This year, graduation gowns in Fanshawe College have become a concern for students; they are being asked to pay to rent their gowns.
This has raised concerns among students, who say they were not expecting the extra fee. Some students say they have contacted the College but have not received a response.
The Fanshawe Student Union has received the students’ complaints, as the College is not replying to some students.
“We are hearing what students are facing and their concerns, and sharing the same message to the college as well,” said the FSU President, Jerry Thomas. “We are continuing to meet with the College on sharing the student concerns with them, so if any student would like to reach out to me, I’m sharing their feedback or concerns, or if there’s any student who needs any support, definitely they can reach out to me and those concerns are being shared with the college.”
“Last year, we weren’t charging for gowns because we owned them,” said Fanshawe’s Registrar, Fiorella Sabadin. “But we’ve had to retire our gown inventory, so we no longer have our own. This year, we’ve partnered with Gaspard. We determined they could support and provide students with individual gowns. And we did decrease the amount. There are some institutions that have higher fees; some of them charge between $75 and $100. We wanted to keep the cost low. So we landed on $35 for students.” Sabadin also said she met with the FSU executives and wanted to support the graduates. And encouraged more students to contact the office of the registrar if they have questions.
Pre-orders of the gowns were $35 until May 26, 2025; after that, on-site rentals cost $65, subject to availability.
Danie Monroy XFM News
