For some time, the College Student Alliance (CSA) has outlined concerns to the Government of Ontario regarding expanding labour costs and the negative impact these costs have on programs and services for college students.
Substantially increasing pay for executives who currently receive generous compensation packages raises questions from students across the province on rising tuition and ancillary fees– are the additional funds being used for quality learning improvements on-campus or to support hefty salary increases? The members of CSA are concerned with the transparency of these decisions. The recent college executive compensation consultation process was dubious as the timing of the process was not ideal in obtaining student feedback; students were on their last day of classes when the consultation opened and their first week back when it closed. Additionally, students across the province are questioning the comparables used by institutions for the executive compensation program.
CSA is calling on the College Employer Council and Ontario colleges to re-open the executive compensation consultations. We also strongly advise that each Board of Governors at colleges across the province motion to oppose these processes and invite student association presidents to participate in the discussion. As education debt continues to increase, students deserve to be meaningfully involved in discussions to ensure an equitable and fair process.
CSA will continue to work with the government and partners to ensure college expenditures are fair, transparent, and accountable.
