Prior to 2006, each student organization at MHC had its own checking account with outside local banks. The SGA Business Office was first designed in the spring of 2006 to address problems associated with that system including lost or stolen checkbooks, bank fees and the difficulty of keeping accurate records.
At the annual Seven Sisters SGA Conference , Mount Holyoke’s SGA Treasurer met with the Student Bursar from Wellesley College. She was informed that Wellesley had a system in place which allowed organizations to work with a bank run by the SGA, rather than an outside organization. After discussing this option with school officials, it was discovered that the college had always had concerns with each organization having their own bank account for tax and legal purposes. By the summer of 2006 it was decided in collaboration with the Financial Services Office and Student Programs that a new system would be instituted.
In the spring semester of 2007, the SGA Business Office first began operation. One master checking account remained open at the Bank of America. All organizations made deposits into and withdrawals from the same account, and student bookkeepers were hired to keep records of each organization’s account history. A survey conducted at the end of the first semester of business showed overwhelmingly positive results. The system created during that pilot year is the same one in place today.
In the Spring of 2009, in the midst of a financial crisis, the SGA agreed to administer the funds of the residence halls at MHC in order to provide greater and consistent services for students and provide ample fiscal savings for the college. |
