With the Concordia Student Union’s accreditation signed, sealed and delivered, it was only a matter of time before the major sticking point of student fees would come up.
It was the sore point during past accreditation runs—executives from the Commerce and Administration Student Association (CASA) and the Engineering and Computer Science Association (ECA) refused to agree to pay service contracts or per credit fees to the CSU.
The CSU, now the official representative of the entire undergraduate population at Concordia University, is only collecting fees from approximately two-thirds of its members. This is because students enrolled in commerce, administration, engineering and computer science currently do not pay any fees to the student union.
A motion was put forward at the last meeting of the CSU council to ask for a fee of $2.00 per credit from the entire student body at the upcoming referendum. This referendum will coincide with the annual student union presidential elections
While the student union is just now starting to recover from the internal fraud that shed the union of more than $193,000, CSU President Rob Green contends that an increase in the overall CSU operating budget is necessary now more than ever. He said an increase in overall budget would mean an increase in the level of campus life.
Green said the student union is currently plagued with a myriad of dilemmas, including inadequate funding for clubs, extremely limited services and a lack of presence on the Loyola campus.
He also noted a constant slashing of the student union special projects budget—generally the first one on the chopping block when there are financial difficulties.
There is also the case of the CSU Human Rights Office—one of Green’s campaign promises—which could not be realized due to a lack of funds
With the university’s commitment to revitalize Loyola, an added CSU presence is needed, Green said. “There’s no question about the revitalization of Loyola, and the CSU needs to be prepared for that. This is a two-campus university and we are a one campus union.”
The student union will also be adding on a full-time accountant, which the student union’s legal staff estimates will cost at least $50-60,000 per year in salary.
Green stressed that if the motion is passed, there will be negotiations to follow.
“As the motion is worded, it is meant to return to the CSU to what it had before CASA and ECA stopped paying,” Green said. “Not coincidentally, those executives (with larger budgets) had a larger presence at Loyola.”
At the same CSU council of representatives meeting held Feb. 14, CASA president Rabih Sebbaly suggested that an increase of $2.00 across the board was unnecessary.
Instead, CASA’s president suggested that the fee be lowered for all students to $1.30, thus maintaining the CSU’s current budget while giving students’ pocketbooks a break.
“This way, everyone would pay the same without increasing the CSU budget,” Sebbaly said, emphasizing that the question was not whether students should pay, but whether the student union’s budget should increase.
It was the sore point during past accreditation runs—executives from the Commerce and Administration Student Association (CASA) and the Engineering and Computer Science Association (ECA) refused to agree to pay service contracts or per credit fees to the CSU.
The CSU, now the official representative of the entire undergraduate population at Concordia University, is only collecting fees from approximately two-thirds of its members. This is because students enrolled in commerce, administration, engineering and computer science currently do not pay any fees to the student union.
A motion was put forward at the last meeting of the CSU council to ask for a fee of $2.00 per credit from the entire student body at the upcoming referendum. This referendum will coincide with the annual student union presidential elections
While the student union is just now starting to recover from the internal fraud that shed the union of more than $193,000, CSU President Rob Green contends that an increase in the overall CSU operating budget is necessary now more than ever. He said an increase in overall budget would mean an increase in the level of campus life.
Green said the student union is currently plagued with a myriad of dilemmas, including inadequate funding for clubs, extremely limited services and a lack of presence on the Loyola campus.
He also noted a constant slashing of the student union special projects budget—generally the first one on the chopping block when there are financial difficulties.
There is also the case of the CSU Human Rights Office—one of Green’s campaign promises—which could not be realized due to a lack of funds
With the university’s commitment to revitalize Loyola, an added CSU presence is needed, Green said. “There’s no question about the revitalization of Loyola, and the CSU needs to be prepared for that. This is a two-campus university and we are a one campus union.”
The student union will also be adding on a full-time accountant, which the student union’s legal staff estimates will cost at least $50-60,000 per year in salary.
Green stressed that if the motion is passed, there will be negotiations to follow.
“As the motion is worded, it is meant to return to the CSU to what it had before CASA and ECA stopped paying,” Green said. “Not coincidentally, those executives (with larger budgets) had a larger presence at Loyola.”
At the same CSU council of representatives meeting held Feb. 14, CASA president Rabih Sebbaly suggested that an increase of $2.00 across the board was unnecessary.
Instead, CASA’s president suggested that the fee be lowered for all students to $1.30, thus maintaining the CSU’s current budget while giving students’ pocketbooks a break.
“This way, everyone would pay the same without increasing the CSU budget,” Sebbaly said, emphasizing that the question was not whether students should pay, but whether the student union’s budget should increase.
