Club Budget Approval Process
Student Activities Department & Student Fund – KFUPM
1. Executive Summary
This page explains how a Club President prepares and submits the club’s semester budget for review in Student Activities and final approval by the Student Fund.
This process covers:
- Preparing an itemized budget with clear justification and a tentative date for competitions.
- Review by the Club Supervisor and Director, including return-for- changes when needed.
- Final Student Fund review, with approval or return-for-revision.
- Follow-up and escalation paths if the process stalls due to inactivity.
Note: after the budget is approved, funds will be released through petty cash requests and the competition awards disbursement request process.
2. Key Characteristics of This Process
Student Activities review comes first
The budget is reviewed by the Club Supervisor and then the
Director before it is forwarded to the Student Fund.
See: Walkthrough Steps 2.0–4.0.
Follow-ups help prevent stalled budgets
If a required revision is not completed within about one week, a
follow-up/escalation path helps keep the process moving.
See: Exception Scenario A.
Accountability stays with the club
The Club President remains responsible for the budget content even
if staff step in to keep the process moving.
See: Governance “Accountability
Principle”.
3. Key Process Logic
- Each budget item needs a clear justification (why it is needed, what goal it supports, value to students, and why this amount). Competition-related items also require a tentative event date. See: Walkthrough Step 1.0.
- The Club Supervisor and Director either approve the budget or return it with comments for the Club President to revise. See: Walkthrough Steps 2.0–3.0.
- After the budget is forwarded to the Student Fund, the Student Fund reviews it against the jointly agreed budget policy and, for procured items, performs a high-level pricing sanity check focused on clear outliers. The Student Fund either approves the budget or returns it to the Club President for revision. Revised budgets go through Supervisor and Director approval again before being sent back. See: Walkthrough Steps 4.0–6.0.
- If a required revision is not completed within about one week, the process includes a follow-up/escalation path so the budget is not blocked by inactivity. See: Exception Scenario A.
4. Process Actors and Responsibilities
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Club President | Accountable Initiator. Drafts the budget, provides justification, and remains accountable for the content throughout the process, including during administrative escalations. |
| Club Supervisor | Endorser. Reviews for completeness, realism, and compliance. Ensures corrections requested by higher authorities are properly reflected before resubmission. |
| Director – Student Activities | Strategic Authority & Continuity Steward. Validates alignment with Student Activities strategy and policy. Coordinates escalations and corrections to prevent operational delays. Exercises delegated, policy-bound adjustments strictly for continuity and compliance purposes. |
| Student Fund | Final budget approver. Applies the jointly agreed budget policy and performs a risk-based pricing sanity check for procured items (e.g., vendor services, direct purchases, and subscriptions), focusing on clear outliers. Approves the budget or returns it for revision with comments and the basis for return (policy and/or pricing). |
5. Process Map (BPMN)
To view the full process map, please visit:
ba-dsa.pages.dev → Club Budget Approval Process
6. Process Walkthrough & Business Logic
| Step | Actor | Action | Business Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Club President | Prepare budget with justification | Include an itemized budget and a clear justification for each item. For competitions, include a tentative event date. |
| 1.1 | Club President | Submit to Club Supervisor | Sends the budget for Supervisor review. |
| 2.0 | Club Supervisor | Review and decide | Reviews the budget and either endorses it or returns it to the Club President with comments for revision. |
| 2.1 | Club President | Revise and resubmit (if returned) | Updates the budget based on comments, then resubmits to the Club Supervisor. |
| 2.2 | Club Supervisor / Director | Follow up after ~1 week (if stalled) | If the required revision is not completed within about one week, the Supervisor follows up and may escalate to the Director. The Director may apply limited, policy-compliant edits to keep the process moving while the Club President remains accountable. After Director edits, the process moves to Step 4.0. |
| 3.0 | Director – Student Activities | Review and decide | Reviews the budget and either approves it or returns it to the Club President with comments for revision. If it is returned, the process moves to Step 2.1 (the Club President revises and resubmits to the Supervisor). |
| 4.0 | Director – Student Activities | Forward to Student Fund | Sends the approved budget to the Student Fund. |
| 4.1 | Student Fund | Review and decide | Reviews the budget against the jointly agreed policy and performs a high-level pricing sanity check for procured items, focusing on clear outliers (not item-by-item vendor validation). Either approves the budget or returns it to the Club President for revision (with comments and the basis for return). If approved, the process moves to Step 6.0. If returned, the process moves to Step 5.0. |
| 5.0 | Club President | Revise after Student Fund return (if needed) | Reviews the Student Fund comments and updates the budget accordingly (consulting the Club Supervisor/Director as needed). If the revision is not completed within 1 week, the process moves to Step 5.5. |
| 5.1 | Club President | Submit revised budget for Supervisor approval | Sends the revised budget to the Club Supervisor. |
| 5.2 | Club Supervisor | Approve revised budget | Approves the revised budget. The process moves to Step 5.3. |
| 5.3 | Club Supervisor | Submit revised budget for Director approval | Sends the Supervisor-approved revision to the Director. |
| 5.4 | Director – Student Activities | Approve revised budget | Approves the revised budget. |
| 5.5 | Director – Student Activities | Revise budget (Director override) | If the Club President does not complete the revision within 1 week, the Director may revise the budget as an override (consulting the Supervisor) so the process can continue. |
| 5.6 | Director – Student Activities | Forward revised budget to Student Fund | Sends the revised budget back to the Student Fund for final approval. |
| 6.0 | Student Fund | Final approval | Approves the budget and communicates the approval outcome back to Student Activities. |
7. Exception Handling
Scenario A: Budget revision is not completed within one week
Trigger: The budget is returned for revision and the revision is not completed within one week.
Timeout: 1 week.
Escalation Path:
- The Supervisor attempts follow-up with the President.
- If inactivity persists, the request is escalated to the Director.
Continuity Action:
- The Director may apply limited, policy-compliant edits to keep the process moving.
- The Club President remains accountable for the budget.
- Adjustments are limited to compliance, policy enforcement, or continuity needs and do not constitute discretionary budget ownership.
8. Inputs & Outputs
Inputs
- Itemized budget breakdown
- Activity justification
- Tentative competition date (for competitions)
Outputs
- Budget approval decision communicated by the Student Fund
- Documented revision history and comments (if applicable)
9. Governance, Accountability & Reporting
Accountability Principle
The Club President remains accountable for budget content throughout the process. Administrative interventions do not transfer ownership.
Student Fund Review Basis
- Student Activities and the Student Fund maintain a jointly agreed budget policy (e.g., eligible items, caps, required documentation requirements, and approval criteria).
- Pricing checks at budget stage are limited to identifying clear outliers.
- Student Fund return decisions should state the basis for return (policy and/or pricing) so the revision path is clear.
Cycle Time Targets
These targets apply to staff decision time only and do not include time waiting for the Club President to revise and resubmit.
- Club Supervisor decision: ≤ 2 business days from Club President submission.
- Director decision: ≤ 3 business days from Supervisor submission
- Student Fund review: ≤ 3 business days from budget receipt.
Audit & Traceability
All approvals, rejections, comments, escalations, and administrative adjustments must be recorded.