Students that got an unwelcome surprise two weeks ago when they heard the Alberta Government would be allowing post-secondary institutions to raise tuition are being told their fears may be unfounded.

Advanced Education and Technology minister Doug Horner said reports of huge tuition increases across the board are the furthest thing from his ministry's mind and are the result of the media.

The University of Calgary Students' Union hosted an open debate around the state of Quality, Affordability and the Future of Post-Secondary Education in Alberta on Wednesday. And while the forum touched on a variety of topics, for most students, the main issue was tuition.

Despite an assurance in the Post-Secondary Learning Act that tuition would only be raised by 1.5 per cent, the provincial government has created a loophole for post-secondary institutions to raise tuition in some cases.

The loophole means universities can submit an application to modify tuition costs for various degrees according to market demand. According to this plan, degrees with a higher market demand, such as engineering, medicine or law, would cost more than an arts or sciences degree.

For most, the last day of classes before a much deserved break is a time of celebration. But last month, just as students were waking up, the University of Calgary's Board of Governors voted in favour of increasing tuition by 4.1 per cent next year.

The Students' Union and Graduate Students' Association each made presentations with reasons to not increase the amount students pay for each class, but after relatively minor discussion only the GSA, SU president and Su representative voted against the move.

In what has become a yearly occurrence, a room of some of Calgary's most prominent and influential citizens voted to raise tuition for students at the University of Calgary last week.

The U of C board of governors raised tuition by 3.3 per cent for all undergraduate and graduate students Thur., Jan. 25. The increase was limited by a new government policy which ties increases to the rate of inflation, yet some board members still voted against the motion.

Alberta post-secondary students will have to wait before they can officially celebrate having the most affordable education in the country.

The much anticipated 2007 tuition policy was released Fri., Nov. 3 and announced that tuition for Alberta students will remain at 2004 levels next fall with further increases based on inflation. Though the policy is expected to save university students an average of $3,800 over a four-year degree, in 2004 Alberta's average tuition was still the fourth highest in the country.

The bad news is in, and it's not that bad.

On Thu., Dec. 9 the University of Calgary Board of Governors voted to increase tuition, however the Alberta government has promised to pay for it.

The meeting was held at the U of C Dining Centre as university support staff picketed the U of C's refusal to continue negotiations on their collective agreement. Their chanting provided a noisy backdrop for the meeting inside.

A recent report from the Montreal Economic Institute challenges a common argument made by student associations that increasing tuition restricts access to university education.

In light of tuition rising annually, the U of C is concerned about the nearly $1 million in fees they pay to credit card companies for transactions and the value students are getting from this service.

"As part of this year's tuition fee consultation process, we learned that payment of fees by credit card cost the university almost $1 million in credit card transaction fees," said University of Calgary Vice-President Finance and Services Mike McAdam.

On the last day of classes in December, about 50 students braved the cold weather to protest tuition on the streets of Calgary.

Operation Barricade, organized by Students' Union Events Commissioner Greg Clayton and External Commissioner Kevin Maloney, brought students to the intersection of 24 Ave. and University Dr. NW Dec. 5, the same day as the Board of Governors tuition decision.

Students left MacEwan Student Centre with orange street barriers in their hands, chanting "high tuition has got to go."