Non-tuition ancillary fees have become an embedded part of the cost of university. Along with tuition, every student can expect to pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in additional fees. Unfortunately, most students are uneducated, if not oblivious, to these costs and what they provide.
Ancillary fees, as defined by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, are “fees that are levied in order to cover the cost of items that are not normally paid for out of operating or capital revenue.” Prior to 1994, the fees could be put in place by the universities to provide for the cost of various expenditures. Following that year, the power to set ancillary fees fell to the student governments and currently cannot be levied or collected without their permission. This is normally decided through student run referenda. Gaining the ability to become the sole decision makers on which fee would be imposed upon them was a major victory for students and their governments. While OUSA applauds the fact that students have this control over the additional fees, some concerns remain.
The most important point of apprehension is that when the cost of ancillary fees are added to the already high price of tuition, it may force some to rethink or even discount, the thought of attending post-secondary education. Even though students vote on the implementation of these fees, a significant proportion is not administered by the student government, they flow directly to the universities. This raises the fear that institutions are beginning to view ancillary fees are an alternative source of operating revenue.
OUSA has been carrying the standard on ancillary fees for some time and while these concerns are not new, they will continue to be addressed. OUSA was responsible for the creation of the framework for legislation that limited ancillary fee increases and rested decision making in the hands of students. Working on this issue has been important for our organization. This coming year, the OUSA policy on non-tuition ancillary fees will be updated as we maintain our commitment to representing students.
-Joe Finkle
MSU VP Education
OUSA VP Administration
