Interim president of the group replacing URSU shares goals for the winter semester
It’s been a tumultuous several months, but University of Regina students have a new representative group.
Students received an email on Dec. 16 informing them that the University of Regina Students’ Association (URSA) won a referendum approving it as the representative body.
URSA replaces the former University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU), which moved to dissolve itself last year after a series of controversies.
The voting for the referendum took place Dec. 12-15, and according to the university, the motion passed with 442 votes in favor and 42 against.
With this development, the university administration has pivoted its focus to the new association.
Now, the question that’s on many people’s minds is… what happens next?
The Carillon recently got the opportunity to connect with URSA interim president Matthew McStravick to talk about the group’s plans and goals for the upcoming semester.
In an email interview, McStravick said the 91 per cent “yes” vote in favour of URSA sends a message.
“The result represents a clear rejection of the former students’ union and a mandate from participating students to move forward with a new, more accountable and transparent governance structure,” McStravick said.
The referendum results have made URSA an officially recognised body which allows it to begin negotiations toward a formal operating agreement with the U of R.
The previous group, URSU, had a long list of responsibilities and powers. It distributed student fee money to on-campus groups like the Women’s Centre, UR Pride and the Carillion. It was in charge of programs like the health and dental plan and the student bus pass (U-Pass). It also ran the student pub, the Lazy Owl, which has been closed for a number of weeks.
It’s not known yet how many of these functions URSA will take over. McStravick says the details will be determined as the negotiation process unfolds.
“These negotiations are essential to ensuring that the next generation of elected student leaders inherits a functional, independent, and accountable students’ association with access to student spaces, services, and fees,” he said.
Much of the group’s immediate focus will be on elections, structure and financial accountability.
That will include building out the new organization, establishing a “general council” to ensure oversight and representation, completing official incorporation, negotiating the return of student funds and spaces to student control, and preparing for the March general elections.
URSA has put together an interim executive but says the team will not take salaries. They also said once the new executive is elected, they will be paid less than the old URSU executive.
So long URSU, hello URSA
If everything goes according to plan, URSA will have a more harmonious relationship with the university than URSU had.
Last year, URSU was criticized by students, campus groups, and UofR president Jeff Keshen over questions about finances and governance. The disputes played out in court with several lawsuits involving the parties. Meanwhile, URSU said the U of R failed to pay it money that was owed and that some of the campus groups that were suing it had failed to live up to their responsibilities on audits and other matters.
URSU later held a student referendum of its own that resulted in the organization dissolving itself. That set the stage for URSA to make its move to replace URSU.
The result represents a clear rejection of the former students’ union and a mandate from participating students to move forward with a new, more accountable and transparent governance structure,” – Matthew McStravick, interim president, URSA
Student fee funds will be on the agenda
URSA has previously said one of the things on its to-do list is to access student fee funds and use them in a manner determined by students. Amid the falling out with URSU, the U of R moved earlier this year to take control of student fee funds, which amounts to millions of dollars annually. In the fall term, there was a student fee flat rate of $44.60 plus $5.70 per credit hour, which works out to $95.90 for a typical undergraduate domestic student with a nine-credit-hour course load. Students also pay $90 for the bus pass and $225.85 (for the full year) for the health and dental plan.
With regard to transparency in how students’ fees are used, McStravick points out that once URSA gains access to student fees, all expenditures will be documented and reported.
“The vice-president of finance will provide regular public reports to the general council, and significant financial decisions will be reviewed by the board of trustees, with written opinions published,” he said. “The university is also exploring the creation of a public-facing expense dashboard to make financial information more accessible to students.”
Plans to address student apathy
Student elections on campus have been marked by low turnout. URSA says it’s concerned about student apathy.
McStravick explained that unlike the previous student group, URSA’s executive council is structurally limited in its ability to influence elections.
The “constellation” model of URSA will be operated as a group of student groups and is designed to reduce apathy by strengthening ties between student organizations and central governance.
“Student groups help connect URSA to their members, while URSA supports and amplifies the work of those groups,” says McStravick.
Measure for checks and balances
The structure of URSA is designed with three distinct governing bodies, namely the executive council, general council, and board of trustees, which work together with defined checks and balances.
When asked about the initiatives on URSA’s checklist this semester, McStravick responds that the current executive council is serving in an interim capacity and that its primary focus this semester is on governance and transition. Their immediate priorities include completing the process for URSA to become a non-profit membership corporation, university negotiations, creation of an accountable legislative body, and preparing for URSA’s first general elections that will be held in March 2026.
Plans for academic support
He also shared how URSA plans to help students in academic advising.
He says although it is the faculties and federated colleges that administer academic advising, URSA’s advocacy mandate is “to raise systemic concerns to the university administration and push for improvements” where students are being underserved.
To that end, he says, he’d like to see the re-establishment of trained volunteer student advocates for academic misconduct cases.
“Many students are unaware of their rights or the appeals process, and having knowledgeable peer advocates provides an important safeguard for procedural fairness.”
Final thoughts from interim president
McStravick says all of the priorities mentioned are important but if students are to hold URSA accountable to one outcome, it should be the successful establishment of the general council and board of trustees prior to the transition to elected leadership.
“These bodies are essential to representation, accountability, and preventing a return to centralized or insular governance,” he said.
The new group is encouraging all student groups to get involved with URSA. Group executives may reach out directly at urstudentassociation@gmail.com with questions or to express interest in participating in the interim general council.
