Tuition fees on the rise again, says StatsCan
October 10, 2008
Comments on this story
(12)
Noor Javed
STAFF REPORTER
When Liana Salvador thinks about life after university, they aren't happy thoughts. The nursing student would love to be planning her life – budgeting to buy a home or lease a car. Instead, all she can think about is how she will pay off her $40,000-and-growing debt.
Data from Statistics Canada released yesterday shows the cost of tuition is again on the rise. Canadian students attending university, or taking degree programs in college, will pay 3.6 per cent more for tuition, on average, this academic year compared to the previous year.
The Canadian average for tuition in the 2008-2009 academic year is $4,724, up from last year's $4,558.
In Ontario, students will shell out nearly $1,000 more than the national average, paying an average of $5,643, an increase of 4.7 per cent.
"As fees increase, I just see my future getting really sad," said second-year Ryerson student Salvador, who is working on her second degree. "I have even contemplated taking a year off, to just work, so I can start paying off my debt."
In Ontario, the average tuition increase this year is just under the 5 per cent tuition fee cap the province implemented in 2006 to rein in burgeoning tuition costs.
"It's unfortunate to see the levels of Ontario (tuition) raised to this extent," said Trevor Mayoh, president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, which represents 135,000 undergraduate students.
Ontario's average tuition was the second-highest, after Nova Scotia's $5,932. Fees there actually fell 2.9 per cent this year due to the implementation of Nova Scotia University Student Bursary Trust in March.
"What's rattling for Ontario, is that a 4 to 5 per cent increase annually may lead to Ontario having the highest tuition in Canada very soon," said Mayoh. He's also concerned by the fact that tuition hikes have outpaced inflation. In the past decade, tuition has increased each year by an average of 4.4 per cent while inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, has risen at an annual rate of 2.3 per cent.
The average tuition fee doesn't include ancillary fees for athletics, health services or student associations. On average, Canadian undergrads paid $695 for such fees in 2008-2009, up from $673.
Toronto Star