What is a fee-levy group?
Fee-levy groups are organizations that are funded through fees that are collected by the university along with tuition.
Fee-levy groups use this revenue to provide many services, resources and events that the university doesn’t offer, create good on-campus jobs for students, offer meaningful volunteer opportunities that help you learn new skills, and so much more!
What does it mean to OPT OUT of a fee-levy group?
When you opt out of a fee-levy group, the group’s fee that you paid at the same time as your tuition is refunded to you.
Please note that getting a refund from a given group means that you are withdrawing your support from that group and will no longer be able to access its services, resources and events.
When and how can you opt-out?
The Summer 2024 opt-out period is now over. The Fall 2024 period will be from September 17th 2024 from 9:00am to the September 21st 2024 at 11:59pm. The form to fill out to request the opt-out will be available here at the times mentioned above.
For the undergraduate form: click here
For the graduate form: click here
If you did not receive your opt out please email us directly so we can immediately resolve the issue (errors such as incorrect student numbers, wrong student schedules being uploaded and banking issues can cause delays, therefore we recommend you email us if the amount was not deposited into your account), if you have other questions or concerns please email communityconcordia@gmail.com
Please note that this only applies to the groups below, we can’t help you opt-out of any student association, health plan, or university fee
Fee levy information
| Group | Fee Levy (undergrad) | Fee Levy (graduate) |
| Art Matters | 8¢ per credit (30¢ per credit for Fine Arts students) | n/a |
| Canadian Refugee Initiative (The Refugee Centre) | 39¢ per credit | n/a |
| Centre for Gender Advocacy | 37¢ per credit | 50¢ per semester |
| Cinema Politica Concordia | 7¢ per credit | $1 per semester |
| CJLO | 43¢ per credit | n/a |
| Community University Television (CUTV) | 34¢ per credit | n/a |
| Concordia Community Solidarity Co-op Bookstore | 14¢ per credit | 50¢ per semester |
| Concordia Food Coalition | 16¢ per credit | n/a |
| Concordia Greenhouse | 24¢ per credit | n/a |
| Concordia Model UN Concordia Student Nightline | 7¢ per credit 5¢ per credit | n/a n/a |
| CEED Concordia | 35¢ per credit | n/a |
| CURE Concordia | 8¢ per credit | n/a |
| Le Frigo Vert | 33¢ per credit | $1.50 per semester |
| Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) | 43¢ per credit | 50¢ per semester |
| Queer Concordia | 2¢ per credit | n/a |
| Sustainability Action Fund | 25¢ per credit | $1.25 per semester |
| Sustainable Concordia | 15¢ per credit | 50¢ per semester |
| The Concordian | 19¢ per credit | n/a |
| The Link | 19¢ per credit | n/a |
| World University Service Canada | 9¢ per credit | n/a |
What do fee-levy groups do?
Together, fee-levy groups provide students and the community with diverse resources, services and campaigns, including:
• ecological and sustainable development campaigns and projects;
• an international development volunteer program;
• a gender advocacy center;
• a fine arts festival;
• a political cinema series;
• independent student media (television, radio and print);
• a natural food co-op;
• a vegan soup kitchen;
• a social and environmental justice centre;
• a co-operative bookstore.
In practice, the work of fee-levy groups takes many forms, such as:
– fostering a safe environment for LGBTQ students;
– promoting safer, healthier, and more affordable food options on campus;
– providing access to affordable textbooks;
– directly financing students working on projects to improve the environmental and social sustainability of Concordia;
– writing and broadcasting stories concerning events, activities, and student government at our school;
and much more!
In addition to these core mandates, all fee-levy groups provide many other tangible benefits to students, such as:
– meaningful volunteer and internship opportunities;
– meaningful job opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students;
– mentorship from people with experience in diverse fields;
– skills in running non-profit organizations by participation in assemblies or board of directors.
How are fee-levy groups accountable to students?
Our membership base is students who decide the direction and core mandates of our organizations. If a group currently collects fee levies, it is because the undergraduate student body at large had previously decided to confer that status.
Importantly, fee-levy groups are legally incorporated, have a constitution, hold Annual General Meetings, publish annual reports and have externally reviewed financial statements. Key documents and information are posted on the websites of fee-levy groups, for easy access by members and students.
Along with an ongoing public presence on campus (through services, events, campaigns, projects and more), fee-levy groups maintain transparency and accountability to their members. As fee-levy groups, we may be comparatively bigger or smaller, but we each work hard to the best of our capacities to provide tangible benefits to the Concordia community. We are by and for Concordia students and community.
The idea of community
Concordia University, like any diverse, multifold community, is made up of many different parts, all of which are valuable. The entire Concordia community benefits from having vibrant, engaged, and accountable organizations on campus.
Not everyone will access every fee-levy group during their time at Concordia; in the same way, not every student will go to a CSU meeting or a Stingers game. But these services and initiatives are made possible by all students, and they are therefore always available to all students. One of the strengths the Concordia community is that we support projects and initiatives because many students can benefit from them, not necessarily all of them. The principle of sustainable community is that even though I might not directly benefit from something, it’s still worthwhile to support because it strengthens my community, and by doing so makes all of us better.