The primary purpose of the University of Calgary Students’ Union has changed dramatically over the years. Advocating for student issues is now at the heart of everything we do. The SU continually works on advocacy campaigns throughout the year, often working with or lobbying all levels of government, as well as UCalgary's administration.
While issues like tuition, housing, and mental health are always ongoing campaigns, some are more timely and may not be immediately reflected here.
Click the bars below to read about a particular topic. See any campaigns you'd like to get involved with? Check out our Advocacy home page to find out what we're up to, or email your VP External at suvpext@ucalgary.ca to learn more.
HOUSING
A scarcity of student housing impacts everyone. Research has found that few students live alone, and they'll pay 25% more rent than other groups to secure a place, meaning they can team up on the open market and price out other demographics. It's unsurprising that 9.1% of Canadian students and 25% of international students living in Calgary are living in overcrowded housing, as students are forced to accept substandard conditions just to have somewhere to live. 43% have lived in housing in need of repair; 17% have felt unsafe at some point in their dwelling.
Given that Calgary's rental vacancy rate is projected to hover below 2% until 2027, purpose-built student housing is more necessary than ever to keep students safe and free up demand for existing stock. The City of Calgary pledged millions to invest in student housing in Downtown in 2023, but UCalgary has yet to publicly take advantage of this scheme or express plans to engage.
We supported the City of Calgary's Housing Strategy, which saw funds pledged for student housing, and we continue to meet with councillors and city officials to explore housing solutions. We have drawn media attention to residence hitting capacity every year since 2022. We have partnered with platform Places4Students to connect students with affordable rentals.
We are exploring ways to facilitate the building or allocation of purpose-built student units in Alberta, whether that is with the help of the province, City, University, or all three. We are also advocating to the province, in person and as part of our pre-budget submission (October 2024), for tenant protections in the form of landlord licensing and reasonable rental adjustments.
TUITION
Between 2019 and 2022, the operating funds of Alberta's public post-secondaries were cut by nearly a third. Although funding stayed static in Budgets 2023, 24 and 25, inflation undermined the benefit, so it isn't surprising that the cost of tuition climbed to compensate. The average cost to Albertan undergraduates rose 35% from 2018 to 2024.
Maybe students would be able to take solace if they saw visible returns on their investment, but at the University of Calgary, 61% either disagree, or aren’t sure, that their education is worth the cost (SU Annual Survey 2024). Students at UCalgary are facing their fifth year of consecutive tuition increases.
Although increases to domestic tuition have been capped at 2% annually by the province, mechanisms exist under the Alberta Tuition Framework for post-secondaries to seek 'exceptional' tuition increases, and increase mandatory non-instructional fees as they see fit. The SU is pushing the administration to demonstrate that it has identified wastage, and is providing value for money, before raising tuition.
On-campus, the SU's Executives participate in the University's annual Tuition & Fees Consultation Committee, where the administration puts forward proposed increases and the SU makes counterproposals. During the Committee cycle, the SU emphasizes the affordability crisis. Last year, we argued the proposed increase to international tuition down from 10% to 6%; this cycle (Fall 2024), we've argued it down to 4%. Our work continues.
Off-campus, we have been advocating to the provincial government for changes to the Alberta Tuition Framework.
We want to see the University commit to pegging international tuition increases to domestic tuition increases, and a commitment to include performance data in MNIF reporting to demonstrate value for money. We are advocating to the province for regulations on exceptional tuition and non-instructional fee increases.
MENTAL HEALTH
Of respondents to a 2024 student survey conducted by Abacus Data for CASA, only 22% of Albertans rated their mental health as “good” or “very good,” which was 8% below the national average. Almost half described their mental health as “somewhat poor” or worse. This is consistent with findings from the SU’s 2024 Annual Survey, which saw 23% of respondents describe their mental health as poor or very poor, and 29% describe their mental health as worse than the previous year.
The Government of Alberta has previously supported the delivery of on-campus mental health provision through the Post-Secondary Student Mental Health Grant (PSMHG). This grant, which disburses $8 million annually, was renewed on a one-year basis until the 2021-2022 fiscal year, when it was extended for disbursement over three-year periods. It comes due for renewal in Budget 2025.
However, the grant does not distribute funds strictly according to student numbers. Instead, the formula for annual allocations is “based on factors such as campus location and institution size” (page 29). This may be to the benefit of campuses that are not close to medical institutions, but it is important to note that the number of physicians in Alberta has declined since 2019, diluting the advantageousness of location. In April 2024, for the first time since 2005, Alberta reported having fewer doctors per capita than the national average.
The University of Calgary received $962,500 in mental health funding (program: mental health to PSIs) for the 2023-2024 fiscal year—which was less than the $1 million received for 2019-2020. The decrease would be understandable if enrolment had dropped since 2019, but student numbers have only grown.
The end result is that mental health services on Alberta’s largest campuses have seen a drop in per-capita funding at a time when students are experiencing declining mental health. The province’s current PSMHG funding model is not realistically calculated according to the need of an institution. Current students are well aware they’ll be graduating into a cost-of-living crisis, all while feeling the pressure of becoming Alberta’s next stewards; access to mental health support has never been more crucial.
We provide a mental health bursary to students in need of a little more support. We also recognize students who contribute to mental health advocacy, harm reduction and dialogue through the SU Mental Health Award.
We want to see the provincial government make a permanent commitment to the mental health campus grant, and to fund more equitably (per capita). You can find more in our pre-budget submission to the province, created in partnership with two other Calgary-based students' associations. We also want to see a portion of the federal Youth Mental Health Fund go towards post-secondary supports.
STUDENT WORK
The unemployment rate for Albertans aged 15 to 25 has been broadly above the national average since 2016. In summers where STEP was active (see pages 6 and 10), student unemployment was lower than in summers without STEP.
Losing STEP wasn't just a blow to student work opportunities; its cancellation impacted Alberta’s wider economy. After its first elimination, a survey of non-profits and municipal governments revealed that 56% would have to reduce some programs and services; 49% would hire fewer students. 36% would not hire students at all.
In 2022, Alberta launched the Work-Integrated Learning Industry Voucher pilot program (WLIV), which employed only 650 students over three years in partnership with three industry associations. While the SU acknowledges the benefits to work-integrated learning, WLIV’s reach constitutes a rounding error in Alberta’s youth unemployment rate. By lacking STEP’s flexibility—particularly its 2019 incarnation—it is unavailable to most students and businesses, making it a poor successor to STEP. It is also more fiscally wasteful: the total cost of WLIV was $3.6 million, or $5,500 per student, while STEP’s last cycle employed 3,000 students at a cost of $3,333 per student. (For sources, see page 6.)
We sing STEP's praises to anyone who will listen, whether in meetings with politicians or to the media. We also promote STEP within our pre-budget submission to the province, created in partnership with two other Calgary-based students' associations. Finally, we try to fill a little of the hole STEP left in students' hearts through our SUPERWork wage subsidy, available for eligible UCalgary undergraduates.
We believe that the provincial government should reinstate the Summer Temporary Employment Program, according to its 2019 guidelines.
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is all about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. The SU recognises this is an intersectional issue requiring consideration of social responsibility, human rights, and Indigenous reconciliation.
Your SU maintains sustainability initiatives around Mac Hall, and encouraging other bodies to follow suit. Got a sustainability idea of your own? We run a Sustainability Fund to aid eligible initiatives.
We consult with the University's Office of Sustainability to exchange ideas and support for sustainability initiatives, new and existing. We promote sustainability initiatives from all layers of government, to make the University, province and country more sustainable on all fronts.
STUDENT FINANCIAL AID
The average undergraduate in Alberta is under 25, and there's an 85% chance they needed to borrow money to pursue higher education. But choosing to study in Alberta means they can expect to graduate with more debt than the national average. Programs that could have helped their finances were cut in recent years, such as the 2020 elimination of Alberta's tuition tax credit. Alberta Student Aid also scrapped grants for undergraduates, meaning the majority only qualify for loans—with interest.
We participate in federal advocacy efforts with the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. Some campaigns concern student loans; one of our major successes was the elimination of interest on federal student loans. You can check out our other campaigns as part of CASA here.
Locally, we were among the students' associations that pressured the province to introduce a 2% cap to domestic tuition, but we know our work is far from over. Our advocacy to the province, including our pre-budget submission, emphasizes the importance of undergraduate grants as a means to facilitate equitable access to post-secondary. We offer scholarships, awards and bursaries to help in the meantime; browse the Student Services menu above.
Federally, we want to see the grace period on the repayment of federal student loans extended from 6 months to 1 year or more, to provide breathing room for graduates to organize their finances. We are also pushing for the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program (CFSA) application process to consider parental/spousal expenses, or eliminate consideration of parental/spousal contributions altogether. We also want to see greater supports for victims of parental and intimate relationship abuse to secure student aid.
Provincially, we are advocating for the introduction of grants for undergraduate students, and an adjustment in the ratio of grants and loans offered by Alberta Student Aid. We are advocating for the elimination of interest from provincial loans, to bring Alberta in-line with the federal government and comparable provinces. We call for avenues to student debt forgiveness for essential professionals, and a bump in the threshold for the Repayment Assistance Plan.
SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is an epidemic on Canadian campuses. A 2019 student survey found that 45% of women and 37% of men witnessed or experienced unwanted sexualized behaviours in a post-secondary setting; 1 in 6 trans students had experienced sexual assault. Only 9% of women who survived sexual assault reported the event to their institution. Men were even unlikelier to report, with 6% of all male victims doing so.
Reasons for non-disclosure ranged from students believing what had happened to them was not serious enough to report to distrust in how their post-secondary institution (PSI) would handle the situation. Other students expressed a lack of knowledge about how to report to their PSI in the first place.
While Alberta's PSIs have been ordered to revise or create SGBV policies, Alberta lacks the clarity of a central piece of legislation. A Ministerial Letter was issued to Alberta's 26 post-secondary institutions in 2022, directing them to create and/or update their SGBV protocols, but gaps remain. Few institutions publish data surrounding how many SGBV reports they receive and what the outcomes of those reports are, leading students to fear their case may get lost in the system.
Protocol is particularly uncertain for students who engage in workplace learning: will their post-secondary handle the report, or will their employer? And what will happen to partner workplaces that do not maintain safety standards to protect students from harm?
Provinces such as Ontario and Quebec have introduced legislation that compel their post-secondaries to maintain robust SGBV protocols, to be reviewed every few years. We call upon Alberta to do the same.
Our Executives sit on a range of academic and managerial committees, including the University's Board of Governors, and are communicating with the administration about enhanced student consultation and gaps in existing protocols.
We call upon the province to introduce legislation that compels post-secondaries to maintain comprehensive SGBV policies and protocols, presented in accessible language that helps students to understand the process. These policies should be updated on a schedule, with the revision process drawing from student consultation. Post-secondaries should also report on their handling of SGBV complaints, present outcome data, and share information with other post-secondaries (in accordance with data protection practices).
MANDATORY NON-INSTRUCTIONAL FEES
The University's reporting on how it spends student dollars acquired from MNIFs is lacking. Reporting on the 2023/2024 fiscal year (example: Student and Enrolment Services Fee) provided an overview of amounts spent without demonstrating value for money by attaching performance or outcome-focused data. Furthermore, it is unclear to students and student leaders what is, can, and cannot be included in student service fee spending. We therefore want to see reporting on the Student Services, Campus Recreation, and Dinos Athletics fees that adequately informs students where their money goes.
On-campus, the SU's Executives participate in the University's annual Tuition & Fees Consultation Committee, which contains MNIF reporting as part of discussions. Off-campus, we participate in student leaders events run by the Ministry of Advanced Education, and meet with officials in general, to share concerns and identify areas of improvement.
We want to see mandatory non-instructional fee increases tied to inflation under the Alberta Tuition Framework, and for annual reports on the spending of fee revenue to require reporting on justifications for significant changes to departmental spending patterns. The University should set out certain metrics it plans to achieve with the fee revenue, and include key performance indicators that demonstrate whether MNIF revenue is being spent on services students actually want or need.
OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Expensive textbooks hurt both a student’s wallet and their graduation prospects. A 2020 survey of American students found that 90% feared their grades would suffer if they did not buy materials on their reading list, but 65% still skipped at least one textbook. This rose to 86% among students grappling with food insecurity—which is relevant to Alberta. 1 in 4 households could be expected to worry about the cost of groceries.
The University suggests students will spend $600 for textbooks alone per academic year, which is a tough pill to swallow in a cost-of-living crisis. Open Educational Resources (OERs) are free-to-access legal educational materials, such as materials residing in the public domain or publications released from copyright, that can profoundly impact the cost, quality and accessibility of education. British Columbia's OER initiative has saved millions of dollars for students with comparatively small investments.
Alberta has dabbled in creating OERs before, through the now-dormant ABOER initiative. Alberta 2030, the province's 10-year post-secondary strategy, even cites OERs as an area of interest for the Ministry of Advanced Education. The SU would like to see some headway made on keeping costs down for students.
We promote OERs in our meetings with provincial leaders and politicians. In the meantime, our second-hand bookstore Bound & Copied sells textbooks, and also acts as a venue to resell books for students, to help recoup a little money.
We are communicating with the University about ways to support the creation, distribution and accessibility of OERs. We are also looking into ways OERs could be integrated into platforms maintained by the City of Calgary, using existing technology solutions within its libraries to execute OER distribution and access. On a provincial level, we're making the case for support in OER creation and distribution, whether they're made in Alberta or created in conjunction with other provinces.
