University of Windsor tuition fees increase for international students

International students, many already struggling during the COVID pandemic, are concerned after the University of Windsor increased tuition fees for the upcoming summer semester.

Tanay Jivani, a first-year master of electrical and computer engineering student in Windsor, said he was shocked when he opened his student email account and saw the increase in fees.

“The university is not thinking about people like me,” he said.

Jivani, an international student from India, said he would have prepared if he knew the fees were going to increase, but said he was given no notice by the school.

According to Chris Busch, vice-president of enrolment at the University of Windsor, students are notified of fee changes when they register for the semester.

For Jivani, tuition fees increased from $7,000 in the winter semester to $8,500 in the summer semester.

On behalf of students, the Graduate Student Society wrote to university administration asking for fees to be reduced. But there was no response to the request from the university, according to Jivani, who helped write the letter.

“I have only one option, to wait for the university to reconsider the decision they have made,” he said.

A change.org petition calling on the University of Windsor to reduce international student tuition fees had more than 1,300 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

Manu Jumar, another international student from India in the master of engineering program, also saw his fees increase from $7,000 to $8,500 for the summer semester.

The increase will use up most of what he had left in his guaranteed income certificate — a deposit international students must make to prove they can pay tuition fees — leaving him short for groceries and rent.

“I won’t be able to bear it,” he said, adding he may have to drop some classes if the increased fees remain.

The payment deadline for the summer semester is May 15.

Domestic students experienced a freeze in tuition in 2018-19 when Doug Ford’s provincial government imposed a 10 per cent cut in tuition.

The fees for this upcoming year were to remain the same as in the 2019-20 academic year for incoming and returning students. These guidelines “are being adhered to,” according to Busch.

However, these guidelines only apply to students who are eligible for funding from the province — not international students.

“The fee structure for international students can change on an annual basis upon approval of the University of Windsor’s board of governors,” said Busch in an email.

“The fees for these programs are scheduled to increase in response to market demand and to ensure we remain competitive with other provincial, national and international institutions that offer similar programs.”

Busch said the school will “remain flexible with students who are experiencing difficulty” by not immediately charging interest on late payments, and by making funds available through the school’s student emergency relief fund.

Busch added there aren’t a lot of savings for the university in providing online courses, because they are still taught by highly paid faculty.

“I think a lot of people view online education as an inferior mode to the traditional one,” said Busch. “It’s our intention to offer the best online experience students would expect from us, with the same learning objectives and the same experience.”