The P-Card: How it works and what to do if it doesn’t

At the start of each school year, campus is bombarded with events to keep students entertained and welcome them back on campus. From square games and sports to campus club events, there always seems to be something going on. But how exactly are these student-run events financed? 

Candace Williams, dean of Student Engagement, explains the many processes that factor into the student use of the purchasing card, more commonly known as the “p-card,” which covers the cost of events led by student organizations. The card is mainly available to official student organizations or groups. Although there is a single card, there are multiple accounts. Students are able to purchase things using this card for their organization’s events through the Student Government Association (SGA), but this was not always the case.

“Student organizations would have to raise their own funds by dues or crowd funding, donors, things like that.” Williams said, “But, SGA is able to provide active, approved student org funding each semester.” 

There are a couple of ways to do this, the first being through semester funding. “[Student organization leaders] can’t do anything until they have completed training every semester.” Williams said. After that, the account for an organization is opened and they are able to be granted a sum of money through the Student Government to finance their events or handle other club affairs. 

The second method is through proposing to SGA during their senate meetings, which are usually held on Monday nights at 7pm. There are a few requirements that must be met before an official proposal is made (which are explained at the semesterly student org training). After the student senate has voted on how much money they are willing to grant once the proposal is made, an email is sent, and the funds are added to said organization’s account. Then, a time is reserved for them to use the p-card. 

The first senate meeting occurred on September 9. Proposals, however, do not officially begin until September 16. The student leadership training was held on Friday, August 30, and a second one will be held for organizations whose leaders were unable to attend. 

While the Office of Student Engagement has created a system with a goal to help make this process more convenient for students, questions still arise. What if a student org wants to throw a welcome back party before the student leader training or before the first senate night? 

This was a question proposed by Natalia Calderon, a senior neurobiology major from Houston, Texas. Calderon is also president of Raíces, an affinity club that highlights Latino and Hispanic heritage through food, games, dancing and cultural heritage nights.

“We had planned for our interest meeting, which was gonna be called ‘Bodega Night.’” she said, “… It was a pretty simple event, and we were definitely planning everything out smoothly and so we wanted to reserve the p-card.” However, she was met with a roadblock, since she could not access the form that helped her apply and reserve the card. 

“Definitely not having access to the p-card was a huge hurdle and it has been just because we are still in motion for trying to get this interest meeting rolled out.” She said, “Especially early enough in the semester where people are still interested and school is not too busy, where people won’t be able to come.” When she tried to consult an executive of SGA about the issue, she was told that it would take a while for students to be able to access it.

However, according to Williams, this is not the case. “I think people think about the P-card as being—and it is—one card, but money comes from different accounts.” She said, “Let’s say a math club raised $500. Well, if they raised $500, that money rolls over, and they can use that money as long as the school year’s in session, or the semester’s in session.” 

Essentially, if a student organization has funds that they have gathered themselves, it should be possible for them to access those funds before the student leadership training. “We want you all to be successful, [and] we want you all to have fun.” Williams said. “They can access their funds whenever they would like. They just have to email studentorgs@lipscomb.edu.” 

Because of this third method of accessing club funds through the p-card, welcome back parties should be able to occur without issue. “I know it can get a little confusing,” Williams said, “so it’s okay to reach out and ask for help [from a staff member in the Office of Student Engagement].”

After consulting a staff member of Student Engagement, Calderon was able to successfully access the funds for her club to host “Bodega Night,” on September 3 with refreshments.