Members of an Associated Students of Madison committee considered revising several components of policy in a discussion of internal affairs Monday, including their internship rules and guidelines for budget decisions.
Last semester, Student Services Finance Committee decided to cut $400 for F.H. King’s internship program because SSFC members believed F.H. King offered credits for their students. This violated a university policy that prohibits student segregated fees to fund for-credit internships.
F.H. King, which promotes sustainable agriculture, clarified that its internship program was not institutionally for credit. The group’s administrative director, Morgan Menke, said students who participated could seek out professors on their own to get credit for the internship.
To avoid further confusion, SSFC members agreed to clarify the policy at a later date. Chair Devon Maier proposed the committee explain the difference between student-directed credit seeking and for-credit internships facilitated by the organization. No decision was made.
Committee members also discussed the need for a more structured course on committee budget decisions. Representative James Ng said decision-making rules should be more concrete for the purpose of uniformity.
“I feel like the rules aren’t all that well set out,” Ng said. “That makes [budget decisions] more ambiguous for us and ambiguous for the groups.”
Maier was unsure how to create such guidelines but showed interest in creating a budget refresher course in the future.
