2024 SU BY-ELECTION REFERENDUM FAQ

SU General Fee Referendum

There will be one question on the ballot during the SU’s By-Election, October 8 – 10, 2024. The question proposes an update to the SU’s fee structure for assessment of its general fee for specific categories of students, as follows:

1. full-time medicine students to pay the full-time student rate for SU general fees; and
2. part-time, co-op and internship students to pay two-thirds of the full-time student rate.

All other full-time students will not see any change to their SU General Fee.

A referendum is the official and democratic process through which the SU can make any changes to our fees. This is the time for students to choose. All eligible students can vote on this question during the By-Election, with a “yes” or “no”.all

Frequently Asked Questions:

• What is the SU General Fee?
  • The SU general fee is mandatory charge paid by all undergraduate students each term to subsidize the operating and capital costs of the Students’ Union. This fee accounts for 8% of the SU’s total revenue each year. The other 92% comes from revenue from the SU’s businesses and leases in MacHall.
• What does the SU use the General Fee for?
  • The SU general fee contributes towards the funding of various SU programs, services, events, and advocacy to improve student life at the University of Calgary. Some notable SU programs, services, events, and advocacy wins includes:
    • Programs
      • The SU Campus Food Bank – an SU food-security program that provides free hampers of food and essential items to students in need.
      • Volunteer Tax Program – an SU initiative to provide free advisory services to students filing their tax returns during tax season to CRA standards.
    • Events
      • Pet Therapy – an SU event which gives students an opportunity to decompress and enjoy the company of friendly pets.
      • Clubs Week – an SU event which provides an opportunity for registered student clubs to showcase their club, recruit new members and network with the clubs’ community . Clubs week is held once in September and in January each year.
    • Services
      • The Clubs Office – an SU service that provides administrative support, club funding and services (i.e., free space booking, dedicated club lockers, soft drinks) to over 300 student clubs on campus with interests ranging from academics to sustainability, and everything in between.
      • Conference funding – an SU service that sets aside a maximum of $400 per year as a grant to any student wishing to attend a conference or competition related to their area of study or for professional development.
    • Advocacy Wins
      • Securing a recommendation from the General Faculties Council to the Board of Governors to initiate an independent review regarding the use of force against student protestors at the University of Calgary on May 9, 2024.
      • Opposing the elimination of the University’s second layer of appeals to protect student rights in the students’ appeals process. Our advocacy has prevented students from having to hire a lawyer to appeal unfavourable academic decisions in civil courts and at their own expense.
    • Do all students benefit from and have access to SU programs, services, events and advocacy?
      • All undergraduate (i.e., full-time, part-time, co-op and internship) students are active members of the SU and have equal access to SU programs, services, and events. All undergraduate students are also beneficiaries of the SU’s advocacy wins.

• Why was the SU fee structure first implemented?
  • The current differential SU fee structure was first established decades ago when the SU was previously an events-driven organization. At that timethe SU was unable to provide remote access to SU services until 2004, when the internet became widely available. Furthermore, UCalgary students at its satellite locations struggled to access SU benefits and events on the main campus due to limited transit connections as the City of Calgary was still expanding its fleet of buses and trains, as well as its transit routing network, to meet the city’s rising population growth. These factors are no longer relevant now.

• Why is the SU bringing this Referendum forward right now?
  • The SU wants to update its fee structure to keep up with inflation and to ensure its services can cater to the 10,000 new undergraduate students the university seeks to add to the student population by 2030.
  • Furthermore, the proposed change to the SU fee structure will achieve fee parity among all undergraduate students. Medicine students, and part-time, co-op and internship students are currently paying a disproportionate amount in comparison to full-time students because of the SU fee structure. This situation has placed an involuntary obligation on full-time students to subsidize the cost of SU programs, events and services for medicine students, and part-time, co-op and internship students. This is an unintended consequence from a much-delayed review of the SU fee structure for its general fee.

• What does a “Yes” vote in favour of this Referendum question really mean?
  • Voting “yes” in this referendum means you support the view that:
    • full-time medicine students should be charged the full-time student rate for SU general fee; and
    • part-time, co-op and internship students should be charged two-thirds of the full-time student rate for SU general fee.
  • Does this proposed update mean the SU would be increasing its general fee?
    • The SU would not be increasing its general fee for full-time students. However, full-time medicine students, and part-time, co-op and internship students will experience increments to their general fee assessment from Fall 2025 to attain fee parity among active members of the SU.
    • The SU general fee will remain the lowest membership fee amongst publicly funded post-secondary learning institutions in Alberta and the second lowest among the U15 schools in Canada.

• Why can’t the SU review full-time medicine students upwards to the full-time rate and let part-time, co-op and internship students’ SU general fee assessment rate remain the same?
  • Part-time, co-op and internship students have the same level of access to SU services as a full-time student, though they may use SU services less frequently than a full-time student. It is important for the SU to assess these categories of students in a way that recognizes their level of access of SU services but ensures full-time students do not continue to bear the burden of involuntarily subsidizing the cost of SU services for all students.
• Can I see a side-by-side comparison of the SU’s current and proposed fee structure for its general fee?

• What does a “No” vote against the Referendum really mean?
  • Voting “no” in this referendum means you are against the SU’s proposed updates to its fee structure for assessment of its general fee. The SU’s current fee structure will remain unchanged.

• Why is voting in this Referendum not limited to medicine, part-time, co-op and internship students only?
  • SU Referenda is a democratic process that requires the attention and participation of all undergraduate students, irrespective of their subject. Furthermore, the outcome of this proposed referendum still impacts full-time students as it may alleviate or reinforce the financial obligation the SU’s current fee structure imposes on them to subsidize the cost of SU services for all students.