On Wednesday, the Student Council Executive Committee informed the student body in an email that the Business and Finance Committee (BFC) will implement new funding guidelines. This decision was partially motivated by the BFC’s depletion of funds at an earlier-than-usual rate this semester and a need for a new system more compatible with Kenyon Connect (KCon). 

According to the email, there are four major changes to the bylaws. The first is the implementation of a “4, 3, 2, 1” system. This requires all funding requests to be submitted four Mondays before the event or off-campus travel in question unless requests are being heard at the first hearing of the academic year in the fall. If a hearing is necessary, it will occur three weeks or more before the event, with organizations receiving their decision two Mondays before the event.

The second change stipulates that the BFC will open funding requests 14 days before the start of fall semester classes. Further, the committee will hold its first hearing on the first Saturday of the semester. Student Council will then deliberate on these requests the day after. As long as student organizations attend the first hearing, they may hold events that are BFC funded on Sept. 6. Because of this, all requests for trips in September are required to be submitted before the first hearing. 

The third change requires itemized lists for the majority of requests, as well as a new formula for various parts of requests, including catering and off-campus travel. The fourth change is that all provided funding must be spent, or at least have a plan for spending, by the end of the semester. This means that funding will no longer carry over from the fall semester to the spring. 

Additional changes include a requirement that organizations ask AVI for catering services before seeking an external catering company. This rule does not apply to prepackaged snacks such as chips or pizza. Further, the BFC will be adding the role of an auditor, whose job will be to keep track of organizational spending.In a message to the Collegian, BFC member and Student Council Director of Operations Peter Haywood ’26 explained the reasoning behind the changes: “We are changing the bylaws to ensure funding matches what orgs are actually spending and to streamline administrative work for the BFC & [the Office of Student Engagement].”