TUITION FEES

Introduction

Tuition fees have more than doubled in all provinces outside of Quebec, and average student debt in BC is approximately $27,000 for students completing a four-year program. Tuition fees push post-secondary education out of reach for thousands of young British Columbians, making entry into higher education as much about the size of your wallet as your academic qualifications.

Access is Suffering

Recent studies paint a disturbing picture of the effect that high tuition fees have on access to post-secondary education for low and middle-income Canadians.

According to research conducted by Lori McElroy shows that as students progress through their degree or diploma, those with more debt are more likely to drop out before completion. Statistics Canada has traced a stark gap between those with the resources to afford high tuition fees, and those who do not: young people from the poorest 20% of Canadian families are less than half as likely to enrol in university than the richest 20%.

Reducing Tuition Fees

Reducing tuition fees is the most important step to ensuring that Canadians have access to higher education today and in the future.

Public pressure has led to seven provinces instituting some form of strict tuition fee regulation. The federal government must support these freezes and encourage reductions with increased funding in a dedicated transfer payment for post-secondary education.