Tuition hikes coming for some at U of A, U of C

Students in six programs at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta will see tuition fees increases in the range of $833 to $3,375 a year starting in the fall of 2011.

The increases will affect the bachelor of commerce and masters of business administration programs at the University of Calgary and the graduate studies, engineering, commerce and pharmacy programs at the University of Alberta.

The changes were delayed so they wouldn't have an impact on students currently in the program or those starting their studies this fall, said Alberta Advanced Education and Technology Minister Doug Horner Wednesday.

"Those students made their plans on what they thought their tuition was going to be, and so we're going to respect those plans," he said.

Pharmacy students at the University of Alberta will bear the most dramatic increase, with fees going from $5,177 to $8,552, an additional $3,375 a year. But Horner said the proposal had support from the students' association.

The increases came after the province considered 24 applications from five colleges and universities in Alberta for a one-time hike in fees above the provincial cap of annual 1.5 per cent increases.

Some of the programs that were turned down include the law and medicine programs at the University of Alberta and University of Calgary, and all programs at the University of Lethbridge, where school officials asked for an across the board increase.

The institutions had to successfully argue their fees were too low due to a market "anomaly" which existed in 2004. The province has no plans to reconsider any of the existing proposals or look at new ones, Horner said.

"We stand by our tuition fee policy one hundred per cent," he said.  "All future tuition increases will be limited to the consumer price index, including the six that we've announced today."

Students relieved more increases not approved

The fact that only a small number of increases were approved comes as a relief to students and addresses some larger concerns, said University of Alberta student Beverly Eastham, chair of the Council of Alberta University Students, which represents 70,000 university undergraduates who attend the Universities of Calgary, Lethbridge and Alberta.

High school students and their parents, as well as current students, had been expressing concerns about the proposed increases, Eastham said.

"It's encouraging in some ways to hear that there's a least a small gap until they're implemented so that students can decide whether or not post-secondary education is something that they can afford."

While she's happy the 1.5-per-cent cap has been maintained, Eastham said there are still concerns about the affordability of post-secondary education.

Horner's announcement elicited a mild reaction from one university official.

"It's not a question of disappointment or elation. We wouldn't have been elated if they said yes. We're not disappointed they said no," said Alan Harrison, provost of the University of Calgary. The university had seven of its nine requests turned down by the province.

"We would have liked to be in a position that they believed the case we made was a stronger one and therefore would have been supported but we are where we are and we'll deal with it in term of the ramifications for our overall budget," he said.