Thousands of university and college students are back at the books this week but affordability again dots the post-secondary landscape in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nicolas Keough, the director of external affairs at MUNSU, told the Tim Powers Show on VOCM that enrollment at MUN has dropped since the university began increasing tuition in 2022. This year’s group of students will be the third to go to class under the higher fee structure.

Keough says he has heard of some who simply cannot make it financially and choose an avenue other than university.

He says it’s sad that the budget cuts of the last few years at MUN have affected students in this way. He says there has been a drop of a little over 20 per cent in enrollment since the first year of the cuts and higher fees.