BUDGET HISTORY: Brace yourselves, tuition is going up… again.

By Chris Herard

In a meeting last week, the Planning and Finance Committee approved an increase in next year’s tuition to the tune of approximately $220 per full time student.


“We realize it’s a problem,” said Jason Allen, president of the University of Calgary Students’ Union. “There was no time to consult effectively on this one.”


The extra money will go into the university’s general operating fund to help make up money lost to provincial government cuts.


“(We are looking for) ways in which we can have a balanced budget” said Murray Fraser, U of C president. We’re not just hiking tuition fees and doing nothing else.”


While SU fees will again remain unchanged for the upcoming year according to Allen, registration and transcript fees will be raised.


Allen blames the tuition increase on “society’s (lack of) commitment to post-secondary education,” and promised there will be an improvishment in consultation with the students for the following years’ tuition.


The consultation will probably take place in the form of town hall meetings and student advisory committees, among other things according to Allen.


As well as including students in the decision-making process, the additional consultation will forecast tuition for the next three years–allowing students to make financial plans.


Allen said the promise of more consultation is a step in the right direction, and will give “a better chance of (student’s) views being heard.”


Allen noted that the current PFC is mostly made up of “rich oil men” and other “old” people that don’t have a lot to do with the university.