Carleton is proposing a $22.50 increase in student fees per term to increase wireless coverage and benefits across campus.
The Information Technology (IT) fee proposal sets out a compulsory ancillary fee per student, and would be used to “provide services that will enhance the overall student experience,” the proposal stated.
A compulsory ancillary fee is defined by Carleton’s protocol as “a fee . . . in addition to regular tuition fees, which a student is required to pay in order to enroll in, or successfully complete, any credit course.”
As a non-tuition related ancillary fee, the proposal must pass a student referendum and follow an ancillary fee protocol that is agreed to by the student unions, said Phil Robinson, executive co-ordinator of the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA).
“The reason [for that] is to prevent institutions from trying to get around limits on tuition fee increases just by establishing new types of fees,” Robinson said.
The proposed referendum question will ask students whether they are in favour of the $22.50 IT fee per term to enhance the student experience by improving services to students. The fee would be pro-rated for part-time students.
According to the IT proposal, the services proposed include enhanced wireless coverage for the entire campus, increased Internet services, and access to software applications in student labs from anywhere and anytime through the web.
There is an ancillary fee committee, but according to Alexander Golovko, Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) president, the conversation at this point is happening outside of the committee and they have not actually met in a couple of years.
“It’s in early stages in the sense of going through the bureaucratic process,” Golovko said.
Denis Levesque, Computing and Communication Services chief information officer, said the IT fee was something Carleton looked into towards the end of last year.
A student survey was held in 2013 asking students to rate the importance of universal wireless coverage at Carleton, which 75.3 per cent voted as very important, the proposal stated.
It also asked students to rate the importance of accessing the software contained in the public student labs from anywhere, which 53.9 per cent of students voted very important.
The referendum question will be presented at the time of CUSA elections, according to Levesque.
“We already provide wireless services, some of that is covered under the tuition fees for wireless as required for the teaching and learning component. But putting wireless in the quad, for example, that’s not there,” he said.
He said tuition fees pay for wireless found in places such as student congregations in the tunnels.
“It’s not paying for the over and about stuff,” he said.
GSA vice-president (finance) Justine De Jaegher said they have met with Carleton and discussed some of the proposal, but were missing a couple of things.
“We need a copy of financial statements as well as a summary of all changes,” De Jaegher said. “We’re always a bit concerned whenever a new fee is proposed, in terms of ancillary fees we want to make sure they are legal.”
Golovko also said CUSA has yet to see something elaborate in terms of what exactly will be included.
According to Levesque, if the referendum passes, wireless service upgrades will presumably start in the summer when more money is brought into the university and will continue through the fall and winter terms.
