Notes from Council: UASU discusses ETI approval pathways

At the University of Alberta Student’s Union (UASU) Students’ Council meeting on October 21, the philosophical role of council was discussed. According to President Pedro Almeida, this exercise made council members reflect on their purpose within the union.

Additionally, Almeida presented issues surrounding exceptional tuition increases (ETI).

“Right now, the UASU doesn’t have the clearest path around participating in consultations with ETIs, and this causes friction with the university,” Almeida said.

The philosophical role of the Students’ Council

Almeida initiated a debate on the philosophical role of the Students’ Council to help UASU councillors reflect on their perspectives and purposes within the council.

According to Almeida, the perspective a member takes matters because it influences how councillors vote.

“If you think that your role on council is to vote on what’s best for the entire student body, then if something is worse off for your particular faculty, but better for the entire student body, in theory, you should vote in favour of that. If you believe that you’re representative of your constituents and something is better for the entire student body but worse off for your faculty, you should vote against that.”

Christopher Reynolds, arts councillor, stated that “the SU should represent all students, but I think the perception from individual students is that, as councillors, we represent them and, by extension, our faculties.”

Morgan Vany, agriculture, life, and environmental sciences (ALES) councillor, said that “it would be incredibly odd for a councillor to vote in a way that negatively impacts their own faculty when the people who put them there are counting on them to vote in a way that will create the most positive impact for them.”

Discussion around the UASU’s unclear path to participate in the consultation of ETIs

Almeida addressed the issue of the UASU’s unclear position in participating in the consultations surrounding ETIs.

“The reason that [occurs] is because when a ETI proposal comes around … oftentimes deans will go and speak to their faculty associations. The UASU will get mad, [because they] weren’t consulted. The faculty association may have their own unique perspective on the issue where the UASU disagrees,” Almeida said.

The reason Almeida wanted to bring this discussion forward is because, “technically, the existence of every association on campus comes from the SU, which means that, in theory, it’s the SU’s responsibility to represent those student affairs.”

This is still an ongoing discussion in council. Almeida noted that he has not heard an intention from the university to apply for ETIs this year.

Executive updates

Vice-president (student life) Logan West highlighted the work done by the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) task force. The team is examining different areas relative to SGBV, including the UASU website, policy, U of A’s residence, and the U of A Sexual Assault Centre (UASAC).

Vice-president (operations and finance) Nathan Thiessen spoke on his participation in the joint student and university oversight committee on mandatory non-instructional fees (MNIF).

Vice-president (external), Abdul Abbasi discussed on the report of the Expert Panel on Post-Secondary Institution Funding and Alberta’s Competitiveness, chaired by Jack Mintz. The report contains many recommendations that align with Council of Alberta University Students‘ (CAUS) recommendations, according to Abbasi.

Vice-president (academic) Katie Tamsett drew attention to the new menstrual health Perks survey, which is part of her goal to advance menstrual health.

Almeida highlighted that CAUS and the Alberta Students Executive Council (ASEC) have worked for the first time on a joint budget submission for the government. According to Almeida, this exemplifies the need for post-secondary student movements.

CORRECTION: A correction was issued at 3:20 p.m. on October 27, 2025 to include the correct name of the sexual and gender-based violence task force and that Thiessen participated in, not announced, the mandatory non-instructional fee committee.