University of Regina terminates fee agreement with students’ union

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The University of Regina (U of R) says it has “lost confidence” in the students’ union and will stop collecting fees for the organization in August. 

The decision comes after repeated failed attempts to work with the University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU) over the past few months to address financial and governance concerns, said U of R president and vice-chancellor Jeff Keshen in an email to students on Wednesday. 

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“Unfortunately, URSU has not undertaken the steps recommended by the University to improve and address these matters,” Keshen wrote. “As a result, the University has lost confidence in URSU’s ability to serve and represent the University’s students.” 

The U of R levies and collects student fees on behalf of URSU, which provides services to students like health and dental benefits and transit passes.  

According to Keshen, the university raised the issues with the union after reviewing its 2024 audited financial statements.

URSU addressed the situation in a social media post on Wednesday.

“URSU has been engaged in discussion with the University of Regina on strategies to resolve these issues and we recognize the legitimacy of their concerns,” states the post. “Our hope was and still is to negotiate a resolution with the University of Regina that restores confidence to the (student) body and our partners on campus while ensuring the independence of student governance. We are still investigating our options to respond to the notice and have no further comment at this time.”

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Running a growing deficit 

The decision to terminate the agreement effective Aug. 31 was not made lightly, Keshen said.

“We value and respect the independence of student associations,” he wrote. “The University remains committed to working in good faith with a student union that demonstrates a commitment to good governance and sound financial management.” 

According to publicly available financial statements, URSU has been in a deficit position since 2022, increasing year over year. The union’s most recent audited financials show a $1.36-million deficit as of 2024.

Keshen said in his email that core student services will continue in the fall 2025 term, “as will the collection of student fees that fund those services.” The agreements needed to do so will be put in place over the coming months, he noted. 

“We are aware that steps are being taken by URSU’s student members that may result in changes to how student views are represented at the University of Regina,” wrote Keshen. “It is critical for that process to be driven by and for students and we hope that it leads to a sustainable path forward to an effective and accountable student representative organization.” 

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Public disputes 

This is the latest in a series of public disputes involving the students’ union. URSU and the U of R Women’s Centre have been at odds since December, when the executive director of the Women’s Centre spoke out against a referendum motion passed by URSU’s board to consider discontinuing student fees collected to fund the centre. 

The referendum has since been paused but was sought following claims by URSU that the Women’s Centre is not in compliance with its service agreement. The centre denies this claim.  

In early March, UR Pride Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity said it has not received any student fees for last year from URSU, putting at risk the centre’s ability to keep its doors open in the future. 

The holdout is believed to be part of a dispute over UR Pride’s non-compliance with its service and support agreement, which the centre has been attempting to resolve since last January. 

UR Pride filed a legal claim against URSU for those fees in Regina’s Court of King’s Bench in February. 

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— with files from Larissa Kurz 

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