With the new spring semester starting, the 2026-2027 Registered Students Organization (RSO) budget hearing information session was held this past week on Jan. 6, 8, and 9 at M&M, room 115.
Before making any appointments for a budget hearing with the Ways and Means Committee (WAM), all RSOs must attend one of the information sessions and complete three preliminary tasks to be eligible for hearings. All RSOs must provide a proposed budget with line items referencing what the organization is planning to purchase; these budgets should also include any future spending plans anticipated to be incorporated within the next fiscal year. A new criteria required for all RSOs is an up-to-date inventory for all assets of organizations (above $25), at most six months old. The final requirement is a questionnaire via Google Form submission; the questions asked are used to gain a better understanding of organizations.
Organizations seeking to appeal the decisions on their budget have two options. The WAM committee sets aside a static amount of money for appeals from each budget hearing session, from Feb. 23 to Feb. 27. RSOs that do not agree with their result may appeal at a 10-minute hearing. If still not satisfied with the outcome, RSOs may appeal at the USG meeting on Mar. 18 in the MUB Alumni Lounge. Notable changes from 2025-26 are the changes to the “cultural food” exception. Instead of the exception applying to only “cultural food”, it now covers any food involved in “direct educational, artistic, or cultural experiences.”
Important upcoming dates to note: Jan. 15 is the date of the last information session. Any RSO that was not able to send someone to the other meetings, need to send someone to this meeting. On Feb. 8, submissions of all preliminary materials for budget hearings are due. Mar. 11 is the start of appeals and Mar. 18 is the final vote for appeals. For any further information or questions, contact USG Treasurer David Reeves at usg-treasurer@mtu.edu.
