Tuition freeze, heightened fees

Tyler McKay | Contributor

Featured Image: Ancillary fees will increase by 2.4 per cent, while tuition for domestic students will drop 10 per cent. | Courtesy of York

In light of recent provincial changes, the Board of Governors (BoG) has approved the motion to reduce and freeze tuition fees for domestic students, and hike ancillary fees for the upcoming school year.

“For the first time in Ontario, students at every publicly-assisted college and university will see their tuition rates go down by 10 per cent thanks to a province-wide tuition rate reduction introduced by Ontario’s government for the people,” a recent news release from the provincial government said.

As a result, York will “apply a 10 per cent tuition fee rate reduction for domestic students in programs eligible for provincial funding for the period September 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020,” and “maintain a tuition freeze for domestic students in programs eligible for provincial funding for the period from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021,” in accordance with the new legislation.

“As a domestic student who doesn’t receive much support from my family anymore, the tuition decrease of 10 per cent seems enticing. I wish, however, it was 20 per cent because if I take the same amount of credits next year, I will only be saving 800 dollars,” Michael Haslam, a third-year environmental studies student says.

A recent statement from President Rhonda Lenton said: “The reduction in tuition fees comes at a cost to the university, cutting our revenue by nearly $48 million in 2019-20 and over $60 million in 2020-21. The government has not increased public funding to York to address this gap.”

“Achieving our vision and supporting identified priorities may require some difficult decisions, but York’s senior leadership is committed to consulting with students, staff, and faculty to collectively identify opportunities and strategies for responding to the new funding reality.”

However, on February 26, the BoG made the decision that tuition fees will be increased for international students. Fees for international students will increase 10 per cent for the 2019-2020 academic year, and again for 2020-2021.

“The school fees are higher than for domestic students. It’s almost three times more and it increases each year,” an international student who wishes to remain anonymous says.

“If the tuition increased by 10 per cent, I wouldn’t be surprised. But it is stressful and puts extra pressure on me to do well in my studies, and since my parents are paying my school fees, it also puts pressure on them,” they add.

On the tuition decrease and freeze, they say: “I understand that the government is supporting domestic students, but I don’t think it’s fair to have a high increase for international students.”

Additionally, despite recent provincial changes to make ancillary fees optional, these too will be increasing. The BoG has approved a “2.4 per cent increase to centrally collected ancillary fees in 2019-2020, effective May 1, 2019.”

According to the synopsis of the February 26 meeting, ancillary fees will increase from $658.50 to $674.40, “for full-time students enrolled in 30 credits.” This increase is attributed to inflation.

Ancillary fees will increase by the same rate for graduate students in professional programs.

Consequently, some students are not pleased with the impending increase in ancillary fees. Haslam says: “I feel cheated about the ancillary fees because they assume the role of general admission. The fees are usually a couple hundred dollars and we are already paying thousands of dollars to enrol in our courses.

“To me, it just seems like an extra money grab from the university.”