Are Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) executives compensated fairly? This is the question that has overshadowed every CUSA election campaign in recent memory. Year over year, rumours fly and tempers flare over student representative compensation.
It is not difficult to realize why this is such a recurring issue when past executives have voted to give themselves raises as high as approximately six per cent. With students footing the bill, they have every right to be frustrated and concerned by these actions. CUSA’s Executive Compensation Committee hopes changes made this year will mitigate students’ concerns, as well as ensure CUSA executives are fairly compensated for their work.
The committee decided that the only effective way to achieve fairness was to depoliticize executive compensation at Carleton. Compensation should not be the most talked about issue in student politics. What we should be discussing during CUSA elections are issues like rising tuition costs and how to improve our clubs and societies. Collectively, these changes to compensation save students a minimum of approximately $4,200 per year, which will then be re-allocated into CUSA’s operating budget.
Major findings and changes recommended in the report included cutting the executive’s cellphone benefits due to landlines and free WiFi at Carleton; closing a hidden loophole in vacation pay, and instead having executives take vacation time throughout the year or receive vacation pay at the end of the year if no vacation was taken; a detailed examination of committee timing as well transition pay and process, which achieves greater accountability and transparency while removing the politics; and having this year’s executive salaries frozen instead of tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in respect of the winning executive slate’s election platform.
The committee does note, however, that leaving executive salaries frozen at current levels for an extended period of time has the potential to be unfair to both students and executive members, while leaving the door open for compensation to once again become a hot button election issue. Therefore, it is important that future salary increases be tied solely to CPI.
CUSA executive salaries are considered average compared to other universities that have similar student union structures. Since the majority of these other schools align their salaries to CPI as well, Carleton would continue on a trajectory of being in the average in terms of salary and compensation.
Keeping Carleton in the mean of student executive compensation will result in a fair bench-mark for providing the most effective return-on-investment to students. Research suggests that over-compensating executives is to the detriment of students while under-compensation means not enough incentive for hard work and strong candidates.
It is my hope that these recommendations will serve as pillars of a successful executive compensation plan at Carleton for years to come.
