As outlined in the Policy for Compulsory Non-Academic Ancillary Fees, requests for increases to student society fees must be approved by the University Affairs Board of the Governing Council. A referendum is required for all new student society fees, all new designated portions of fees (e.g., a special levy or a fee to fund a […]

Student societies are independent organizations at the University of Toronto. While the the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students is pleased to be able to offer advice regarding referendum questions to societies when such advice is requested, the societies themselves ultimately bear responsibility for their referendum questions and their operations. Student societies are not obliged to […]

Referendum questions that are unclear, or which provide a vague result, are subject to complaint and accordingly can make it difficult for a society to seek the necessary approval by the University Affairs Board.

The OVPS reviews referendum questions to offer advice on the following components:

These fees are defined in the Policy for Compulsory Non-Academic Ancillary Fees as follows: 5. Student society fees may include levies for specific, limited projects, within the University including those for academic purposes. Such levies shall: a. be approved by whatever process is required by the student society’s constitution for consideration of a fee increase, […]

Only non-tuition related incidental fees are permitted. These fees are defined in the Ministry Guidelines as a “non-tuition-related fee which is levied to cover the costs of items which are not normally paid for out of operating or capital revenue”. In terms of physical spaces, that means co-curricular spaces, such as student activity space in […]

The policy documents related to referenda for student societies include the Policy for Compulsory Non-Academic Ancillary Fees, the Policy on Ancillary Fees, and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities’ Guidelines for Ancillary Fees set out in section 6 of the Tuition Fee Framework and Ancillary Fee Guidelines for Publicly-Assisted Universities. While the Office of […]