Nipissing University wins gold medal; defends provincial championship

For Immediate Release

For the 3rd year in a row Nipissing University has won the coveted gold medal in the province’s most controversial event among post-secondary students: tuition fee increases. Incoming first year students will be drinking fewer Tim Horton's coffees in order to pay $195.00 more in first year tuition fees than their now second year colleagues compared to one year ago (based on 30 credit course load).

Tuition increased from $4,315.00 to $4,510.00 this year. This fee increase is the maximum allowable under the provincial funding rules (approximately 4.5% each year). This maximum increase has occurred each year since Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the removal of the freeze on tuition fees during the 2005/06 academic year. Since this announcement, tuition fees have increased by $560.00 at the maximum rate permitted each year.

Professional Students Paying More

Students who are in professional schools such as Business, Nursing, Computer Science, and Graduate studies will be paying significantly more for their education. Tuition fee increases of approximately 8% will be experienced by these folks. As it turns out, deciding to get an education earlier in life than later actually is cheaper.

Future Outlook Bleak

There are no signs that tuition fees will be decreasing in the near future. A press release issued by Nipissing University in May 2008 announced the approval of a near $58.4 million deficit budget for the upcoming year. You can read the release at nipissingu.ca/news. In the release it is quoted that “the approved budget will allow the university to sustain the quality of education that it provides to students and, at the same time, continue to grow its capacity.”

In other words, more students will continue to be accepted to Nipissing University at an increased rate in the near future, but the quality of education will not be increasing at the rate of 4.5% or 8% like tuition fees are currently.