The University of Wisconsin Student
Services Finance Committee approved a $1,163,000 budget Monday for
the Associated Students of Madison?s 2008-09 budget, an increase of
$432,000 from last year.

The most significant changes in the
budget are increases in funding for student organization event grants
from $143,000 to $300,000, student organization operation grants from
$73,000 to $125,000 and travel grant funding from $43,500 to $85,000.

According to SSFC chair Alex Gallagher,
the increased budget could also provide additional funding for groups
that were denied money from the General Student Services Fund, like
the Roman Catholic Foundation of the University of Wisconsin.

Despite approving an increased total
ASM budget after cutting funding from three student groups, SSFC
approved a budget decrease of about $670,000 in the 2008-09 GSSF
budget.

Though RCF-UW was denied funding from
GSSF, SSFC vice chair Katrina Flores said the group could apply for
money from ASM?s organization event grant pot and use the money for
events ?significant to student life.?

?[Asian Pacific American Council],
for example, ? [was] not eligible for funds this year,? Flores
said. ?That?s over $200,000 that we?re not paying for. However,
their events are important to the student body.?

According to Gallagher, most student
organizations receive an average of 48 percent of the money requested
for events, and the increased funding could avoid cuts in event
planning.

?We want to provide more funding for
more organizations and to allow them to operate on a higher level,
rather than cutting them back so their events are missing integral
parts,? Gallagher said.

The ASM budget also adds nearly $50,000
to provide additional accommodations for students with disabilities,
which was nonexistent in previous years.

But SSFC representative Carl Fergus
said certain parts of the budget still cause him concern, like the
amount allocated for ASM to sponsor students going to national
conferences.

According to Fergus, ASM provided the
committee with a detailed list of travel expenditures, but the budget
outlined exceeded the funding requested.

Flores said the additional money could
be used for extra travel expenses, like the disparity in lodging
prices in the different states where most conferences take place.

Gallagher said he is satisfied with the
current budget and expects lower student segregated fees for the
upcoming academic year.