The Insiders
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Jan
20
Issue of the Day (morning): Student Fees
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 20, 2007 | 28 Comments
I was going to spend a good chunk of today going through candidates’ platforms. But very few are up, and those that I have I’m not supposed to talk about yet. So I won’t.
But there is one issue that we feel is kinda important, and probably worth considering. Which is that of AMS student fees. We think they’re probably a wee bit too low.
Consider the following:
- The AMS discretionary budget is around 1.6 million dollars (out of a total budget of 11.2). That 1.6 includes services (like Safewalk), student government cost, CiTR, and the publications.
- Student fees account for roughly $3 million of the budget.
- Each student is directly paying roughly $75 to the AMS each year, about half of which is used for discretionary services.
- The amount that students pay is not tied to inflation. So when costs go up (and they do), the amount students pay for it doesn’t.
- AMS fees are among the lowest in the country given the scope of our student society.
If the per-student fee had been tied to inflation at its inception, UBC students’ fees to the AMS would be almost $200 by now. But they’re not. Instead, new, direct-pay fees are added, including Athletics and Recreation fees, the U-Pass, etc. So now students are paying several different fees, most of which grow with inflation, but the AMS one doesn’t. Which puts a financial crunch on the AMS, and hurts sustainable growth.
However, a fee increase has to be passed by referendum, which historically runs into problems with quorum. And nobody likes raising their fees. So…
- Should student fees be tied to inflation?
- Should student fees be otherwise raised?
- How can we get a bylaw passed?
- Do students want to pay more for their services?
It’s worth noting that both VP Finance candidates are, in principle, in favor of indexing student fees to inflati0n, and both raise practical concerns about the referendum.
Comments
28 Comments so far
tie them to inflation.
but why are my fees going to daycare? that’s the university’s responsibility. and it’s an important one.
tie them to inflation.
but why are my fees going to daycare? that’s the university’s responsibility. and it’s an important one.
Hey, thanks for stopping by.
Your student fees are a partial contribution to an otherwise impossible to jumpstart greater project. The university has been dragging their heels on this forever.
Furthermore the CPAC (a committee within the AMS) out of which the funds are coming from has had a mandate to meet the needs of students if the University fails. I know it’s a poor lobbying tactic, to offload the responsibility of the university by stepping up, and so a balance needs to be struck between that and how hard we lobby.
I’ve actually written a post about this last week, and it can be found here (and check the comment by Katharine Miller):
Link
Hey, thanks for stopping by.
Your student fees are a partial contribution to an otherwise impossible to jumpstart greater project. The university has been dragging their heels on this forever.
Furthermore the CPAC (a committee within the AMS) out of which the funds are coming from has had a mandate to meet the needs of students if the University fails. I know it’s a poor lobbying tactic, to offload the responsibility of the university by stepping up, and so a balance needs to be struck between that and how hard we lobby.
I’ve actually written a post about this last week, and it can be found here (and check the comment by Katharine Miller):
Link
fair enough. thanks for the explanation.
fair enough. thanks for the explanation.
but wait.
how come i don’t know this? i try to read the ubyssey and sometimes pick up the knoll.
but how does my student society tell me if i can’t get to the paper every day. is that it?
i just don’t get to know? i don’t have time or the inclination to go to council meetings. does that make me a bad person?
hmm. i can’t comment on your terms in student government, but you both make pretty good journalists.
but wait.
how come i don’t know this? i try to read the ubyssey and sometimes pick up the knoll.
but how does my student society tell me if i can’t get to the paper every day. is that it?
i just don’t get to know? i don’t have time or the inclination to go to council meetings. does that make me a bad person?
hmm. i can’t comment on your terms in student government, but you both make pretty good journalists.
mcgill has two papers. one that’s that’s indy and one that’s student society funded.
i’m not sure that’s the same thing as voter funded media to be frank
mcgill has two papers. one that’s that’s indy and one that’s student society funded.
i’m not sure that’s the same thing as voter funded media to be frank
I know eh? There’s the Ubyssey and there’s the Knoll, and the latter doesn’t always cover UBC/AMS-related issues. That’s why I think it’s a good idea for the AMS to distribute a newsletter every once in a while. We think people won’t read it but I have a feeling that people waiting outside of their classes will pick it up once in a while out of boredom moreso than interest.
The AMS website also needs to be updated on a semiregular basis at the very least. It also needs to be more accessible – the navigation is so complex there’s only one way you can get to the AMS Code and Bylaws.
I know eh? There’s the Ubyssey and there’s the Knoll, and the latter doesn’t always cover UBC/AMS-related issues. That’s why I think it’s a good idea for the AMS to distribute a newsletter every once in a while. We think people won’t read it but I have a feeling that people waiting outside of their classes will pick it up once in a while out of boredom moreso than interest.
The AMS website also needs to be updated on a semiregular basis at the very least. It also needs to be more accessible – the navigation is so complex there’s only one way you can get to the AMS Code and Bylaws.
er….. not that most students would look for the code and bylaws… but still, it should be accessible
er….. not that most students would look for the code and bylaws… but still, it should be accessible
When the CPAC fund was set up (by referendum) in the early 1980s, daycare was one of about six intended uses, and there was a specific daycare project in mind, which fell through. I’d view daycare as a non-core service that UBC provides, not because it has to, but because it’s a really good idea and is helpful for recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students.
UBC did not have the money to build more daycare space, even with provincial help, and the AMS had a fund that specifically anticipated this use. A lack of available daycare can force student parents to drop out of school. The money could have been used on any number of projects to make SUB look nicer, but I consider this a particularly good use of the fund.
As for the original post, the AMS should probably try to raise its fees somewhat, particularly when the business side can expect to take a hit if and when the rest of U Blvd is developed. But the AMS needs to have a very clear proposal explaining what could be done with the new fees that can’t be done now, before even thinking of running a referendum. “Because we need it” or “it’s been a while” won’t fly.
— Darren Peets
When the CPAC fund was set up (by referendum) in the early 1980s, daycare was one of about six intended uses, and there was a specific daycare project in mind, which fell through. I’d view daycare as a non-core service that UBC provides, not because it has to, but because it’s a really good idea and is helpful for recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students.
UBC did not have the money to build more daycare space, even with provincial help, and the AMS had a fund that specifically anticipated this use. A lack of available daycare can force student parents to drop out of school. The money could have been used on any number of projects to make SUB look nicer, but I consider this a particularly good use of the fund.
As for the original post, the AMS should probably try to raise its fees somewhat, particularly when the business side can expect to take a hit if and when the rest of U Blvd is developed. But the AMS needs to have a very clear proposal explaining what could be done with the new fees that can’t be done now, before even thinking of running a referendum. “Because we need it” or “it’s been a while” won’t fly.
— Darren Peets
To anon at 1:43 –
Thanks for the feedback. The reason nobody knows that is because nobody’s told you. I know it sounds tautological, but there’s no body/group on campus that concerns itself with getting information like this out to students.
To anon at 1:43 –
Thanks for the feedback. The reason nobody knows that is because nobody’s told you. I know it sounds tautological, but there’s no body/group on campus that concerns itself with getting information like this out to students.
I think Anon makes a really good point which was actually reiterated by the people who tried to sell TeachEval to UBC. (This is a company which specializes in a software which lets students fill out teaching evaluations online and tabulates this data.) The presenter was saying that the feedback loop is very important in stimulating the circle of communication – ie students filling out an evaluation form, the instructor getting feedback, but then the students alos getting the results so that they can see how their contribution has accumulated to an-end result.
The AMS similarly gets their execs elected, the execs and council do their work, and then what? things get implemented but the student doesn’t get the feedback – they don’t see the fruits of their vote. There’s a gap missing between the student voting and the AMS communicating back to them. We should try to close that as best as we can. I think a newsletter is one way, the website is another (but a secondary at best), and with the potential access to student emails perhaps we can think of new ideas on communicating effectively.
I think Anon makes a really good point which was actually reiterated by the people who tried to sell TeachEval to UBC. (This is a company which specializes in a software which lets students fill out teaching evaluations online and tabulates this data.) The presenter was saying that the feedback loop is very important in stimulating the circle of communication – ie students filling out an evaluation form, the instructor getting feedback, but then the students alos getting the results so that they can see how their contribution has accumulated to an-end result.
The AMS similarly gets their execs elected, the execs and council do their work, and then what? things get implemented but the student doesn’t get the feedback – they don’t see the fruits of their vote. There’s a gap missing between the student voting and the AMS communicating back to them. We should try to close that as best as we can. I think a newsletter is one way, the website is another (but a secondary at best), and with the potential access to student emails perhaps we can think of new ideas on communicating effectively.
thanks gina
thanks gina
tip of the hat tim
tip of the hat tim
Maybe I’m out of the loop on this and maybe something has changed since I graduated, but is the AMS now directly funding CiTR?
Back when I was the King of CiTR (and Gina was CiTR princess…), the AMS charged a separate $9 per student levy, with $5 going to the Ubyssey (I think) and $4 going to CiTR. A referendum in 2000 (or was it 1999?) achieved quorum (huzzah!) giving the AMS the authority to charge this $9 fee; so, in essence, the AMS is not budgeting discretionary funds for CiTR. It’s more like the AMS is collecting CiTR’s levy from students on its behalf.
I wasn’t going to say anything (don’t I have a thesis to write? At a different school??), but now I’m reading on the Knoll something that again gives the impression that the AMS directly funds CiTR, which doesn’t give the right impression. But, to tie this in to your earlier argument, if a specific AMS service appears to be threatened by budget cuts (as CiTR once was), how about organizing a referendum to get their own levy? Yes, it’s hard to get quorum and yes, it won’t help with all AMS services, but it may help reduce some costs in the short-term for tangible programs people can interact with year-round (e.g. Safewalk).
Maybe I’m out of the loop on this and maybe something has changed since I graduated, but is the AMS now directly funding CiTR?
Back when I was the King of CiTR (and Gina was CiTR princess…), the AMS charged a separate $9 per student levy, with $5 going to the Ubyssey (I think) and $4 going to CiTR. A referendum in 2000 (or was it 1999?) achieved quorum (huzzah!) giving the AMS the authority to charge this $9 fee; so, in essence, the AMS is not budgeting discretionary funds for CiTR. It’s more like the AMS is collecting CiTR’s levy from students on its behalf.
I wasn’t going to say anything (don’t I have a thesis to write? At a different school??), but now I’m reading on the Knoll something that again gives the impression that the AMS directly funds CiTR, which doesn’t give the right impression. But, to tie this in to your earlier argument, if a specific AMS service appears to be threatened by budget cuts (as CiTR once was), how about organizing a referendum to get their own levy? Yes, it’s hard to get quorum and yes, it won’t help with all AMS services, but it may help reduce some costs in the short-term for tangible programs people can interact with year-round (e.g. Safewalk).
does the AMS have a public outreach show on CITR?
does the AMS have a public outreach show on CITR?