University of Regina terminates fee agreement with students' union, citing financial concerns

The University of Regina says it has lost confidence in its students' union and is terminating its fee collection agreement with the organization.

A statement from university president Jeff Keshen posted Wednesday said the university expressed concerns after reviewing the University of Regina Students' Union's (URSU) 2024 audited financial statements.

"Over the past several months, the University has tried to work with URSU leadership, offering financial and governance assistance," stated Keshen in the release.

"Unfortunately, URSU has not undertaken the steps recommended by the University to improve and address these matters."

He said as a result the university "lost confidence" in URSU serving and representing students and is terminating its fee agreement with the union starting on Aug. 31.

Under the fee agreement, the university collects fees from students as a part of their tuition, and then those fees go to URSU, which provides student services.

According to publicly available financial statements, URSU reported income of $5.4 million from student fees in 2024.

Financial issues not specified

It is unclear which aspect of URSU's financial statements the University takes issue with.

"The University wishes to assure students that core student services will continue in the Fall 2025 term, as will the collection of student fees that fund those services," said Keshen. 

URSU told CBC the news release from the university was the first the organization had heard of the decision.

Late Wednesday afternoon, URSU released a statement on social media that said "student representation on campus would cease to exist" when URSU no longer receives fees collected in the fall.

It also said that it recognizes "the legitimacy of [the university's] concerns," and is discussing strategies with the University of Regina to resolve these financial issues.

Keshen said in the release that the university is committed to working with a students' union that has good governance and better financial management.

Mikayla Tallon is a University of Regina journalism student and the former editor-in-chief at student newspaper The Carillon. She wrote an article in November 2024 questioning URSU's salary increases for students' union staff and employees of the Lazy Owl, a pub on campus.

"It seemed like the amount of money going towards salaries and wages just kept increasing, even though it felt like the services the students were receiving were decreasing," she said.

Tallon said she was fired by the paper's executive director just about three weeks after the article was published and was not given a reason for her firing.

Union for university workers calls out U of R

The union representing workers at the university, CUPE Local 1486, is calling on the university to take on the payroll of unionized students' union workers, including those who deliver services to students like the Upass and health and dental plan.

In a release sent out late Wednesday, CUPE said the university "completely fails to mention the students or workers impacted by this decision."

CUPE said it represents workers at the University of Regina, the Women's Centre, the Lazy Owl and the students' union. 

The union also said it has been monitoring financial and governance issues at URSU and believes the university should have spent more time developing a plan "that does not leave students and workers in the lurch."