JHU SGAThe 114th Session
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RSO Finance Survey

Unknown · 113th session · created February 17, 2026 · updated February 28, 2026

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This document is from a previous session and is kept for the record. It may have been amended or replaced since.

Blurb The SGA Finance Committee is evaluating strengths and weaknesses in the RSO Finance process. Each section corresponds to an actionable aspect of the process. Please fill this survey out in its entirety to the best of your abilities. We appreciate your response!

Experience with the Finance Process

  1. Overall, how would you rate your experience with the RSO Finance process this year?
  2. How would you rate the timeliness of funding decisions after submitting a budget?
  3. On average, how long does it take to receive funding after you make a request for previously approved funds (multiple-choice or number of days)?
    1. Less than a week
    2. 1-2 weeks
    3. 2-4 weeks
    4. More than 4 weeks
  4. Are the Finance Committee’s funding guidelines and eligibility rules clear to your RSO?
  5. How predictable are funding outcomes based on the published guidelines?
  6. How important are the following qualities: (all on a scale of 1-10)
    1. Predictability / Consistency
    2. Equitability across RSOs
    3. Financial Flexibility
  7. What is the biggest barrier in the process of putting on an event for your RSO?
    1. Budget submission, time to budget approval, amount of funding, purchasing process

Support & Advising

  1. Have you met with your club advisor regarding budgeting?
    1. (If yes) For what specific reasons did you meet with your club advisor?
      1. Clarification of guidelines
      2. Help preparing a budget
      3. Questions about allocation decisions
      4. Event planning support
      5. Other: _______
    2. (If yes) Did your advisor sufficiently assist you with the budgeting process? / Were any issues resolved within reasonable expectations?
  2. Have you met with the LEED Finance Team regarding budgeting?
    1. (If yes) For what specific reasons did you meet with the LEED Finance Team?
      1. Clarification of guidelines
      2. Help preparing a budget
      3. Questions about allocation decisions
      4. Event planning support
      5. Other: _______
    2. How would you rate the usefulness of your LEED meeting?
  3. Has a representative from your RSO been in communication with an SGA FC member within the past academic year?
    1. (if yes) What topics were covered? (select all that apply):
      1. Clarification of guidelines
      2. Clarification of event or expense
      3. Purchasing requests
      4. Budget deadlines and timelines
      5. Allocation appeal
      6. Other ___________
    2. Were any issues resolved within reasonable expectations? Yes or No (this is opinion based; and not necessary)
      1. Alt ver: Have you contacted RSO leaders and if so, did you have any issues?
  4. How would you rate the usefulness of SGA FC support?
  5. What additional support would be most helpful to your organization?
    1. Office hours
    2. Earlier deadline reminders
    3. Clearer written guidelines
    4. Allocation decision explanations
    5. Training workshops
    6. Other: ______
  6. Do you have a current process for transitioning future financial officers?
    1. Follow up: Is this process outlined in their RSO’s constitution / bylaws?
    2. Follow up: Would they want specific training for financial officers? And what would you like to learn?

Guidelines & Workshop Impact

  1. Prior to this workshop, how familiar were you with the SGA FC Guidelines?
  2. After this workshop, how familiar are you with the SGA FC Guidelines?
  3. What aspects of the guidelines remain unclear, if any?

Budgeting Structure & Planning

  1. How far in advance does your organization typically plan events?
    1. Less than 2 weeks
    2. 2–4 weeks
    3. 1–2 months
    4. 2–3 months
    5. More than 3 months
  2. Does the current funding structure (semesterly budgets + rolling event grants) align with how your organization plans events?
    1. Yes, very well
    2. Somewhat
    3. Neutral
    4. Not very well
    5. Not at all
  3. Which funding structure would you prefer?
    1. Keep both semesterly budgets and rolling event grants (current model)
    2. Keep semesterly budgets and remove rolling event grants
    3. Keep rolling event grants and remove semesterly budgets
    4. No preference
  4. If funding was reduced or modified, what area would most impact your organization?
    1. On-campus Hopkins-only events
    2. On-campus general public events
    3. Speaker honoraria
    4. Food
    5. Competitions and travel
    6. Excursions and travel
    7. Supplies/materials
    8. Other: _______

Communication & Transparency

  1. Do you know who to reach out to regarding questions about RSO finances?
    1. Follow up: Who would you reach out to first?
  2. Have you received any communication regarding RSO finances, such as deadlines or guideline changes?
  3. Do you know where to find financial deadlines in HopkinsGroups?
  4. What is your preferred method of communication with SGA Finance Committee and LEED for discussing budgeting / financial questions, receiving deadline reminders, etc.?
    1. Email
    2. HopkinsGroups
    3. Social media
    4. Text/message platform
    5. Other: _______
  5. How far in advance would you ideally like to receive deadline reminders?
    1. No reminders needed
    2. 1 week
    3. 2 weeks
    4. 1 month
    5. Multiple reminders
  6. Who should receive deadline communications within your RSO? (Select all that apply)
    1. Financial Officers (President and Treasurer)
    2. Entire executive board / All listed club officers
    3. Other: __________

Allocation Feedback

  1. How clear are the comments provided with allocation decisions?
  2. What would make allocation feedback more helpful? (open-ended)

Tools & Templates

  1. How often do you refer to the SGA Guidelines regarding club funding caps and finance process?Do you know where to find the guidelines regarding club finance regulations?
  2. SGA Finance piloted a new budgeting format this Spring (Proposal document instead of an Excel spreadsheet).
    1. If you used it, did you think it was easier or harder to use?
  3. Which budgeting format do you prefer?
    1. Excel spreadsheet
    2. Proposal document template
    3. No preference
  4. How easy is the current submission process?
    1. Very difficult
    2. Somewhat difficult
    3. Neutral
    4. Somewhat easy
    5. Very easy

Final Feedback

  1. What is one change that would most improve the RSO Finance process? (Open-ended and optional, want to leave space for feedback or anecdotes not covered by multiple choice questions)
  2. What funding category cap does your RSO struggle with the most, and why?
    1. I.e. merch, food for meetings, travel cap be expanded past 1500, costumes (more flexibly), guest speakers