Administration transferred the first of several fee instalments to the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) Nov. 25, said provost and vice-president (academic) Peter Ricketts via email.
The university released $5,489,216 in student fees after weeks of uncertainty, Ricketts said.
Student fees were supposed to be released Oct. 31 as per an administrative agreement made last year, but according to the university, CUSA’s auditor’s report was missing information, which led to the delay.
“CUSA and the administration worked to clear up any concerns that the administration may have had,” said CUSA vice-president (finance) Karim Khamisa via email.
Opt-out cheques from the health plan are now being distributed in the Unicentre atrium, Khamisa said.
“Now the idea is that we just continue doing what we have been all along,” Khamisa said.
Although the first instalment was released, Ricketts said the rest will not be released until the discrepancy that has been responsible for the delay is fixed.
The first instalment was released “to ensure that the student health insurance payments can be made, despite the fact that a discrepancy in CUSA’s financial statements still remains,” he said.
Of the $5 million released, approximately $3 million is for the opt-out program and the other two is for clubs and societies on campus with approved levies, Khamisa said.
He maintains there is no problem and he said for now all that can be done is wait and hope they release the next instalment.
—with files from Jane Gerster
