Student wellbeing fee referendum will take place next month

By Prapti Bamaniya

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students will be able to vote from Nov. 1 to Nov. 3 in the student wellbeing fee referendum.

The referendum, approved during the September Board of Governors (BoG) meeting asks to increase the student wellbeing levy fee for all full-time undergraduate and graduate students from $3.93 to $38.83 per term. 

The fee will be adjusted for students taking part-time course loads, according to board materials. 

If students vote to approve the referendum, the university will implement the increased fee starting September 2023.

The increased fee will go toward additional health and wellbeing staff, programming and support to students that will reduce service wait times, improve physical and mental health outcomes and support high-quality care, according to the BoG meeting. 

The fee will also be used to fund the costs of a new student wellbeing centre near the O’Keefe House on Gould Street, a project that is still pending approval of the BoG. The centre is slated to open in fall 2025 if approved.

“The space is envisioned as an opportunity to consolidate all dimensions of student well-being at a single, central location on campus,” according to the TorontoMet Today article.

Students can vote through the voting system on the my.ryerson site until 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 3. 

Those who are eligible to vote but cannot access the system or have other difficulties can contact the returning officer via email at returningofficer@ryerson.ca. 

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of the story included that the referendum asks to raise the student wellbeing fee to $34.90. The school has since clarified that the referendum asks to raise the student wellbeing fee by $34.90.