By Natalie Sit
Students could see their fees go directly to the services they are using such as the Registrar or Career Services.
Currently, any revenue collected goes to the university and is then redistributed. A proposal by University of Calgary Associate Vice-President Student Affairs Dr. Peggy Patterson would see services keep any revenue they generate.
"It’s something called responsibility-centered budgeting," explained Dr. Patterson. "I’d like to see responsibility-centered budgeting for services where the service collects money from students. Many anticipate the co-op fee goes to Career Services or the faculty providing the service but neither get the fee–but they do get the criticism."
She proposed the new model after seeing several departments like the Registrar, which collects a $100 fee from students, having to process more students on decreased resources. She also believes her proposal will lead to better service.
The Students’ Union currently has no policy on Dr. Patterson’s proposal.
"It’s been debated so much," said SU President Jayna Gilchrist. "There’s a lot of debate surrounding what specific funding could lead it. The biggest fear is that it will lead to a student academic services levy."
Both Dr. Patterson and U of C Associate VP Administration Gayle Gorrill deny the university is considering an SAS levy. Gorrill thinks the proposal is a good idea as students benefit but want to ensure fiscal responsibility.
"I’m not comfortable implementing it right away because we need to do our homework," said Gorrill. "It’s right to be looked at and right to do it soon. But we want to do it right. We don’t want to allocate less money."