Tuition hikes at U of C delayed following lack of consultation: student union
Posted Jul 26, 2021 1:57 pm.
CALGARY – The student union at the University of Calgary says the school didn’t talk to students about looming tuition hikes and as a result, the province has delayed the increases.
The University of Calgary proposed exceptional tuition increases as high as 30 per cent for undergraduate students in engineering and medicine, according to the SU.
Those hikes were planned to take effect in 2022.
The university was given a 10-month window to engage with students and to prepare tuition increase proposals to the government, but the union says the school only shared its plan for massive hikes in mid-May, six weeks before the window to consult students closed.
The students in the medicine and engineering departments were sent surveys in March but without context or details about what these hikes would be costing students, says the SU.
“The consultation process was flawed, it was forced, and it was done after students had left for the summer,” said Student Union President Nicole Schmidt.
“The SU told university administration and the Board of Governors that student consultation wasn’t adequate. They failed to listen and are now being ordered by the Minister to do a proper consultation.”
Students are now calling for a minimum standard for universities to have to meet when it comes to student consultation and feedback.
