The 'Operating Procedure' and 'Binding Policy' issued by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities establish the parameters for what constitutes allowable compulsory ancillary fees.
They also establish the protocol for increasing or introducing ancillary fees. Government policy requires student participation and support in the development and implementation of institutional ancillary fee protocols.
For a protocol to come into effect, the government requires that "the college administration and student government representatives reach agreement on the text of a protocol."
The government's 'Operating Procedure' further stipulates that "student agreement to the protocol is obtained through, at minimum, the support of the majority of students involved in the development of the protocol, who, in turn, serve on behalf of the majority of students paying compulsory non-tuition related fees."3
The process outlined by the protocol is not necessarily reflected in institutional policy and practice. However, no decision made by an ancillary fee committee, regardless of its composition, can contravene the policy governing ancillary fees.
In other words, even an ancillary fee committee does not have the jurisdiction to increase tuition fees through the back door.
In 2004, the Algonquin College Students' Association agreed to allow the college to implement an ancillary fee that would be used to support capital, infrastructural, and other core spending initiatives. According to the College Registrar, this 'Student Priority Fee' "acknowledge[d] the College's need for assistance and the realization that [the College is] unable to continue to provide all services given the $7 million shortfall that [it is] facing ongoing into the budget process."4
Despite this plea of desperation and the support of the students' union executive, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities rightly refused the collection of this fee which would clearly have been tantamount to a tuition fee increase.
Sources:
3. Operating Procedure: p. 50-51.
4. Algonquin College Board of Governors, Meeting 395 Minutes, February 9, 2004.