Your Voice Matters: WUSA’s Role in Co-op Fee Advocacy and Upcoming Director Booths

Here at WUSA, we understand that for many Co-op is a large part of their undergraduate experience. With over 70% of Waterloo students being enrolled in the co-op program, it is imperative that these students feel heard, and advocated for. For those who are enrolled in the co-op program at Waterloo, student fees are built in to your tuition to fully fund to help aid the cost of running the program.  

These fees are consistently re-evaluated by the program, and changes to student co-op fees are made in accordance with projected costs. As of 2024, The Office of Cooperative and Experiential Education (CEE) proposed a 10% increase to the co-op fee. This would greatly impact students, taking their co-op fees from $786, and increasing it to $864 per term.  

WUSA recognized that the $78.60 increase in co-op fees would increase the financial stress on students. This is why WUSA President and Vice President began their advocacy efforts for a fee rollback.  

Due to WUSA’s commitment to hearing the voices of students and bringing forth concerns to the board, The Board of Directors held a booth in SLC Marketplace to hear students’ opinions on co-op and the increase in fees. After hearing the voice of the student body, WUSA was able to help be a part of the fee rollback efforts, which successfully lowered the co-op fee increase from 10% to 4% for the 2025-2026 school years. 

Hearing the voices of the students is a large part of WUSA’s mission. It is essential to create a safe and welcoming space for students to speak freely about their concerns.  

This is why WUSA has decided to introduce weekly director booths for the Winter 2025 academic term. These weekly booths will provide students with an opportunity to speak directly with members of the WUSA Board of Directors about a selected topic for the week. This will allow WUSA to gain a deeper understanding of students’ needs and concerns regarding the weekly topic, and allow us to tailor our advocacy efforts accordingly.  

All Director Booths will occur from 11am-2pm in the SLC Marketplace. We highly encourage you to come out and voice your opinions on the selected weekly topic, which will be displayed at the booth each week. This will help ensure that your voice is hear, as every student matters. 

Additionally, a great way to get involved and have your voice heard is by attending The Co-op Experience Roundtable, hosted on January 20th, between 5:30-7:00 PM. This is a walk-in event where you can share your experiences directly with The WUSA Board of Directors. Here, you can talk about your co-op experience, ask questions about co-op fees, talk about how to make the co-op experience better for students, and more! The Board of Directors looks forward to hearing from YOU! 

Student advocacy WORKS, and we want you to be a part of it!  

Alexandra Minard 

Communications Assistant