STUSTU will be paying more to the New Brunswick Student Association next year.
Instead of paying approximately $9000 to the association, STUSU will pay an additional $180 in the 2016/2017 year, according to STUSU President Megan Thomson. The increase in fees is to account for inflation and is something that is adjusted annually to correspond with the Canadian Price Index.
The increase in fees that the union must pay to the NBSA will lead to an increase in fees that students must pay to the union. Instead of paying $4.70 to the NBSA, students will now pay $4.79 (under their student fees to the union).
The additional money will go towards paying for the operating costs of NBSA.
“It will allow the organization to continue and improve on the things that it’s already doing,” said Thomson.
In terms of increased advocacy, Lindsay Handren, Executive Director of NBSA, is hopeful that the amount of advocacy will increase next year.
“We certainly hope that there is more advocacy next year. We had a lot this year and over the previous year and that’s something we always strive to build on,” said Handren.
The NBSA is a post-secondary student advocacy group that brings student concerns to government and advocates for policy change. Recently, they advocated for the Student Employment Experience Development (SEED) program to stop its partisan system of grant distribution.
The SEED program used to consult with MLA’s to determine where jobs should be offered. This led many people to believe that the process was too partisan, and that organizations who were not prefered by the local MLA wouldn’t receive funding to hire a student.
“The SEED program was designed to provide post-secondary students with on-the-job experience in their field of study, and to improve their employment prospects at graduation,” wrote Handren in a press release. “There is absolutely no reason for such a program to be partisan.”
Applications for the newly revamped program will be available April 1.
