It’s been a while since the Carillon had a sit-down chat with the U of R president and he had a lot to say
It’s a summer of discontent at the University of Regina.
The U of R says starting this fall, it will no longer collect student fees on behalf of the students union – leaving various clubs, organizations and benefits in a state of limbo.
Construction and indoor renovations continue to produce noise that is enough to rattle your teeth.
Meanwhile, students got word their tuition is going up by four per cent.
With all that is going on, the Carillon’s Eric Stachowich and student journalist Hannah Scott with First Nations University of Canada asked for an interview with U of R president Jeff Keshen.
Keshen said yes and the interview was conducted on July 16 at CFNU radio station inside FNUniv.
All the services will be there in place … the health plan, the bus plan, the clubs that are approved, all those will receive payment and we will continue to provide those services. – U of R president Jeff Keshen
The situation with URSU
As one might expect, much of the Q & A focussed on the recent turmoil involving the University of Regina Students Union (URSU).
The background here in a nutshell is that U of R has paused forwarding student fees to URSU amid concerns about the group’s financial accountability.
URSU is responsible for funding various services, which include the U-Pass, a bus service that many students use. It also funds the health and dental plan, student clubs, the Carillon newspaper and the campus pub, the Lazy Owl.
In the spring, Keshen released a statement where he reassured students that “core” student services would continue, no matter what.
What are core services?
In our interview Keshen provided some clarification on what will constitute core services.
He indicated it will include the Carillon, UR Women’s Centre, UR Pride, The Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPIRG), U-Pass, UR health and dental plan and possibly some other services.
The U of R will continue to collect fees for these services.
“We’re holding those funds to eventually work with the new student association, or in the interim, provide the necessary funding to cover the healthcare, to cover the student associations, and so forth, to ensure that they’re all … fully supported as they need to be,” said Keshen.
He attempted to reassure students that these services will exist come fall.
“All the services will be there in place … the health plan, the bus plan, the clubs that are approved, all those will receive payment and we will continue to provide those services, ” said Keshen.
A new organization could help alleviate pressures
What future role URSU will have is an open question.
“We want to engage with the new student association or a group that we have confidence in,” said Keshen.
He feels it is important for students to have a voice through an organization that’s autonomous from the university.
The organization would then be able to fund core services and ensure their continued existence.
“I want to underline that all we want as a university is a student association that uses the funds that come from students that they pay, and uses that in a responsible manner,” Keshen said.
Meanwhile, Keshen is calling on students to go out and vote in the school’s elections. This follows URSU executive elections in spring 2025 where the turnout was about nine per cent.
“I also would hope that students really also take it upon themselves,” he said. “Run for office. Make us better. Tell us the issues that really matter to you.”
Auditor finds issues with financial situation
Keshen said that over the last few years, various people have lodged complaints against URSU. But it was not until eight months ago that the university began considering taking action against them.
An external auditor was brought in, who Keshen says made the dire state of URSU’s finances crystal clear.
“Their debt-to-asset ratio had really climbed significantly to the point where we understood that it was 80 per cent,” he said. “That’s a very, very high level. The question is the sustainability of the organization.”
In February 2025, the university held back $2.4 million in student levy money from URSU.
To get that money flowing again, URSU was told, it would need to establish an emergency financial plan to prove financial sustainability.
“That was an inflection point,” Keshen said. “To say, these are student funds. As president of the university, I’m responsible for funds that the provincial government and students provide, so we have to have accountability.”
What did the university consider?
Keshen said the U of R attempted to resolve the issues before it got to the point of stopping the flow of money to URSU. The university tried to establish protocols, including getting URSU to directly submit bills for payment, but that didn’t work.
“They’ve chosen not to present bills to us. They’ve chosen, I think, to claim that they cannot continue to employ many people at that organization. All they really have to do is to send us the bills,” he said.
Non-monetary concerns
Keshen says in addition to the monetary issues, the U of R was also hearing student concerns around elections, governance and hiring practices at URSU.
He also acknowledged that the disruption at the Women’s Centre’s annual general meeting in February involved several students connected to URSU.
The Carillon has reported that during that incident, campus security was brought in and the meeting had to be postponed. In the aftermath, allegations of racism and misogyny were fired back and forth by different parties.
“It was a lot of bad publicity. Not just bad publicity for the university,” said Keshen.
Keshen says he dealt with numerous inquiries from people in the community, who heard about the incident. He agreed that the disruption was not a driving force in the action plan the university adopted, it was still something they considered.
“There’s no denying that the pictures and the videos and the story – that wasn’t a good look for the university. But, the trigger was still the external auditor’s report.”
Keshen noted that even though UR Pride and the Women’s Centre can technically be defunded by URSU, “we’re stepping into the breach to ensure that those organizations receive ongoing funding.”
Lawsuit ruling expected soon
Keshen stated that URSU’s request for an injunction against the university over money concerns had gone to court and URSU has asked the judge for a ruling.
As of the Carillon’s publication deadline, there was still no resolution to that case.
We know that students do face debt. We do know that students are working and … struggling to complete their education. – U of R president Jeff Keshen weighs in on tuition increases
Tuition increases again
Starting in the fall semester, and for the second time in a row, U of R tuition will rise by four per cent. For a typical full-time arts student, that fall hike works out about $300 more.
“It’s not ideal,” Keshen said.
Tuition is a primary source of revenue for the institution, and it’s a necessary increase, he said. Still, he acknowledges that students struggle and the burden of balancing finances and education can be difficult. He says the university has fallen short on scholarship opportunities for students in the past.
“We know that students do face debt. We do know that students are working and … struggling to complete their education,” Keshen said.
He’s also concerned that higher tuition is going to affect the university being competitive with other post-secondary institutions, as some prospective U of R students may choose to attend elsewhere.
Is the construction ever going to end?
Anyone walking around the campus these days is likely to hear the sounds of drilling, hammering and sawing.
The noise and constant construction as restaurant expansions and other work continues is frustrating, says Keshen, who has been keeping an eye on how things are progressing.
He says work on the “Pit” located in the Administrative-Humanities building will be completed in September. Trifon’s Pizza in the lab building, along with the Patio, will be open in the middle of August. In the second to third week of September Da India Curry House will be open. Work on Liang’s Kitchen will be delayed by a few months,
Keshen says he hopes that the boarded-up areas around the Riddell Centre will be down by the beginning of September.
“They are taking a little bit longer than what we had hoped for initially,” he said.
