UBC is once again asking for student feedback on its proposed tuition increase.
The university has opened up its annual tuition engagement process for 2022/23, starting with a survey designed to gauge student feedback about proposed tuition increases — which quickly drew criticism from students.
The proposed rate for tuition increases mirrors last year’s, with tuition rising by two per cent for domestic and returning international students, and four per cent for new international students (those who begin their studies in the 2022 summer term or later).
For example, an undergraduate domestic student pursuing a bachelor of arts who plans to take 30 credits would face a $112.20 increase throughout the academic year; for a returning international student with the same program and course load, the increase would amount to $822.90; and for a new international student, the increase amounts to $1,640.10 more than past incoming class’.
Julia Burnham, a graduate student and student senator, expressed concern with the consultation process, specifically how it was renamed to “tuition engagement” and excluded the option for freeform comments on the survey.
“This is not consultation, this is narrowly scoping a survey to only permit the type of answers UBC would like to hear,” Burnham tweeted.
The tuition consultation process was reworked after complaints against the efficacy of the process were discussed at the April Board of Governors meeting last year.
In a statement to The Ubyssey, Matthew Ramsey, director of university affairs at UBC Media Relations, said that while the freeform comment box was not available, the university is “confident students have a good opportunity to share their views in the survey.”
Louis Mai, a second-year international student, said the tuition increases for international students are especially unfair, given that course delivery has been online and many international students have not been able to return to Canada.
Students raised similar objections against tuition increases when they were proposed last year, citing decreased quality of instruction and financial strain posed by the pandemic as reasons why they did not want tuition to rise.
Despite 93 per cent of undergraduate students indicating opposition to the increases in the survey last year, UBC proceeded with them.
Mai filled out the consultation survey last year but said he’s less enthusiastic about doing it this year.
“Last year … I wrote a really specific reason why I don’t want it to be raised and why I think it’s unfair, and the school’s reply is, ‘Sorry, we have heard about your situation but we still decided to raise it,’” he said.
Leif Jack, a third-year music student, said that he could see the university’s effort to be transparent in the consultation process, but felt that it still “wasn’t fully open.”
“Our opinion supporting or opposing the increase was literally the last question, so it felt like how we feel about it was an afterthought,” Jack said. “And that ‘selling’ the tuition increase was more important.”
“It’s like ‘Hey, we are going to do this anyway, but we just want to kind of make it feel like you are part of the process.’”
Ramsey cited various factors that are considered as a part of the engagement process, with student input being one of various others like inflation, operational needs, institutional consultation and the university’s strategic plan.
“While we understand the tuition consultation process and the proposed increases may be a challenge for some of our students, we also recognize the importance of providing our students with the supports and services they require and we remain committed to working with our students so those needs are met as best as possible,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey noted that more than 30,800 full-time students received at least one form of financial assistance in the year of 2020/21, compared to 29,400 in 2019/20.
The tuition increases are being proposed during a time of record-breaking inflation, COVID-19 infections and unemployment rates, which is what makes some students see them as unjustifiable.
Faire Jarvis, a second-year student, said that given the primarily online format of courses so far, she feels it’s unfair to raise tuition.
“I think this year, more than last year, I’m doing way more work on my own time,” Jarvis said. “It definitely doesn’t feel like I’m getting more resources from UBC.”
Jarvis also said that it seems like a “hard time to ask people for more money.”
“Everything is inflating but our wages,” Jarvis said.
Jack echoed this sentiment, stating that while he wasn’t personally worried about affording tuition, he could see how students face financial burdens in the form of expensive housing and living costs.
Both Jack and Jarvis felt that UBC would proceed with the increases regardless of student input.
“I don’t think our consultation matters to them,” Jack said. “It’s quite complicated whether you should listen to students fully when they don’t know the full [financial] story.”