UNews - Consumer Price

Incoming executive looks to build off success

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:39:52 +0000

As a changing of the guard begins to take place within the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU), it is a good opportunity to look back at what was accomplished in the previous year. From Fresh Fest to Humans vs. Zombies, hosting Peter Mansbridge and lobbying on behalf of students' interests, the ULSU had a very progressive and successful year.

It all kicked off with the most successful Fresh Fest to date, continuing a tradition of excellence with the event that students can look forward to experiencing well into the future.

Lectures by Peter Mansbridge, Dennis Edney (lawyer for Omar Khadr), various SACPA on Campus sessions and the Global Justice Student Speaker Challenge all contributed to the ULSU Executive Council's tradition of providing quality academic opportunities for all students.

"It is important to offer these types of academic opportunities to our students so they can gain a greater understanding of world issues, and perhaps apply what they learn in a classroom setting to real world situations," says Taz Kassam, outgoing ULSU president. "It also offers students a chance to think critically and engage in healthy discussion with their peers on issues impacting the world."

The Students' Union strives to offer services to students in an attempt to aid in the success of each and every student that enters the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge campuses in Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton. The ULSU also looks to enhance student engagement, and in the past year this was achieved by increasing the number of on-campus clubs, hosting a Municipal Mayoral Candidates Forum and creating new and exciting events like Humans vs. Zombies, Open Mic Night in the Zoo, Meltdown and ULSU Karaoke Shenanigans for
St. Patrick's Day.

"We want to provide students with opportunities that create lasting memories of their time at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says Kassam. "Creating these memories is all part of the greater university experience and aids in retention."

A number of traditional events from past years continued, including the ULSU/EUS Fashion Drive, the Volunteer Tax Program, the Last Lecture, Ender Bender, Last Class Bash and the IVCF/ULSU Used Book Sale.

"These events have proven to be successful and of great value to our students and we want to continue the support we provide with events such as these," says Kassam.

The ULSU achieved a landmark this year with students voting in favour of two referendum questions, one to tie ULSU Fees to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the second for a one-time ULSU fee increase of $5 per semester.

"This will allow the Students' Union to continue to build upon the quality of events and services it provides to students, such as our Food Bank and funding for scholarships," adds Kassam. "It is of the utmost importance that the Students' Union maintain and build upon the level of service to our students attending all campuses."

The ULSU had a very progressive year in terms of lobbying. Through the Council of Alberta ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Students (CAUS), the ULSU lobbied the provincial government on key issues such as the regulation of non-instructional fees and allowing easier access for students to vote during provincial elections.
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) also helped the ULSU advance throughout the year by focusing their lobbying efforts on the Post-Secondary Student Support Program, a program designed to promote greater accessibility for Aboriginal students, offering more assistance to international students, as well as amendments to the Canadian Student Loan Program policy.

"All in all, it has been a very successful year for the ULSU," says Kassam. "The support from all bodies on campus, and in the community, is greatly appreciated and the success could not have been achieved without this continued support. It is with this in mind that our organization is able to exist for our students at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge."

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Tuition rates a point of advocacy for students

trevor.kenney — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:53:46 +0000

Deficits, funding shortfalls and tuition hikes are all common words floating around the hallways of Alberta's post-secondary institutions the past few months.

During the Ralph Klein era, Alberta saw tuition fees hit an all-time high, which led to a new tuition fee policy in 2006. In November of that year, the Government of Alberta implemented the Tuition Fees Regulation initiative. This policy indicates that tuition cannot escalate above the rate of inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta wants to see tuition rates calculated by 'market modifiers' which means that tuition for professional and graduate programs such as medicine, dentistry, law, business, pharmacy and engineering will experience grave increases.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students are fortunate that their administration has chosen not to go down that path.

"President Bill Cade stated explicitly at the Oct. 9 Town Hall Meeting that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge would not pursue any differential increases," says Alex Massé, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) Vice President Academic. "In fact, he portrays the idea of raising tuition for professional programs as ridiculous."

Thus far, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students are safe from a major tuition hike for the 2010/2011 year; although, there are no guarantees of this continuing.

"The U of L administration has made it clear that they will not be seeking any increases beyond the CPI cap for the next academic year, but the government has told students that the regulation could be opened for amendment for a period of two to five years, and we have no guarantee that the U of L will not seek differential increases in future years," says Massé.

"When the cap was implemented, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta used 2004 as the base year from which increases would be calculated," adds Massé. "The U of A argues that they should be able to recalculate the base rates because they weren't given an opportunity in 2006 to adjust their professional programs to market value."

This comes at a time when the U of A is facing a $60 million deficit, along with most institutions across the province that are experiencing funding shortfalls. The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology has proposed a 40 per cent tuition hike for all programs; however, Doug Horner, Alberta Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, rejected this proposal.

"Horner let the PSE institutions know that the Ministry would accept proposals similar to the U of A's: they have to be justified and they have to be aimed only at specific programs," says Massé. "But, we do not believe that any differential tuition increases are justified."

According to Massé, if differential tuition increases are allowed to come into effect it could mean that some students will be forced to enter into a discipline of study based on their financial means over their ability or ambition.

"This means the government will be stifling the potential of many of the best and brightest prospective students," says Massé.

Advocacy is one of the mandates of the ULSU, and it works hard on all levels of government to lobby for the needs of students.

"The ULSU will work extensively with the Council of Alberta ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Students to send a strong message directly to the Government of Alberta, the bottom line being that right now student employment is at a record low and requests for student aid are at a record high, and this is the worst time for the government to allow large tuition increases," says Massé. "Depending on how things go over the next few weeks, we will certainly consider active student campaigns and media events to hammer that message home."

Tuition rates a point of advocacy for students

trevor.kenney — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:46:45 +0000

Deficits, funding shortfalls and tuition hikes are all common words floating around the hallways of Alberta's post-secondary institutions the past few months.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students are fortunate that their administration has chosen not to go down that path.

Thus far, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students are safe from a major tuition hike for the 2010/2011 year; although, there are no guarantees of this continuing.

"Horner let the PSE institutions know that the Ministry would accept proposals similar to the
U of A's: they have to be justified and they have to be aimed only at specific programs," says Massé. "But, we do not believe that any differential tuition increases are justified."

"This means the government will be stifling the potential of many of the best and brightest prospective students," says Massé.

Advocacy is one of the mandates of the ULSU, and it works hard on all levels of government to lobby for the needs of students.

UNews - Consumer Price

Incoming executive looks to build off success

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Tuition rates a point of advocacy for students

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Tuition rates a point of advocacy for students

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