Student union worried as U of S hikes tuition 4.8%

Attending the University of Saskatchewan is about to get more expensive.

The university’s board of governors last month approved an average tuition hike of 4.8 per cent for the 2018-19 school year, more than double the 2.3 per cent increase announced early last year.

Tuition for arts and science students — just under half of the university’s 17,000 undergraduates — is poised to jump 4.7 per cent, meaning the cost of two terms will rise to $7,065 from $6,751, not including student fees.

Those studying education, law, medicine and veterinary medicine will be hit hardest; their tuition rates will climb five per cent. Pharmacy students get the best deal with a two per cent increase.

While the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU) is raising concerns about the increasingly high cost of postsecondary education, the university ’s provost said he doesn’t believe it’s becoming less accessible.

“If you’re good enough to be here at the University of Saskatchewan, we’re going to get you here — we have to make sure that occurs,” Tony Vannelli said Wednesday in an interview.

According to the university, about $64 million will be returned to students next year through scholarships, bursaries and credits. Vannelli said that is 50 per cent above 2011 levels and more than the median provided by competitor schools in Canada.

“At the same time, we always will work with the students and student leaders to deal with accessibility, and make sure that postsecondary education is accessible to the very best (who) should be here,” he added.

Deena Kapacila, the USSU’s vice president of operations and finances, praised the university’s efforts to consult students, but said the student union is still “really concerned” about the effect of the rate hike on some undergraduates.

“We’re seeing a shift where students are in a position where they have to take on a lot more debt than they may have traditionally been able to, and also in an economy where they’re not guaranteed a job afterwards,” she said.

The U of S sets tuition based on three main factors: program quality, comparisons with other similar schools and accessibility and affordability.

This year, it also added three months to the tuition rate consultation period.

Vannelli acknowledged the importance of the provincial government, which provides about a third of the university’s $500-million operating budget, but said it was vital to set tuition based on principles and consultation rather than be reactive.

The university is also working to make tuition increases more predictable by working in three- or four-year cycles, so students have a clearer financial picture when selecting a school or program, he added.

Kapacila called on the Saskatchewan Party government — which carved $18 million from the university’s $312 million operating grant in its 2017-18 budget — to boost funding above pre-reduction levels.

The provincial government has not hinted what Donna Harpauer’s first budget as Finance Minister will contain. Vanelli said he didn’t know but confirmed the university is budgeting based on its previous forecast of a zero per cent increase.

“To even increase it by what we were cut by last year doesn’t equate to us being in the black,” Kapacila said.