May-October 2025: In late 2024, the Government of Alberta convened the Expert Panel on Post-Secondary Institution Funding and Alberta’s Competitiveness to look at post-secondary institution funding and Alberta’s ability to compete on a global scale. This Panel came about in the wake of steep budget cuts to Alberta’s post-secondaries since 2019, which are the direct cause of rising tuition costs for students every year since at the University of Calgary.

In May, your SU President and Vice-President External spoke with the panel directly on matters including academic quality, appropriate funding models, high tuition and student debt, and what it’s like to be a student in the higher education system of today’s Alberta. In June, the SU backed up its perspectives with a written submission, informed by everything students have told us since post-secondary funding cuts began in 2019.

The Expert Panel released its findings in October, and we’re excited to say that many of the results are favourable for students, including recognition that our institutions need more public funding, which should take the funding burden away from students. The Panel also recommended that Alberta Student Aid should offer more non-repayable aid (grants, not loans!). As we wait to see how the Ministry of Advanced Education will act on the recommendations, you can check out our student’s guide to what the report could mean for you.

September 2025: All students pay mandatory non-instructional fees, which fund departments like the Office of the Registrar or Dinos Athletics. The University reports on how it spends your money every year, but this year, the SU drafted a new report template with much more information than previous iterations. The University agreed to use this template going forward, which now includes things like key performance indicators as well as initial budgets, allowing you to compare planned costs to final spending. The report looking back at 2024-25 is now live.

August 2025: Your Vice-President Academic says you do, and she spent the spring compiling an updated edition of the Student Charter of Rights and Responsibilities, a guide to what students are entitled to under the University’s policies. The document also contains a handy guide to finding the full text of these policies.

June & October 2025: Every 8 years, the provincial government convenes an Electoral Boundaries Commission to review whether the provincial electoral districts appropriately serve Albertans. Your student leaders attended a hearing on June 10 to advocate for the preservation of Calgary-Varsity as a provincial district, given the concentration of students and staff alike that live in the area. The Commission apparently agreed with us. Its report, released October 23, recommended that the campus community deserves recognition on as a constituency with its own unique representational needs, “centred around the University of Calgary.”

October 2025: Ahead of the City of Calgary’s municipal election, the SU hosted an All-Candidate Forum for candidates running to be the councillor for Ward 7 (the Ward containing the University). The campus community was invited to submit questions, which were prioritized and put to the candidates.

August-September 2025: As part of the Calgary Student Alliance, a coalition of local students’ associations, we distributed a student issue brochure and survey to all candidates. Full answers from those who responded—including promises to students made by candidates who were ultimately successful—can be found on our website.

April & October 2025: For the Government of Canada’s federal election (April) and City of Calgary’s municipal election (October), your SU partnered with the University, Elections Canada and Elections Calgary to bring advance voting stations to campus. Students were able to cast their vote between classes, and once they had their coveted “I Voted” sticker, the SU offered free gelato for a civic duty well done. The SU also partnered with New Majority, a non-partisan organization that works to improve youth voter turnout, to run other activities for students, including bringing the Dogs for Democracy to Mac Hall.

October 2025: The provincial budget begins crafting its budget for the next year in fall, before it is finalized in February. We teamed up with the Graduate Students’ Association and the Students’ Association of Bow Valley College to submit recommendations for early consideration, which you can read in full or summary form here. Our suggestions include the institution of a fund for affordable purpose-built student housing, and revisions to Alberta Student Aid that would update the value of grants and scholarships that have lagged inflation for decades.

August-September 2025: Mac Hall, the SU’s base of operations and the only student-focused building on campus, was last upgraded nearly a quarter of a century ago. We ran a survey through the back-to-campus period, asking students where the Hall is currently meeting their needs and what features they’d like to see. We’re compiling your responses and working on next steps.

2025: Our partnership with online platform Places4Students, which connects students to Calgarians willing to rent to them, continues its years-long run.