College Chairs have hit out at the University for lack of funding and have been forced to dramatically reduce their budgets after money promised to their colleges had still not been received as of June 10.
The grant, called the Jane Grenville Fund after the University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Students, was supposed to be paid in at the start of January, but six months later the colleges are still without the vital cash and are no closer to knowing when they will receive it.
YUSU have now asked the University eight times about when they can expect the money, with Union President Kallum Taylor questioning whether they “just scramble around for spare cash at the end of the year.
“The University is reluctant to increase our funding because they claim to support the colleges, but they’re not doing it,” he added.
The Jane Grenville Fund is designed specifically for the colleges to spend on non-alcoholic and welfare based events. Such events that are often run at a loss, which means the colleges have found themselves struggling for cash.
The amount is decided by Grenville herself. For the last two years she has provided £14,000, which is divided between the seven JCRC social finds. The lack of funding so far this year has left YUSU as the only financial backer behind the colleges.
James Chair Dexter Clarke told Vision: “It’s really frustrating when a whole committee work so hard to get value for money for college members, only to find you have to dramatically reduce your budget half way through the term because promised funding doesn’t materialise.
“This money is particularly used to hold events to support welfare projects, and make the college as a whole more inclusive – I don’t understand why releasing it isn’t a priority.”
Meanwhile, Langwith Chair Sam Maguire slammed college funding in general and demanded the money from Grenville herself: “Colleges are really poorly funded anyway so Jane Grenville needs to find that money from somewhere and get it in our accounts now,” he said.
“We use the Jane Grenville money to put on a wide variety of non-alcoholic and community building events as these events usually run at a loss. It is extremely frustrating that we haven’t been given the money or any timeframe for when we will be given it as we had forecasted for having it at the start of January.
Goodricke Chair Dean Hickey aired similar frustrations, telling Vision: “I for one am extremely disappointed that the University has ignored requests from both YUSU and JCRCs for funding which is vital for providing our weekly welfare/non-alcohol events.
“Our weekly spend on these events is approach £70 week on week so this is obviously a significant amount that we as a JCRC have to outlay putting on events which the University praises.”
YUSU President Kallum Taylor said: “If JCRCs have been directly told to expect this income then they should be having it. They don’t have much money to go around, and in order for them to do what they do, they need this crucial welfare support fund.
“YUSU have asked now, no less than eight times on when to expect this money.
“This isn’t the first time it’s been late also, which suggests a wider problem about the fund in general. We need urgent clarity on where we’re at right now, and how the fund is supplied in the future.”
Colleges are still hopeful of receiving the money, but it will now come at a time when its usefulness is hugely diminished.
Jane Grenville was unavailable for comment.