After a battle over control of student segregated fees and accountability for the student body at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has simmered for over a decade, student government officials said they are optimistic to begin working with the chancellor on proposed changes to the campus’s funding allocation committee.

Student Government Association President Michael Wilson said the controversy dates back to 1989, when SGA created subcommittees to oversee budget allocations in a manner representative of the student body. Since then, members of the campus community have questioned the university’s representation of the number of student bodies in direct control of decisions concerning student fees, a right articulated by UW System Regent policies.

A state audit, commissioned in 2006 by then-Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, found only one Segregated University Fee Allocation Commission body was in existence, contrary to the opinion of Interim Chancellor Mark Nook.

Wilson said the audit alleged representatives were “cherry picked” by UW-SP faculty in violation of system policy, which prompted SGA efforts to restructure the internal processes by which students are selected for the committee.

While the changes SGA proposes are “minimal,” he said the alterations proposed would ensure student representation on SUFAC are directly elected by students, a condition articulated by UW System Regent policies.

UW-SP Chancellor Bernie Patterson said the Legislative Audit Bureau did not find any wrongdoing on the part of the university in the manner in which segregated fee allocation was handled on campus.

He maintains it is within the students’ power to determine if they prefer to organize into multiple governance groups.

Patterson, who assumed the post of chancellor in July 2010, said students have the right to elect officials to make decisions concerning funds for student services and “faculty nor staff members should be appointing students to SUFAC.”

He added he is optimistic to meet with SGA leaders on their proposed internal changes to SUFAC structure next week, and increased transparency in administrative processes will prove beneficial to the institution as a whole.

“I think the best structure is one students decide on. It should be made by the largest number of students possible and be open and transparent,” he said.

Wilson said SGA representatives are eager to collaborate on the proposed changes and are interested in correcting mistakes that were made in the best interests of the university instead of “holding a microscope” to possible past wrongdoing.

He said he will advocate two standing SGA committees who will present their budgets to SUFAC, while all decisions will require the chancellor’s final review.

“At the end of the day, we are one university,” Wilson said. “The most important part in this issue is a lack of accountability to students…We do not want the student government to usurp the authority of the chancellor.”

UW-SP alumnus Jeffrey Decker, who said he re-enrolled as a student in order to combat what he calls “intimidation and deception” on the part of the chancellor and administrators, said it is an undeniable fact that SGA is one body with several subcommittees.

Decker said student subcommittees always regarded themselves as members of the student government, though administration reported the existence of four independent bodies.

He added members of SGA started noticing the way fees were approved “violated policies” while he was still a student, saying student fees increased to fund building projects that had not been properly approved.