Linking increases in non-instructional fees to student approval was covered this weekend in the Calgary Herald and Metro. From the Calgary Herald article:
Three major student organizations are lobbying to close the “loophole” that allows schools to circumvent the province’s tuition cap by tacking on non-instructional fees.
Under the proposal, schools would have to seek the approval of student councils before they either create new fees or raise existing non-instructional fees beyond the rate of inflation.
If the council refused the increase, the question would be put before the students in a referendum.
We are excited to see the progress on the issue – hopefully there will be more good news to share in the new year.
Giving college students a say on fees gets provincial backing (Calgary Herald)
Students lobby to weigh in on fees (Metro)
This morning’s University of Alberta Gateway is covering a topic that has been at the top of our priority list since February – regulating non-instructional fees and ensuring that Students’ Unions can send those fees to referendum rather than having them arbitrarily approved by a university’s Board of Governors. The best news is that the Gateway is reporting that:
Now that is great news – and the result of months of work by CAUS and its partners. Right now non-instructional fees are permitted to go up by an virtually unlimited amount – provided that the institution is able to provide a justification for labelling them as non-instructional. The joint proposal from CAUS alongside the Alberta Graduate Council and the Alberta Students’ Executive Council calls for those fees to be subject to either a vote by the institution’s students’ council or by referendum of the students affected. You can read more about the issue and look at CAUS’ proposals here.
Right now Alberta has the highest non-instructional fees in the country, with an average undergraduate paying $818 a year over and above their tuition.
The next steps are with the Government, as Alberta Advanced Education and Technology study the proposal and look at creating a new regulation of the Post-Secondary Learning Act, likely sometime at the beginning of 2011. CAUS is hopeful that it will be in effect in time for the new academic year.
We have been working on some research all summer, looking at the various referenda that have happened on our campuses since the 1970s. This came out of a conversation about how good a judge students are of fees that are proposed, and what would happen to student fees if Alberta moved to a referendum-only model of creating new fees or increasing existing ones.
Out of 82 different referenda at our three campuses we see that students approved 62 of them, or 76%. The services that these fees pay for vary but interestingly students seem willing to hear out the case, find out the necessary information and make a decision.
Also of interest was how students handled questions of lowering fees. Five referenda went to students at the University of Calgary and one at the University of Alberta calling for lowering fees and two actually failed – the elimination of the Bears and Pandas Legacy Fund at the University of Alberta and the reduction of a fee for Student Legal Assistance at the University of Calgary.
Ultimately, referenda represent the best and most legitimate means for approving a new fee or increasing an existing one. Take a look at our two documents on the topic and learn more.
Responsible, Accountable, Predictable: Why Referenda is the Best Method of Setting Fees Setting the Rules on Non-Instructional Fees
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