Students struggle amid proposed UCalgary tuition jump

University of Calgary (UCalgary) students took to city hall Wednesday, voicing their concerns over proposed tuition hikes.

While their stance maybe isn’t surprising, the struggles some students face are a bit of an eye-opener.

Nicole Schmidt is the president of the UCalgary Students Union. She says the campus food bank is in unfamiliar territory.

“We are seeing increased levels of uptake from students, some of the highest numbers we’ve actually seen ever. Proportionately, there does seem to be more international students accessing our food bank than domestic students,” Schmidt said.

“We’ve heard from students as well that with the tuition increases, they’re deciding what meals to skip.”

The proposal would increase undergraduate tuition by 5.5 per cent, while some international students could see a bump as high as 10 per cent. When combined with inflation and previous tuition hikes, some students are in dire situations.

“There’s been three years of consecutive increases at the University of Calgary. It’s been, on average, seven per cent across the board. And that has really had a massive financial impact on students,” Schmidt said.

Related Stories:

• Alberta introduces bill for $2.8 billion in inflation fighting payouts, rollbacks

• University of Calgary postpones tuition talks after backlash from student union

• Calgary Food Bank’s ‘Stuff a Bus’ celebrates 30th anniversary

Eric Weissman is the principal investigator for a Canada-wide study that’s examining student barriers to education.

While tuition may be one of the leading blockades, he thinks it’s important to recognize the cost of providing schooling.

“It’s reasonable that tuition fees might go up. I don’t know that it’s reasonable that students are expected to pay it. That’s the problem, right,” Weissman said.

As a solution, he points to the Alberta government’s recent surplus, suggesting provincial relief.

“This is a provincial government that’s making huge amounts of money right now. That to be honest with you should be supplementing students tuition.”

Under Bill 2, the provincial government is providing relief in the form of 600 dollars to Alberta families and seniors. Students, on the other hand, will see no such support.

In a statement to CityNews, UCalgary said “a great deal of consideration is being given to the concerns expressed by students regarding the tuition and fees increases.”