Students on campus may be wondering where some of the funds go at Lakeland. Well, The Mirror was on the case this past week to find out how Lakeland funds trips for classes and student organizations, such as Lakeland’s Campus Activities Board (LC-CAB). One might not have guessed that there are different funds for classes and LC-CAB.

If a class is to include an off-campus trip, it must be indicated in the syllabus at the start of the semester. Tuition does not rise for a class with a field trip. Lakeland sets aside a certain price for each class that requires a trip, and the money mostly comes from the tuition that the students pay and donations that alumni give. Additional costs, such as lab fees or textbooks, will naturally make the price of trips vary between classes.

“We want to maintain flexibility,” said Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean of the College and Professor of Literature and Writing Meg Albrinck.

Depending on the destination, each trip costs the college different amounts of money. For instance, if the trip is to Germany, the travel costs to cover the lodging, transportation and educational activities will be more than a field trip to see a play in Appleton for an acting class. If the estimate in price of a field trip is too high, the leftover money goes to maintaining the campus.

Some of the funds also go toward “Student as Practitioner” programs, which assist a student who has achieved a high honor and must travel. For example, if a student has a piece of artwork displayed in a major museum and is required to attend a reception, the college will cover the cost of hotels and transportation to that destination.

Student organization trips are also funded by Lakeland; however, like the classes, the student organizations are funded by tuition as well. The college figures out a budget for a fund called the Weekend and Variety Fund. The fund supplies LC-CAB with a budget that the members can use to figure out what they can do over the course of a year or a semester.

LC-CAB plans for the entire student body to attend these field trips. Out of all of the student organizations, LC-CAB receives the most money out of the fund, mostly because they do more activities than the other student organizations. Of course, the left over money is rolled back into the maintenance of the campus.

Some of the student organizations make their own money. The recent Habitat for Humanity field trip was funded by fund-raisers for that organization. The group volunteered as Pizza Ranch employees for a day and received 10 percent of the tips made. They also held a cookie fund-raiser, and some students even opted to pay for their expenses out of pocket.

Student organizations often gain funding through Student Association (SA), a student-operated governing board that awards money to the deserving student organizations on campus. They disburse the same funds that LC-CAB receives and that other organizations receive. About $500 per semester are given to student organizations, according to Braden Woods junior business management and marketing major and president of SA.

“I like where my money is going when I pay for tuition,” said Jenny Kjin, senior non-profit and communication major. “It’s weighted pretty evenly here.”

After all of these field trips, Lakeland gets something in return. Students are giving the college a good name and recognition. Since Lakeland serves the community quite often, students give the college plenty of publicity for local residents.

“Happiness, success, leadership and skill development are some of the key features that students give to Lakeland,” said Lisa Stephan, senior director of student development on behalf of LC-CAB.

Lakeland wants to get its students out into the world. The college tries its best to use resources to give students out-of-class experiences.