Breaking down the costs and benefits of CSU membership
Ben Taylor (he/him) // Crew Writer
Ren Zhang (they/them) Illustrator
Part of the tuition we as students pay at Capilano University are mandatory fees to the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU). For a full time student at CapU, these end up coming to $745.66 for the fall semester. Although this initially seems steep, this fee covers a wide variety of services and resources available to students, ranging from discounted internet to free produce and renters insurance. This fee also includes CapU’s health and dental plan, which students who already have coverage can choose to opt out of.
A majority of the in-person services offered by the CSU can be found in LB195, the library lounge, which is also the location of the CSU Member Services Desk. The other CSU-run space is the Maple building lounge, equipped with a pool table and foosball. The CSU administration office, the executive directors’ office and the CSU Maple Boardroom are also located in this building. These spaces are open to students who have questions, wish to share input with the president and vice presidents or bring ideas to share during committee meetings.
The two biggest fees students pay are U-Pass, and the aforementioned health and dental plan. U-Pass is a mandatory fee, so even students who do not take the bus cannot opt out, since universal participation is what allows for the discounted monthly pass that includes all zone access to public transit. The health and dental plan’s full scope can be found on the CSU website, but some highlights include 100 per cent coverage up to $150 on vaccinations and 100 per cent coverage on cleanings at the on-campus dentist located in BR249.
Another service offered by the CSU is the ‘device doctor,’ a program designed to give students access to free tech repairs and support, as well as a way to donate devices in working or non-working conditions. The CSU also facilitates both intramural sports and the clubs we have here on campus. Starting a club can be done via their website, or through the club directory, which provides information about currently active clubs. Room bookings can also be handled through the CSU website.
Although paying upwards of $700 per semester makes CapU’s student union fees some of the highest in the province, especially when compared to other post-secondary institutions similar in size, students at Cap actually receive benefits with a value greater than what they are paying if they make the most of what the CSU has to offer. However, the expenses of the CSU are not exclusively membership services, they also have to pay for administration costs, which includes the CSU Board of Directors.
The amount of money paid as salary to the executives of the CSU (the president and four VPs), has been a contentious topic at CapU in recent years. An article published last year by the Courier detailed the lack of accountability taken by executives in terms of doing the 80 hours of work per month that justifies their salary – upwards of $24, 000 a year.
On July 15, 2025, the CSU Board of Directors put together a five-year strategic plan, aiming to guide the CSU’s direction after the current board’s term is up at the end of the year. One of the items in this memorandum sought to “improve the board’s capacity and reputation for peer accountability.” Specifically, in the first year of the five-year plan, which is the current school year, they aim to “evaluate executive pay and timekeeping practices and implement reforms to ensure members’ trust in these payments.” In this case, ‘members’ denotes the entire student body of CapU, as every student is by default a member of the student union.
This seems like a real initiative for change in holding executives accountable for their work, making sure their healthy salary is earned by being fully committed to bettering student life on campus and fulfilling the mandate outlined for each of the executive roles. But, what exactly will this evaluation look like? And, how will the CSU gain students’ trust that these salaries will be justified?
In a governance committee meeting on October 7, some details of the plan were discussed, and a draft of the minutes were posted. The first item involved the appointment of an ethics, conduct and conflict of interest officer, who cannot have been a “member, director, or employee of the Capilano Students’ Union in the previous twelve (12) months.” This means that the search for this candidate—while needing a three quarters majority vote from the board of directors in order to be elected—will not include current students.
The person who fills this position will be able to “investigate allegations that a director has violated bylaws or policies relating to ethics, conduct, and conflicts of interest, and to recommend sanctions.” It’s worth noting that this position has already existed within the current bylaws of the CSU, and has merely been left vacant. The CSU’s Executive Director Chris Girodat is proposing a search for one now, “in light of accountability concerns across the student society sector.” The salary for said position would come out of the existing legal budget, but it is not clear exactly how much it would be.
This move comes at the same time as the aforementioned timekeeping evaluation, and reinforces the intention of holding board members accountable. How this person will be chosen will most likely not be clear until the annual general meeting scheduled for October 28. However, the executive director notes that “even if the motion is rejected, the policy review will continue, as the officer position already exists.”
Furthermore, during the meeting on October 7, the governance committee went over a memorandum containing preliminary details on the evaluation process concerning timekeeping and accountability. Strategies include a canvassing of other student societies methods of timekeeping and executive pay, as well as a student survey, which will occur on October 20.
In addition to this survey, students will have the opportunity to voice their thoughts and concerns relating to the matter via email, at feedback@csu.bc.ca, as well as through open meetings of the governance committee, “devoted exclusively to members sharing their comments and perspectives on executive pay and timekeeping practices.” This is an important opportunity for the members of the student union to get involved in holding CSU executives accountable, so that the use of the funds taken from their tuition is just, and actually beneficial to the student body as a whole.