CASA Activities

Does CASA lobby provincially?

CASA advocates for its students on the national level. Traditionally this has meant that CASA lobbies the federal government on PSE issues relating to students.  CASA often works at the inter-provincial level as well. CASA frequently meets with representatives of organizations like the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), a national grouping of Canada’s provincial education ministers.  CASA believes that students and post-secondary education should be a national priority, and, as such, we believe the federal and provincial governments should work together to improve our system.

CASA does, sometimes, lobby at the provincial level as well. CASA members encourage their provincial governments to work collaboratively with other provinces and the federal government.  As well, CASA partners with provincial lobbying groups on a regular basis.

CASA has lobbied provincial governments on provincial issues.  One notable example is that, at Quebec members’ request we became involved in the fight against inter-provincial differential tuition at Quebec universities.  We also fought against changes in Alberta legislation to take away students’ rights to representation.  CASA does not advocate for policies at the provincial level unless asked; and then approved by the entire membership.

Does education fall under federal or provincial jurisdiction?

Education, in Canada, is a provincial jurisdiction. While that is fairly straightforward for K-12 education, such is not the case for PSE. The federal government is involved in post-secondary education in several ways.

Like healthcare and other provincial social programs, the government provides funding to the provinces, through transfer payments, for post-secondary education.  Increases or decreases in government transfers have a very real effect on our colleges and universities, and, of course, on students. While the provinces hold legislative responsibility for tuition, one of the major drivers of the tuition increases students have faced over the last decade is cutbacks to federal PSE funding.

The federal government also provides support directly to students. According to the Canada Student Loan program, 42% of students in Canada receive public student loans. Outside of Quebec approximately half of a student’s loan is a federal Canada Student Loan. Federal student loan policies have a direct effect on students.  Who can get a Canada student loan, and how much they are eligible for, is determined by the federal government. The federal government also provides support for students through various grant programs.

An area where the federal government has been extremely active over the past decade is research and innovation.  Through various granting agencies the federal government provides funding directly to colleges and universities for research.

How does a school join CASA?


CASA has always operated under the policy that it should be easy to both join and leave CASA. This means that each member follows their own legislative procedures to determine how they will enter and exit CASA. The membership of CASA approves each new potential member school, in a resolution at a regular meeting, in order to ratify their status as full members. A member may withdraw from CASA at any time provided they notify the Board in writing no later than 90 days in advance and follow the legislative procedure of their school. Members must hold two consecutive votes that are twelve (12) months apart from each other in order to fully terminate their membership with CASA.

Members are required to first hold a vote to revert from full-members to associate members. Members are asked to hold associate membership for a period of 12 months. These 12 months should be used to assess the merits of CASA and to receive formal responses from the Board of Director on the grievances that a member may have with the organization. If members remain unhappy with the organization after reverting to associate members for 12 months, they are then required to hold one more vote to terminate their affiliation with CASA.

CASA Policy

What is CASA’s policy on tuition and debt?


CASA opposes tuition increases due to a lack of adequate, stable, and sustainable government funding. Moreover, we oppose tuition deregulation and differential tuition because we believe that these tuition models have negative impacts on access to and affordability of post-secondary education. CASA also opposes the use of ancillary fees as a substitute for other sources of revenue at post-secondary education institutions.

CASA also believes student debt is too high. We have lobbied long and hard for improved debt reduction measures for students. We have, in the past, asked for improvements to the debt repayment and reduction program, as well as changes to the interest relief program. We’ve advocated for upfront grants for students with unmet financial need and low-income students, as well as for some innovative debt reduction measures to be built into the tax system. We’ve also lobbied for increased funding for post-secondary education to deal with the primary cause of rising student debt – namely, the high cost of tuition.

For more information on CASA’s policies in these areas please visit the “priorities” section of our website at www.casa-acae.com

CASA Structure

How are Membership fees assessed?

Membership Fee Calculation

A full member’s fees for the fiscal year shall be according to the following formula:

Range	Cost per FTE in Range
1 to 6000	$3.17
6001 to 12000	$2.91
120001 to 20000	$2.70
20001 and above	$2.40

 

Membership Fee Structure

Membership fees shall be subject to a maximum of $51525.00 and a minimum of $5000.00 per fiscal year.

Associate members shall be assessed only 50% of the fee they would otherwise be assessed if they were full members.

The Board may increase the cost per FTE or the maximum and minimum membership fee by the rate of the Canadian Consumer Price Index for the beginning of each fiscal year.

Any proposed increase in the cost per FTE or maximum and minimum membership fee greater than the Canadian Consumer Price Index must be passed by a special resolution.

Any proposed variation greater than CCPI to fees must be passed by special resolution and membership must be given 12 months notice of this change.

How can I contact CASA?

We can be reached by phone at (613) 236-3457 and by fax at (613) 236-2386 or by e-mail at members@casa.ca.  Correspondence can be sent to the following address:

130 Slater Street
Suite 410
Ottawa, ON 
K1P 6E2

What is CASA?

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is an alliance of 26 student associations and student unions from across Canada. Through this network of college, technical institute and university student governments, CASA represents and defends the interests of approximately 320,000 post-secondary students to the federal government.

Why CASA?

How Can I Contact CASA?

We can be reached by phone at 613-236-3457 and by fax at 613-236-2386 or by e-mail at members@casa.ca.

Correspondence can be sent to the following address:

130 Slater Street, Suite 410
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6E2

How does CASA ensure my voice is heard, how can I get involved?

Students can get involved through their student associations and unions. There are opportunities to help coordinate or simply participate in awareness initiatives on your campus. Students can also send letters to their Members of Parliament, meet with them, and ensure that they are acting in the best interests of students.

What are the benefits of joining CASA?

No individual students’ union, no matter how big or active, has the resources or the political clout on their own to effectively influence the post-secondary education policies of governments. It is more cost effective for a large number of student associations to pool their resources and to work in partnership than for each to undertake this work on its own.  Being able to pool financial resources with student associations across the country allows an association to get more return on fewer dollars. CASA members are also able to develop national policy that represents view points from students across Canada. And, of course, there is strength in numbers.

Why is it important to lobby for post-secondary education?

Post-secondary education is one of the most important social building blocks of our country. The social and economic welfare of Canada depends on an educated population. As student leaders we need to ensure that Canada’s post-secondary education system does not discriminate against anyone who is seeking a higher education, especially those who face cultural, social, and economic barriers to obtaining a post-secondary education.  CASA believes that any academically qualified student with the desire to pursue post-secondary education should not face a barrier, financial or otherwise.