Higher education, higher fees

Island community college hikes tuition by two per cent

Students looking to pursue a higher education at Holland College in September will have to pay a little more to attend. Holland College announced Thursday it is increasing tuition by two per cent, effective this coming school year.

The college says the tuition increase is just one component of a “college-wide systematic approach to balance cost reduction and revenue generation strategies in an effort to achieve financial sustainability.”

Ken Heckbert, chief financial officer at Holland College, said this two per cent increase translates to about $8 extra per course.

“The college strives to take a balanced approach to balancing its budget every year,” said Heckbert.

“We are required under the Holland College Act to have a balanced budget and so we try to implement a number of measures on the revenue side and on the expense side to try and minimize expenses.”

As part of that balanced approach this year, as in past years, a tuition increase was part of the solution, said Heckbert.

“We thought it was a reasonable component of our balanced approached.”

Heckbert said tuition costs have been raised over the last five to six years, with one of those years seeing an increase of three per cent.

“We try to keep it as low as we can,” he said. “We believe that (this increase) is a modest increase.”

Heckbert said a new 81-unit residence is self-sustaining and is not a factor in the tuition increase.

The money from this tuition increase will go towards the total budget for the college. Student fees and government funding are the two biggest revenues that help provide a balanced budget.

Heck bert said internationalbased tuition will also go up two per cent, but the international student fee, which is a separate entity, is not increasing at this time.

“It’s felt to be high enough already,” said Heckbert.

He said international students can apply for bursaries, often in their home countries and at Holland College, to help pay for tuition.

Students who are P.E.I. residents can also qualify for the George Coles Bursary and the Island Skills Award, which are two awards offered through the provincial government.

“After you allow for those grants, our tuition is actually very modest, so we don’t think it will impact our enrolment,” said Heckbert.

“Plus, it is our understanding that most other institutions in Atlantic Canada are looking at higher increases.”