Quality money deadline extended to November 15

By Samantha Cheuk

The Students’ Union has extended the deadline on submissions for Quality Money grants to Nov. 15.

The Quality Money program is a partnership between the University of Calgary board of governors and the Students’ Union. Each year, approximately $1.5 million is collected from tuition for students, staff and faculty to spend on projects that enhance the student experience. SU president and chair of the Quality Money committee Lauren Webber said there is an extra $30,000 from last year’s pool of money.

“Quality Money is a unique program in which the University of Calgary is the only campus in Canada to have,” said Webber. “It is a pool of money set aside for use where the funds go towards projects that the campus population believes to be a priority.”

Past projects funded by Quality Money include new seating throughout campus, new walky-talkies for Safewalk, the co-curricular record and the current MacEwan Student Centre renovations.

This year, the U of C’s board of governors are more involved in approving projects submitted. U of C provost and vice-president academic Alan Harrison said the university will review proposals to ensure that there is no duplication with other university-funded projects and so the university can account for the expenditures appropriately if needed.

The allotted money for the program is budgeted from the university’s overall finances which is then approved by the board.

The applications for potential projects are reviewed annually by the SU. An easy five step application process can be found online at the SU’s website under the “Quality of Education” link. The successful projects will be announced on March 18.