Rejecting the fee increase

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A proposal that included an increase to the graduate fee structure was turned down at the recent general assembly for the Graduate Students Association.

Developed in part by the Student Services Committee and the MSU Board of Directors, the proposal aimed to adjust the Compulsory Ancillary Fee structure through which all students pay for services such as the Student Wellness Centre and Athletics and Recreation. The changes proposed were to reflect both the growing costs of various student services, as well as to readjust the fee structures towards a more equitable fee distribution between graduate and undergraduate students.

Sean Van Koughnett, Associate Vice-President (Students and Learning) and Dean of Students, played a key role in the proposal and explained his disappointment in the decision.

“I completely acknowledge that there are financial challenges that many students have, and I hear that from students. At the same time, the services we were speaking about and the fees we were speaking about, they’re essential, they help support academic success,” he said.

“What we were proposing was to get the fees at a level where we could sustain the services and at a level that is comparable to what undergraduates have paid for a long time for the same services.”

For the current academic year, undergraduate students each paid $440 to cover for student services in comparison to the $117 that graduate students paid. Although graduate students account for 11 percent of the student population, they cover only 6 percent of current fees.

The proposal included an increase in the graduate student ancillary fees to $228 per year for the 2016/17 academic year, and to $340 the following year. Since 2004, accounting for inflation, there has been no real increase in fees, despite university services running at a deficit of $1.6 million each year.

The proposal was overwhelmingly turned down at a general assembly that had the highest turnout in recent memory, according to Talena Rambarran, President of the GSA. Quorum requires only one percent of the graduate students population, or about 38 students, which the GSA has struggled to reach in the past. This year, over 160 students were present at their assembly.

“It was a difficult conversation, because I think graduate students recognize that there’s value to the services that are provided, but the issue is that a lot of graduate students don’t make enough to support themselves,” said Rambarran.

“They see an increase of $200 a year as substantially taking away from what they’re able to support themselves with.”

Ashley Ravenscroft, Director of Operations with the GSA, commented that although students voted against the proposal, there appeared to be support for open dialogue to continue on the matter.

“They’d definitely like to work with administration on a potential alternative…students would like to at least have another avenue to discuss it, and have it not come down to a simple yes, no question,” she said.

According to Van Koughnett, graduate students use the Student Wellness Centre 40 percent more than undergraduates, while Athletics and Recreation are used about 40 percent less than undergraduate students. The no vote will reflect several changes, including a new, definite priority given to undergraduate students at the Student Wellness Centre and with Athletics and Recreation.

However, Van Koughnett was unclear on what the future of the proposed ancillary fee structure was.

MSU President Teddy Saull commented on the proposed ancillary fee changes. “A lot of those things benefit everybody,” he said. “We want them to happen when the university increases their fees and when the graduate students do it, whereas if we just agree to sign off on all those things, then there’s less of a reason for everyone else to try to kick up a little bit more.”

While at quorum, the GSA also voted in favour of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement at the assembly, following a similar binding vote at the MSU’s most recent general assembly on March 23.

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