Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association Fees
The University of Waterloo assesses these student fees on behalf of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) and transfers the funds to the WUSA for disbursement. Payment of mandatory fees is a requirement of registration. You can opt out of optional fees during the Quest fee payment period only. For the Studentcare-based fees, you must go to their website to request a refund. Refunds outside this window will not be issued, with the exception of extenuating circumstances as determined by your VP Operations & Finance.
Note of Warning: Students taking less than 1.5 credits pay only 30% of the full-time rate of the WUSA operating fees. These students are not automatically assessed the GRT U-Pass. Please reach out to recept@wusa.ca to see if you are eligible to register for the program. Students in 2nd year and above who are enrolled at the Stratford campus are also eligible to opt into the program.
Disclaimer: For more information on fees before the 2021-22 school year, you can visit the Student Financial Services website.
WUSA Membership Fees
These fees go toward enhancing your student experience or representing your voice in University and Governmental decision-making during your time at Waterloo. This includes fun events, clubs, equity and social services, advocacy efforts, and health and wellness initiatives that provide student supports when and where you need them. With these fees WUSA can also provide students with part-time jobs, cover regular maintenance of the Student Life Centre, and legally-required costs such as insurance for student spaces and an independent public audit.
Society Membership Fees
Societies are the bridge between your faculty and your student association, where you can meet new friends in your faculty, take part in fun, faculty-specific events and initiatives, and receive support. Societies are also your faculty-level student government, representing and advocating for you on issues specific to your faculty! These fees are optional but you may lose access to society events and privileges if you choose to opt out.
Society Fees
Note: Fees are subject to HST, where applicable.
Note: If you’d like to opt back in to a Society fee, reach out to your society executives then go to member.wusa.ca make the payment; a surcharge will be added.
WUSA Administered Funds
The Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association Administered Funds are a suite of fees some of which are compulsory upon registration. Refunds are available for some dependent on proof of equivalent coverage. These fees are the following:
Optional Fees
Mandatory Fees
Note: Fees are subject to HST, where applicable.
* You can choose to opt out of these optional and voluntary fees charged to your student account by the opt out deadline for each term.
** You may opt out annually at www.studentcare.ca during the change of coverage period in September (or your first academic term in the year, if that is not Fall term)
*** If you are living outside the Region of Waterloo during the fall term but were charged for the U-Pass on Quest, you will be able to opt-out of the service before September 28th. Click here for more information.
WUSA Administered Endowment Funds – Voluntary Fees
The Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association Administered Endowment Funds are a suite of fees that support student-run endowment funds administered by WUSA to provide lasting benefit to students. All endowment fund fees are voluntary and are considered charitable contributions, meaning that tax receipts will be issued by the University of Waterloo for the donation. You can choose to opt out of these voluntary fees charged to your student account by the opt out deadline for each term. Please note that opting not to pay these voluntary fees will not limit your eligibility to apply to the Endowment Funds individually or as part of a student group.
These fees are the following:
Voluntary Fees
Orientation Fee: First Year Students
This fee is optional at point of payment (on Quest), and non-refundable. The fee may be opted back into for students who have registered for Orientation but mistakenly opted out.
Optional Fees
Note: Fees are subject to HST, where applicable.
Changes to Fees for 2021/22 Year
Some fees were mandated by the Ontario Government to be optional starting in September 2019. This policy was struck down by the courts before the end of 2019. WUSA council decided to keep an optional model and try it out for another year to test the concept. Ultimately the fee review report was presented in spring 2021 presenting the findings that membership fees could be lowered for all students if they were assessed on a compulsory basis and this would also ensure fairness and stability when it came to service delivery and budgets.
Further Changes
Furthermore, Council passed an increase of $5.08 to the Operations Fee to support the growth of services related to the SLC/PAC expansion and the growth and development of new student supports.
Lastly, these fees had normal increases of 0.7% represented by the Consumer Price Index.