Latest news with #UofR
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Classic Sports Moments - Witness a 1993 tournament with the Ohio St. Buckeyes visiting Saskatchewan
Watch The Ohio St. Buckeyes traveled to Saskatchewan to play our own university teams, the U of S Huskies and the U of R Cougars in 1993 for a tournament.
CTV News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
‘ReconciliACTION': What is it and how can you take part?
FNUniv President Jacqueline Ottmann (L) and U of R President Jeff Keshen (R) speak at the National Building Reconciliation Forum on May 15, 2025. (Donovan Maess / CTV News) (Donovan Maess)
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Students' union files lawsuit against University of Regina over terminated fee agreement
The University of Regina Students' Union has filed a lawsuit against the university as a dispute over the student organization's governance continues to escalate. A statement issued Friday by URSU's board of directors says the university is making "unilateral decisions without any co-ordinated input from the student body." The board claims the university is putting services at risk with potential negative impacts on students. Earlier this month, university president Jeff Keshen announced he had terminated the U of R's fee collection agreement with the student union effective Aug. 31. Keshen said university officials had lost confidence in URSU after an auditor reviewed its 2024 audited financial statements and found its finances unsustainable. WATCH| U of Regina ends funding agreement with students' union "The auditor pointed to an ongoing material uncertainty, which in auditor's language means that the financial sustainability of that organization is in serious question, meaning that they may not be able to pay their bills, they may not be sustainable," Keshen told CBC News earlier this month. URSU's financial report found that during the 2023-2024 fiscal year it had posted revenue of $8.9 million and expenses of $10.2 million, leaving the organization in a "deficit position" of approximately $1.3 million. Keshen said the auditors found URSU is "depleting any reserves that they have," and that the university has a responsibility to students to ensure the fees they pay are used responsibly. 'Unsubstantiated rumours' URSU's statement on Thursday claims the university should not have intervened in student governance "absent evidence of fraud." "Despite unsubstantiated rumours you might have read on social media, we do not have evidence that anyone committed fraud or that admittedly poor decisions were made in bad faith," the statement reads. The board admits that its prior record of financial loss is a reflection of much needed change to URSU's governance structure and its internal spending policies. In a statement, the University of Regina said it is "disappointed" with URSU's legal action. "Over the past several months, the University has tried to work with URSU leadership, offering financial and governance assistance. Unfortunately, URSU has not undertaken the steps recommended by the University to improve and address these matters," the statement reads. As a result, the university's administration says, it made the decision to terminate the agreement. The university said that earlier this year it implemented a payment protocol that would allow URSU to receive student fees so that its operations and student services, such as the UPasss bus pass and health and dental benefits, would not be interrupted. URSU has chosen to not engage with that protocol or access the funds, according to the U of R. "The University will be defending the action, and will not comment further while the matter is before the Courts," the statement reads.
CBC
08-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Students' union financial situation is unsustainable, U of Regina president says
Social Sharing The president of the University of Regina says the institution is stopping its collection of fees for the University of Regina Students' Union's (URSU) because an auditor's report showed URSU's finances were unsustainable. The U of R announced the move last week, with it to take effect on Aug. 31. The URSU financial report for 2023-24 says the "union's unrestricted net assets are in a deficit position of $1,368,362 as of April 30, 2024." U of R president Jeff Keshen said URSU has been running increasing deficits. "The auditor pointed to an ongoing material uncertainty, which in auditor's language means that the financial sustainability of that organization is in serious question, meaning that they may not be able to pay their bills, they may not be sustainable," Keshen said. Kenshen said the auditors found URSU is "depleting any reserves that they have." He said the university has a responsibility to students to ensure the fees they pay are used responsibly. The decision to not collect fees will effectively shut down the union. URSU president Mahad Ahmad admitted the union is in a financial crisis, but said the organization has been addressing the issues. He said URSU has made significant changes in the last year to improve its financial bottom line and that will be reflected in the next audit report. Ahmad said URSU has laid off staff to cut expenses and will open a coffee shop soon to increase revenue. Ahmad said the university should wait for a new auditor's report before deciding to stop collecting fees for the union. "Why can't you wait two more months and our own recent audit ordered for financial year 2024-25 will be out and then you can see what we have improve?" Ahmad said. "What we believe is that we will be positive almost $400K this year, [but] only if we receive our funds." URSU put forward an emergency financial plan, but it was rejected by the university. "We were never satisfied that that plan that they put forward, which we actually hadn't really seen much details of that plan, were going to address the material uncertainty that that organization has," Keshen said. Besides the financial troubles, URSU is also facing a student petition to dissolve the union. Keshen said that issue should come to a head in the coming weeks. When the decision to stop collecting fees for URSU was announced, the university said it "wishes to assure students that core student services will continue in the Fall 2025 term, as will the collection of student fees that fund those services." "The necessary arrangements will be put in place over the coming months," the statement said. Asked how that would work, Keshan was not specific.
