Dramatic tuition fee hike recommended for local students at MUN

An influential planning committee within Memorial University is calling for a dramatic overhaul of tuition fees at MUN, including an end to a long-running government-encouraged fee freeze for Newfoundland and Labrador students.

The integrated planning committee, or IPC,is proposing that undergraduate fees for local students be increased to a minimum of $400 per course in the fall of 2021, or a hike of about 57 per cent.

MUN provost and vice-president of academics Noreen Golfman, who chairs the committee,said it's about saving the future of the university.

"[It]takes a critical mass of will and a recognition of the severity of the situation to get people to a level where they realize the future under these conditions is unsustainable for Memorial University as we know it now," she said."And I think we are at that tipping point now."

I understand the general principle is offensive to a lot of students.- Noreen Golfman

Local students pay about$250 per course, or $2,550 for a full course loadover anacademic year, which is among the lowest rates in the country. Memorial is the only university in Newfoundland and Labrador.

If imposed, a year's tuition would be $4,000.

"Newfoundland and Labrador students represent (roughly) 75 per centof the undergraduate student population and therefore rate increases to this group in particular are essential," the report states.

This is the third straight year the committee established four years in response to budget concerns has recommended tuition hikes, but Golfman said they strengthened the language this year to let people know the situation was dire.

The decision is ultimately made by the board of regents, and Golfman said early indications are that the board is favourable to the proposal.

Students, however, will not be.

"I understand the general principle is offensive to a lot of students," she said."It would be great to have free tuition. I don't know if the province has the will, or the capacity to do that."

Even if the proposed increases are implemented, MUN would continue to offer some of the lowest tuition fees in Canadaaccording to the report.

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For the second year in a row, the committee is recommending the tuition fee differential for non-N.L. Canadian students and local students be discontinued, and replaced by a harmonized undergraduate tuition fee for all Canadian studentsto be implemented in the fall of 2021.

Undergraduate students from other Canadian provinces pay roughly $300 per course.

Liam O'Neill, the MUN student union'sexecutive director of external affairs, told CBC News a tuition hike will give young people more reasons to leave the province.

"It's going to result in people who can't get a post-secondary education, it's going to result in attracting less people to stay in this province, it's going to result in attracting less people to move to this province," O'Neill said.

"At a time when our tax base is shrinking, when our population is aging and we have an economy that really needs to be diversified it's a very short-sighted decision."

Newfoundland and Labrador students represent (roughly) 75 per centof the undergraduate student population and therefore rate increases to this group in particular are essential.- Memorial's integrated planning committee

It's the latest chapter in the polarizing debate over revenue generation at Memorialin the face of a shrinking operating grant from the Newfoundland and Labrador government, and provincial policy that has tied the university's hands when it come to tuition fee hikes.

MUN is receiving $308 million from the province this year for operations, with another $4 million to maintain the tuition fee freeze for local students.

Over the past eight years, the provincial government has slashed MUN's operating budget by some $40 million, or roughly 10 per cent.

In addition, the government has also eliminated $10 million in annual deferred maintenance funding.

"There are some buildings here which are kind of borderline unsafe, actually, for people," Golfman said."We have very, very limited capacity to be dealing with what is a growing crisis of the physical plant itself."

MUN has responded by cutting staff and deferring millions in maintenance, and now there are signs that program cuts are starting.

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O'Neill said MUN is stuck between a rock and a hard place with a government that isn't committed to education.

"When you don't have a provincial government that's going to support the resources we need to provide education in this province you're going to see fee increases," he said.

"If we're not prepared to invest in education and to teach people the skills we need for a knowledge-based economy that can get off of our reliance on resource extraction and individual projects that come and go, then this is the direction we're going to go in, and unfortunately it's very short-sighted."

The university wants to use this extra tuition revenue to address the growing deferred maintenance issue at MUN, and bolster a "declining revenue base."

The committee is recommending that per-course fees for international undergraduate students be set at $1,200, which is a slight increase.

The committeealso recommendsa review of student fees to "take into consideration issues of accessibility, competitiveness, equity, innovation, and sustainability."

Predictable annual inflationary increases of at least three per cent should also be adopted, the committee recommends, beginning this fall. This would generate some $1.5 million annually.

Compared with other Canadian universities, Memorial makes limited use of differential tuition by program, even when program costs of delivery vary substantially.

For example, masterof science students pay the same as master of arts students, and there are no differential fees for undergraduate programs.

"Professional graduate programs across the country are increasingly charging differential program fees that reflect both the cost of delivery and the high earnings potential of graduates," the committee's report reads.

Committee wants help for vulnerable students

The committee also recommendsthe provincialgovernment provide financial assistance for students who would be most affected by the fee increases.

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The committee's report comes during a time of change at MUN, with both Golfman and MUN president Gary Kachanoski about to leave their respectiveposts.

Memorialis heavily dependent on the provincial grant, which constitutes nearly 85 per cent of its operating budget. Five years ago, the percentage was more than 88 per cent.

According to the report, "This decline has had a significant impact on all areas of the institution and required that the university consider its future viability, while focusing much of its attention on cuts to spending and identifying efficiencies."

Just over 13 per cent of MUN's operating budget is generated through tuition fees.

Advanced Education Minister Christopher Mitchelmore declined an interviewbut his office issueda statement.

"At this point, I cannot speak to specifics of any changes contemplated as part of the budget process. I will be happy to discuss this further when the budget is delivered," the statement reads.

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