Introduction

Tuition fees are the single largest cost that students face in pursuing a post-secondary education in British Columbia. 

In 2002, the newly-elected BC Liberal government deregulated tuition fees, allowing them to double in just three years, bringing the from the 2nd lowest in Canada to 10% more than the national average ($5,040 per year). The average graduate student in BC pays 14% above the national average, at $6,580 per year. 

As a result of the Campbell government’s tuition fee policies, student debt in BC sits at highest in Canada outside of the Maritimes, at an average of $27,000 for students completing a four-year program. 

Tuition fees push post-secondary education out of reach for thousands of British Columbians from low and middle-income backgrounds, making entry into higher education as much about the size of your wallet as your academic qualifications. 

When asked in a January 2009 poll by the Mustel Group what constituted the biggest barrier to higher education in British Columbia, the overwhelming majority of British Columbians responded that it is the cost.

Access is Suffering

Recent studies paint a disturbing picture of the effect that high tuition fees have on access to post-secondary education for low and middle-income Canadians.

Statistics Canada has traced a stark gap between those with the resources to afford high tuition fees, and those who do not: young people from the poorest 20% of Canadian families are less than half as likely to enrol in university than the richest 20%. Once enrolled, research conducted by Lori McElroy shows that as students progress through their degree or diploma, those with more debt are more likely to drop out before completion. 

In British Columbia, student loan disbursements declined by $56 million from 2006 to 2008, likely indicating a demographic shift on campus as those who rely most on loans cease to enrol.

Education and the Recession

During economic downturns individuals seek to return to the education system in order to upgrade their skills and knowledge to retain lasting and well-paying jobs. With tuition fees at a record-high, it will be difficult, and often impossible, for those who have lost their jobs (or savings) to afford to return to school. Without its workforce retraining to be adaptable to whatever lies ahead, BC’s economy will be at risk.

Reducing Tuition Fees

Reducing tuition fees is an important step to ensuring that British Columbians have access to higher education today and in the future. 

A good lesson for BC comes from Ireland. In the mid-1990s Ireland, with a population of the same size as BC, faced a struggling economy unprepared for the challenges of the 21st century. The Irish government eliminated tuition fees and invested heavily in higher education and research. Ireland’s economy has been amongst Europe’s strongest over the last decade, and its gross national income was the fifth highest in the world in 2008.