Clubs to begin switch to BANNER at end of month

By Cindy Dinh     1/22/09 6:00pm

The changes to Rice's club financial structures, which have been a point of contention for many students, will finally be executed.Rice student organizations and colleges are about to face change as they usher in the new BANNER system to perform all of their future financial transactions. The first clubs and all colleges will make the official switch on Jan. 31.

Last semester all student organization treasurers were informed of the upcoming transition to the BANNER system, an in-house account for all Rice colleges, student clubs and sports clubs. Previously each club had a separate bank account at financial institutions such as Chase Bank.

Vice President for Finance Kathy Collins has been working with students and Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman to iron out the details of this transition. A large part of the change was due to the legal obligations of filing tax records, Collins said.

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"It is not good financial management for Rice to continue the practice of having accounts from outside banks set up under the Rice taxpayer ID number," Collins said. "It means the activity is not captured in our financial statements or tax returns that we file."

The BANNER system will consolidate all of the colleges and club bank accounts into one system under the Controller's Office. It differs from the previous system in that it offers a comprehensive record, Collins said. She added that BANNER would make it easy for club finances to transition from one club officer to another and the Controller's Office pays the bills and handles the tax reporting process.

"The main advantage from the student's perspective is the record-keeping history," Collins said. "The university's advantage is having all the activity occurring under one place, and making sure the appropriate tax reporting is done."

The BANNER system will allow direct deposits for reimbursing individual students, and the online features let users download financial records into an excel spreadsheet.

Training to use the BANNER system began last Friday and will continue throughout the semester for clubs as they make the transition. Collins said she aims to get as many clubs trained and using the new system before new treasurers are elected for the coming year, with Feb. 28 as the target date for colleges and sports clubs to finish the transition.

"We're trying to get current college treasurers to be up and running on the new system and pass the baton to the new treasurers in the spring," she said.

An e-mail was sent to all club presidents last Thursday requesting a sample batch of student organization accounts to volunteer to transition to BANNER along with the colleges at the end of the month to allow for trouble-shooting before the remainder of the Chase Bank accounts are closed.

One of the clubs volunteering for the test-run is Eta Kappa Nu, an electrical engineering honor society.

"I want to see it in action," Eta Kappa Nu treasurer Akshay Dayal said.

Informed with the requirements and changes, Dayal, who is also on the Student Association's Club Finance Committee, said he does not see any formidable differences between the old system and the BANNER system.

"The method of doing everything is changing, but the actual functionality is still the same," Dayal, a Brown College senior, said. "Hopefully features can be added as we go along."

Given the complexities of the finance structures of the clubs involved, Collins emphasized how there is no one-size-fits-all time table. Some clubs are sponsored by departments and have their own funding. Additionally, club sports will have their own separate administrative support for the BANNER system, similar to the one currently in place for the clubs in the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.

Dealing directly with the Controller's Office has some student organizations disappointed, preferring the autonomy of having direct access to their own bank accounts.

"Most of [the treasurers] like the system we have now, because it allows for a lot of flexibility," Frank An, Rice Student Volunteer Program treasurer said. "But you get more accountability if you use the Rice system."

An, a Hanszen College senior, said he believes clubs that have primarily petty cash transactions would not be too bothered by the transition to the BANNER system. As club treasurer, he sees the advantages of having a convenient location on campus to perform the club's financial transactions.

"It's a lot easier to go here [to the Cashier's Office] than go to the bank," An said. "And it would eliminate the need for a cash box as well. We just fill out a form and get two officers' signatures [for reimbursement]."

However, he fears that with more red tape involved in club reimbursements, students would be less likely to use their money to make initial purchases for club activities.

"[Reimbursements] take a lot of time," said An, who is president of Rice Taiwanese Association. "You have to wait a couple of days for them to approve it so students might not be willing to use their own money up-front."

The reimbursement turnaround will be 48 hours with checks printed three times a week, Collins said.

"From the RTA point of view, we keep a lot of our money from Boba sales instead of [immediately] depositing it," An explained. He said Collins' recommendation for clubs is to deposit money into the club accounts and then fill out the forms for reimbursements.

"But if we need the money right away, for instance somebody's account is about to bounce, then it's bad," An said.

Colleges can make petty cash reimbursements via their college coordinator and student clubs can turn to the Office of Student Activities.

"We are working on this together so that nobody is surprised that their accounts are closing or if they've been writing checks and now they're bouncing," Collins said. "This is meant to be a collaborative effort to get it done promptly before the semester ends.

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