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Canadian full-time students in undergraduate programs paid 4% more on average in tuition fees for the 2010-11 academic year than they did a year earlier.
Ottawa (17 Sept. 2010) - More than 90% of university students are paying higher tuition fees this fall, according to a new report by Statistics Canada. This follows the news that the government of Canada expects federal student debt to surpass $15 billion this fall.
The 4% rise is an increase from 2009-10 when tuition fees rose 3.6%. In comparison, inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.8% between July 2009 and July 2010.
On average, undergraduate students paid $5,138 in 2010-11 tuition fees compared with $4,942 a year earlier.
"Canada is on the verge of bankrupting a generation," says David Molenhuis, national chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). "A lack of government investment has left students and their families footing the bill for Canada's universities."
On average, undergraduate students in Ontario paid the highest fees ($6,307) followed by students in New Brunswick who paid an average of $5,516. At the national level, graduate students faced larger tuition fee increases than undergraduate students.
Molenhuis says maintaining a strong economy depends on a highly educated workforce.
"The absence of a national vision for post-secondary education has left Canada with a patchwork of different policies. This is no way to deliver higher education," he adds
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