groups, namely Registered Student Organizations, to provide direct services, which are services that can be tailored to individual or group needs, available upon request and accessible to anyone. To be eligible, groups must demonstrate that their organizations provide direct benefits to students.
Student Services Finance Committee Chair David Vines said many people have complained about the direct service requirements and are confused over whether services qualify as direct services or not.
The draft contains “Programming Requirements,” eliminating the direct-service language. Vines said he hopes the criteria will give groups more flexibility in terms of the programs they provide.
Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics President Sam Erickson said he is in favor of the programming language the draft contains.
“My idea was to have groups themselves define what their core programs are,” Erickson said.
Libby Wick-Bander, a representative from the MultiCultural Student Coalition, said having groups establish their own core programs makes “complete sense.” She added it would decrease pressure on SSFC to completely understand all GSSF groups.
The programming requirements of the draft would also evaluate how groups’ core programming aligns with The Wisconsin Experience.
Vines also said The Wisconsin Experience has not formally been part of the eligibility criteria before, but he said the learning outcomes of The Wisconsin Experience align with what organizations already do and provide benefits such as civic engagement and exposure to diverse culture.
The committee will continue to work on drafts for the eligibility criteria, and Vines said he would like to have a finalized draft by the end of February the committee can send to SSFC and Student Council.
