UTMSU and UTMAGS among fee hikes

The Campus Affairs Committee on February 13th approved an increase in compulsory non-academic incidental fees and reviewed mental health initiatives at UTM.

The increases beginning in Fall 2018 will include an increase for the UTM Association of Graduate Students Fall/Winter (full time students only) U-Pass of $10.83, as well as an increase in their Summer Transit U-Pass (full-time only) of $6.66. The UTMSU Mississauga Transit U-Pass will show an increase of $8.12 for the Fall/Winter session, and an increase of $9.43 in the summer 2018 session.

There will also be an increase of $0.01 per session in the On Campus First Aid Emergency Response (ECSpeRT). Other increases include $0.02 per session in the Academic Societies portion, an increase of $0.01 per session in the Food Bank portion, an increase of $0.02 per session in the Student Refugee Program.

The university has a contract with the City of Mississauga that results in necessary increases in fees every year. The increase in the U-Pass is now at seven per cent rather than nine per cent.

UTMSU’s executive director Munib Sajjad said that they are campaigning for a GTA U-Pass. UTMSU hopes to get the government’s help to improve transit. He added that the pass is important because UTM has students commuting from widely different areas in the GTA, and the campus should be made more accessible for all of them.

Andrea Carter, UTM’s assistant dean, spoke about the importance of the Health and Counselling Centre and the Accessibility Centre.

“We believe that these services are very important to create healthy and successful students, and ultimately healthy and successful graduates. This is just as core to a student’s success as academics,” Carter said.

Carter stated that successful students have certain traits that help them achieve that success, namely time management skills and resiliency. She noted that resiliency is an attitude that helps students deal with stressful situations in an adequate way. These students prioritize academic success, and have strong social networks.

According to Carter, students who are not successful in academics are those who do not have strong social support and may feel isolated, which can lead to feelings of anxiety.

One initiative that Carter highlighted was the Health and Counselling Centre’s blog that is run by peer health outreach individuals who look at wellness at UTM. They give tips and techniques to students about wellness.

Carter stated that the Psychology department has undertaken a research initiative that will measure students’ sense of wellbeing in entering into the intake process of counselling. The research will be looking at how students can build resiliency through counselling. She stated that being successful involves saying no to things, and keeping in mind that as a student you cannot do everything.

The next Campus Affairs meeting will be held on March 29th.