Memorial University has confirmed tuition fees are going up to account for a nearly $70-million cut to grants received from the province over the next five years.
The writing was on the wall following recommendations in the Greene report to make MUN leaner and more efficient.
With that in mind, new full-time domestic students will pay $600 to register per course, more than double the $265 that would’ve been paid this year.
The big jump applies to new students enrolling next fall, while students who are already in the system will see incremental increases of four per cent every year until 2025-26 when MUN turns 100 years old.
For new international students, the increase will be almost $900—from $1,100 to $2,000—next year. Graduate program tuition will not change and med students are not part of the plan.
The tuition increases are modeled on the assumption that MUN enrolment will drop by about 20 per cent over the next year or so in the initial fallout of the higher tuition.
MUN president Vianne Timmons says the decision to increase fees was not taken lightly, adding the goal is to continue to ensure MUN has the most affordable fees in the Atlantic region.
Changes take affect in 2022. MUN says fees still best deal in Atlantic Canada. @VOCMNEWS
— Brian Callahan (@briancallahan67) July 9, 2021
Memorial University Vice President Finance Kent Decker says the $68.4-million tuition increase offset provided to the university by government will be taken back over the next five years.
That means, says Decker, the end of government support for the current tuition freeze, and a rollback of funding for the freeze in previous years.
“So it’s not an end of the tuition freeze from now going forward, it’s a reversal of the monies that were provided in previous years. In essence it’s a retroactive change to the policy.”
Decker says the tuition changes MUN is bringing forward are intended to offset the reduction in government funding.
“The changes have no amounts built-in to provide additional resources for the university” says Decker.
MUNSU says Increase Will Dull University’s Competitive Edge
“This is essentially taking the university, and completely taking away its competitive edge.”
Katherine McLaughlin of the Memorial University Students’ Union says the numbers are “staggering.”
She says instead of incremental changes, the university is going for a “drastic” jump.
She challenges the university’s contention that MUN tuition will remain the cheapest in Atlantic Canada.
For international students, Memorial will become one of the most expensive universities in Atlantic Canada says McLaughlin, while for domestic students, the difference is only in the range of $200 to $300.
Earlier Story
The announcement was made this morning at a news conference called by MUN President Vianne Timmons.
The Board of Regents last night approved the plan which comes into effect next year.
New domestic undergraduate tuition will be $600 per course effective in the fall of 2022. International undergraduate tuition will be $2,000 per course.
The same changes apply to Marine Institute diploma and postgraduate certificate courses.
The four per cent increase will be implemented every fall, beginning in 2022 until 2025.
No other fees are affected by the changes.
Timmons says the decision to increase tuition fees was not made lightly and even with the changes, tuition at MUN will still be lower than that in other Atlantic provinces.
Education Minister Tom Osborne, reacting to the post-secondary review earlier this spring, indicated that the tuition freeze has cost taxpayers $700 million dollars since 2005. The spring budget outlined a plan to make Memorial University more autonomous by phasing out the tuition offset provided to MUN over the next five years.
MUNSU has been outspoken in opposing any possible change in tuition.
