Notes from Council: Increase to residence and meal plan rates

At the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) Students’ Council meeting on January 13, Vice-president (student life) Logan West presented on the proposed increase to residence and meal plan rates at the U of A. Later on, she presented on the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Task Force’s recommendations.

Additionally, the co-presidents of the Interdepartmental Science Students’ Society (ISSS) proposed an increase to their faculty association membership fee (FAMF). Diana LeBlanc was ratified as the science councillor for the remainder of the 2025–26 year. Lastly, President Pedro Almeida presented on the executive committee’s goals for 2025–26.

Increase to residence and meal plan rates

According to the presentation from West, the U of A’s proposed increase for residence rates is four per cent. The rationale is that the increase will allow for major projects and deliverables such as shower curtains and power upgrades, as well as an increased cost of utilities.

Residence Services and the U of A did not attend the meeting. West mentioned that Residence Services has continually refused to come to council meetings to present the proposals themselves. According to her, their justification was that they would have to do it every year.

The university also plans to increase meal plan rates by five per cent. The key drivers of this are the increased costs of meat, coffee, tea, sugar, and confectionery. The U of A also mentioned in the conversations with West that approximately 30 per cent of students in residence find value in their meal plan. Additionally, around 70 per cent of students are satisfied with the staff involved in meals.

West mentioned asking about alternatives to increasing the rates, but said that no one provided an adequate response.

“Has Residence Services explored alternative avenues to increase funding, such as increasing occupancy rates of their residences?” West asked.

The Gateway asked West what the UASU is doing besides attending Residence Advisory Committee (RAC) meetings.

“It can be frustrating when our concerns fall on deaf ears,” West said.

West also mentioned that there might be plans to write an open letter regarding the matter, as well as continuing to push for the residence associations to come to council meetings.

ISSS FAMF

The ISSS represents all students in the faculty of science. The FAMF that those students currently pay is $5. For the ISSS, the FAMF allows for initiatives including scholarships, grants, academic support, and community events.

However, the ISSS co-presidents, Christene Saji and Parinika Pal, stated that the current $5 FAMF no longer meets the scale of student needs or operating costs. They proposed an increase to $7.

The executives of the ISSS believe that the increase will allow for long-term sustainability and create a stable funding model.

Executive Committee goals

Later in the council meeting, Almeida presented on the executive committee’s goals for the 2025-26 year.

The executive committee’s goals are split into four major priorities, including enhancing student experience and engagement, fostering a safe, accessible, and inclusive campus, improving academic and professional development and strengthening organizational capacity and financial sustainability

Almeida spoke about the different goals that the executive team had been working on, as well as expanding on specific areas within each priority.

The first area Almeida spoke about was communication and community building.

Almeida highlighted connections with on and off-campus partners and developing avenues for collaboration. He also mentioned the support for Indigenous language and cultural revitalization efforts.

Later in the presentation, Almeida spoke about improving the ONEcard access in buildings and pedways across the university.

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Task Force

Lastly, West presented the recommendations of the SGBV Task Force.

West stated that the SGBV Task Force was established to “bring together key interest-holders from throughout the university student community to shape the advocacy efforts of the UASU vice-president (student life) on this critical issue.”

The task force has 11 recommendations, which can be found on their webpage. Some of the recommendations include improving education around SGBV and improving navigation of services for survivors.