Students' Union, UCalgary

Calgary – The Students’ Union is sounding alarm bells after University of Calgary administration has refused to allow the SU to discuss with undergraduate students on upcoming increases to tuition and fees. As a result, students have not yet been made aware of the details of upcoming increases.

The Finance and Property Committee of the UCalgary Board of Governors will vote on tuition increases on November 21. It is not until November 29^th that the university will speak to elected student leaders. The item will then go to the Board of Governors on December 9. In previous years the university has held student town halls on tuition and attended the SU’s student council much earlier in the process. This has not occurred this year.

“The university will essentially be approving the tuition and fee increases before students even know about them,” said SU President Nicole Schmidt. “The university has shared the proposals privately with the SU but is unwilling to allow us to consult with students about these increases.”

In a 2021 judicial review of tuition increases at NAIT, brought by its student association, the judge ruled that consultation must go beyond the simple creation of the consultation mechanism and two student council meetings.

“The university has failed to meet its obligations under the Tuition and Fees Regulation and Alberta Tuition Framework,” says SU VP External Mateusz Salmassi. “By blindsiding students with tuition and fee increases and failing to report, as required, on how fee revenue is being spent, the university is being secretive and unaccountable to its largest stakeholder.”

Alberta’s Tuition and Fee Regulation requires the university to report specifically on how mandatory fee revenue, collected from students, is being spent. The university has failed to produce a report on two of its three mandatory fees.

The SU has asked for the vote on the tuition and fee proposals at committee and the December 9^th Board of Governors meeting to be delayed to ensure that students are meaningfully consulted. The university has refused both of these requests, allowing only for elected student representatives to be able to receive the tuition and fee increase details.

As a result, the SU has written to Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides asking him to intervene and ensure that students are engaged and consulted. This is not the first time that the SU has asked the Minister to intervene due to inadequate consultation. In 2021, the university also failed to adequately consult with students on Exceptional Tuition Increases, resulting in the university being required, by the Minister, to re-start the consultation process properly and delay the government approval of large tuition increases to two faculties.

Media inquiries may be directed to:

Mike Brown, External Communications Specialist

University of Calgary Students’ Union

403-560-0577 or Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca

Back to school has been a busy time for the SU, and advocacy throughout September is no exception. The SU has been in the media throughout September talking primarily about students heading back to class, their expectations, and the housing crisis in Calgary.

Starting in September and continuing through the fall semester, SU staff and elected officials will be hearing from the university on their plans for tuition. The SU will be advocating for students to be given a break after three consecutive years of increases well above inflation. We have heard from students that they are not only broke but at a financial breaking point.

The SU closed its advocacy survey which will help inform our discussions with the university around tuition and will be valuable to our efforts with the three orders of government as well. We heard that students do not feel they are getting good value for their tuition dollars and the quality of education has not increased despite students paying at least 25% more in tuition since 2019.

We also heard that students want more accountability from the university on how student dollars are spent through mandatory fees like the student services fee and the Dinos athletics fee. Stay tuned for updates on this work.

In September, SLC discussed a document formalizing what the SU, and students, expect for meaningful consultation from the university when it comes to tuition and other issues that affect students. The SU will be sending this to the Provost to formalize a consistent consultation process.

SLC also discussed a series of issue sheets that will be used to advocate to government, primarily the Government of Alberta. As Alberta heads into a provincial election in May 2023, the SU intends to be active to raise the profile of student and post-secondary issues. Stay tuned for more.

Calgary – Students have returned to classes at the University of Calgary, facing a much less affordable environment than when the pandemic first hit. Students have endured skyrocketing cost pressures well prior to the current inflation crisis.

UCalgary students are paying at least 25% more in tuition than they did in 2019, with no corresponding increase in education quality. Fees for student services, recreation, and athletics have also seen double-digit percentage increases since 2019.

On top of that, simply affording study materials, like textbooks, is increasingly difficulty for students. In a 2021 SU survey, 85% of students identified the cost of textbooks and other required course materials as a source of financial stress and hardship. In 2018, MacLean’s magazine found that Canadian students spend an average of $773 on textbooks each year. This number is likely even higher today.

“Students aren’t just broke, they’re at a breaking point,” says SU VP Academic, Shaziah Jinnah Morsette. “Tuition, fees, books, and rent have all increased at rates well above inflation for the last three years. The current inflation crisis has compounded it even more. We need government and universities to help. One way they can do that is to support, encourage, and fund Open Educational Resources (OER).”

OERs are any type of teaching, learning, and research resource, from textbooks to presentations, that are free and openly available through an open copyright license like Creative Commons to allow for repurposing and sharing of OERs by others. Traditional textbooks and materials come with more restrictive copyright licenses. However, awareness for using OERs as a solution to the costly burden of traditional textbooks is still growing.

The Students’ Union (SU) sees tremendous value for students in OER initiatives. Following years of provincial inaction, in 2021, the SU committed $500,000 to support the development of OERs. This money is creating up to fifty new OERs over five years. While provincial funding in Ontario and British Columbia have led to millions in savings, Alberta lags behind in supporting OERs. Ontario and B.C. students have saved nearly $40 million in costs thanks to government investment in those provinces.

“While the Alberta 2030 initiative mentions OERs, it is unclear what action the province will take to catch up to comparator provinces like Ontario and BC,” says SU VP Academic, Shaziah Jinnah Morsette. “What is clear is that students cannot continue to wait for real action. That’s why we have partnered with our university library on our own OER project to support OER use and development.”

The SU joins calls from students, student associations, and other organizations in asking for institutional and government support for OERs. It is a simple and effective way to help students save money and continue to be able to access a post-secondary education.

Media inquiries may be directed to:

Mike Brown, External Communications Specialist

University of Calgary Students’ Union

Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca

403-560-0577