Carleton’s Board of Governors (BoG) recently voted to approve the ancillary budgets for the 2017-18 year in a meeting on March 23. Included in the budget is residence fees, which will increase in the fall 2017 semester by two to 2.4 per cent.
Laura Storey, director of Housing and Residence Life Services, said the amount residence fees will increase by is “dependent on the type of room.”
The fees for double traditional and suite style rooms will increase by 1.8 per cent, while single traditional and suite style rooms will increase by 2.3 per cent.
The ancillary budget represents units that are not included in the operating revenues or expenses of the university.
As one of these units, Housing and Residence Life Services does not receive funding from tuition fees, but from residence payments.
Ed Kane, assistant vice-president (finance and administration) at Carleton, said in an email that an increase in residence fees is common practice for universities.
“Costs pressures and inflation require us to increase fees to ensure that we can cover our costs and re-investment in our residence experience,” he said. “We are always sensitive to how any increase will impact our students and services, therefore, we attempt to keep any rate increases in line with inflation.”
Inflation rates in Canada aim to be kept at a rate of two per cent, according to the Bank of Canada.
The ancillary budget increased residence fees by a similar amount in order to cover inflation, the cost of staff and utilities, and ongoing projects, according to Kane.
Before the budget was proposed, Housing and Residence Life Services met with student groups to discuss the possibility of an increase in fees, according to Storey.
“Throughout the year, I have been talking to student groups to try and find out what they want to see in the upcoming year,” Storey said. “Based on their feedback we have put project plans together. Consulting with students is really important.”
Storey added this year, the increased residence fees will go towards updating housing.
These projects will include renovating the bathrooms in Glengarry, updating TV and study lounges, and upgrading Wi-Fi in many of the residences.
As part of their consultations, Storey said Housing and Residence Life Services brought students into staged study lounges to receive feedback on plans for future updates.
“I want [residence] to be a great experience and I want to hear what students have to say,” Storey said.
The Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) was involved with discussing the ancillary budget, according to RRRA president Hyder Naqvi.
“I do think that [maintaining residences] is an important step that we need to take,” Naqvi said. “Students felt that because universities generally raise prices, it felt like a reasonable thing for the university to do.”
While Naqvi said this is a good first step, more can be done
“[RRRA] got a general overview of what [the budget] was, but not the finer details,” he said. “I think funding will be beneficial if we see more money spent on programming, and more money spent on collaboration between RRRA and Housing Services.”
Students who are concerned with the increase in residence fees are encouraged to contact Carleton’s Awards and Financial Aid office or Housing and Residence Life Services for support and more information.
