Archive for Tuition

Endorsements

UBC students! You need to vote in this AMS Election to keep your Upass! Vote at https://amsvoting.as.it.ubc.ca

Don’t know who to vote for? Check out my endorsements!

 

Board of Governors: Tristan Miller and Matt Parson

Matt has had experience as AMS VP Academic and University Affairs and as AMS President. Representing our efforts to prevent non-student housing from being placed on our UBC bus loop,  he has shown that his style of diplomacy works. In addressing the unfair issue of BC not investing in post-secondary education, Matt, unlike the other candidates, had a prepared answer on framing this issue as one that requires the BC Government’s change of impression on university degrees. His ideas really spoke to my fear that living in a conservative time in Canada, the conservative decision-makers are killing the liberal arts, which require critical thinking.

Tristan Miller. He is the only candidate who said that he will need to critically look at the UBC master budget to determine how he would vote on the 2% increase in tuition that UBC proposes over the past years. Though he may still vote yes on the 2% tuition increase if he learns that voting no would negatively affect students’ quality of education, in the event that he is elected, Tristan Miller has shown that he has thought critically about UBC’s finances and that he will not succumb to the pressure of saying yes now, unlike the other candidates. The truth is, the other candidates seem to me that they are basing some of their ideas on the University’s financial needs based on meetings they have had with the University administration. With Tristan’s background as AMS VP Finance, I put my trust in him and his expertise of critical thinking about higher education finances. More on him to come tonight.

 

Ideal BoG candidates should speak confidently about convincing the UBC Board of Governors to lobby the BC Government for the creation of a B.C. higher-education price index.

Ideal BoG candidates should speak confidently about criticizing the leadership of Where’s The Funding? and acknowledging that the AMS, with a very small budget, can inspire student action on lobbying for post-secondary funding.

Ideal BoG candidates should acknowledge that AMS needs to have its own Nationbuilder or Constituency Relationship Management so when student governors are representing students’ interests in terms of post-secondary funding and tuition, they can have much more of a political standing.

 

No candidates are ideal. However, considering all the candidates in this race, I think Tristan Miller and Matt Parson are the candidates you should vote for.

AMS Tuition Fee Policy in 2011

AMS Tuition Fee Policy, passed Aug 31 2011

 

“Whereas the cost of education makes undertaking post-secondary studies at UBC often inaccessible; and

 

Whereas UBC students have a vested interest in maintaining the quality of their university, their education, and their degree; and

 

Whereas the AMS must balance its advocacy to reflect both its members’ interest in a lower cost burden to pursuing academic studies and its members’ interest in a quality academic experience,

 

Therefore, be it resolved that the AMS oppose any annual increase of UBC student tuition that would be in excess of 2%.

 

Be it further resolved that the AMS oppose any percentage annual increase of UBC international student tuition greater than that of UBC Vancouver domestic student tuition.

 

Be it further resolved that the AMS support in principle the reduction of UBC student tuition, when such a reduction would be met with an equal or greater supply of funds to UBC from non-student sources, such that UBC’s academic quality would not be diminished.

 

Be it further resolved that the AMS respectfully request the UBC Board of Governors to consider any proposed increases to tuition fees in light of the cost burden that tuition represents for students, and seek wherever possible to minimize this cost.”

 

Note: Requires 2/3rds

 … Carried

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What’s AMS?

AMS is UBC students' student union, which provides governance for its businesses, its student advocacy and its student services. The most relevant services to you are probably the businesses in the SUB, the AMS Health and Dental Plan and the Upass.
Read about the AMS here!

The Editor

I am a cheap, library-fine-collecting, free-food-finding, late-assignment-penalty-reduction-requesting critical student at UBC.

With the mission to "improve the quality of the educational, social, and personal lives of the students of UBC," I wish to see AMS not only provide student services for such improvements but to also advocate outside the traditional scope of academic and tuition issues, to improve the well-being of students.

Candidates

UBC Board of Governors: Erin Rennie, grad student Conny Lin, undergrads Harsev Oshan, Tristan Miller, Mike Silley (incumbent) and Matt Parson

AMS President: Caroline Wong, Ekateryna Baronovskaya, and Jay Shah

AMS VP Academic: Montana Hunter, Kiran Mahal (incumbent), Anne Kessler

AMS VP Finance: Joaquin Acevedo, Mateusz Miadlikowski

AMS VP External: Tanner Bokor

VP Admin: Justin Fernandes, Derek Moore, Olivia Yung, Barnabas Caro

Senate: Read about them here.

Student advocacy? Do something with my tuition!

Let's look at what will happen to your tuition in the next few years.
UBC's international student policy is that for students who commence their studies in 2012/2013, the international tuition fees will increase by no more (but likely no less!) than 2% per year for the next 4 years. Domestic students are also facing a 2% increase in tuition a year.

This year's AMS Election is likely to be even more important for students, because it is also the same year as our provincial election. This year's AMS Execs have the opportunity to organize and gain potential to make AMS's lobbying efforts much stronger than it has been in the past four years. The AMS Execs meet with the BC Premier, provincial ministers and critics from the opposition party, along with the University Neighbourhood Association, the University, Translink, other student unions and many other important players of post-secondary life and politics.

I hate student fees.

I hear you.
Go actually take a look at your student fees.

Here's a good Ubyssey article that explains some of our student fees. You're easily paying over $200 for services you may not be able to afford.

Where else are students writing about UBC/AMS?

If you're on this site, then you already know to visit Ubyssey, UBC's official student newspaper.

There's also the SPAM Festival of AMS elections, AMS Confidential. Not the unsolicited email type, but this fun-loving type that makes so many people happy that they would dress up as such and march in a SPAM Festival.

Lastly, there's UBC Insiders. Not sure if they are covering this election but they are extremely informative. Some serious investigative critical blogging there.

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