“COUNTER THE COSTS” CAMPAIGN
July 15, 2021
On behalf of the St. Thomas University Students’ Union, I am happy to present St. Thomas University’s response to our Counter the Costs campaign.
This campaign was born in response to the University’s decision to increase tuition fees by 5% for both domestic and international students. The COVID-19 Pandemic has introduced truly unprecedented struggles for all students. Additionally, the financial crisis of the Pandemic has led to significant reductions in employment opportunities for students, thus limiting our ability to finance an education, pushing domestic students to take on more loans and debt where we can, and leaving international students - who do not have access to these avenues – out in the cold.
The goal of this campaign was to amalgamate and amplify student voices through testimonials, a successful petition resulting in approximately 360 signatures, a letter-writing campaign, and more. The responses from students were, and continue to be instrumental in our advocacy, and were used to develop a series of policy and transparency asks to improve the position of students and the processes that tuition-setting entails.
Below you will find the response letter written by the university, outlining our policy asks and the university’s action plan in response. I would like to thank the university for their transparency and for facilitating this discussion. Additionally, I would like to thank all students for your participation, and dedication to this campaign, we would not have received this response without your commitment.
The St. Thomas University Students’ Union will continue to advocate for accessible, quality, and equitable education for all students, and we will continue working with St. Thomas University to produce this collective goal.
On behalf of the St. Thomas University Students’ Union,
Tyler MaGee, STUSU President