As McMaster University shows support for the blue-ribbon panel’s proposal for a tuition increase, student's may find themselves having to pay more in 2024/2025

In Ontario, many universities are currently experiencing financial deficits. Most recently, Queen’s University hired external Nous Group to manage its ongoing financial situation, which has resulted in a hiring freeze at the university. A contributing factor to these ongoing financial crises is the Ontario government's 2019 tuition freeze and 10 per cent reduction in tuition fees.

The Ontario government formed a blue-ribbon panel in March 2023 to address the root cause of these financial deficits. This panel has engaged in consultations with several stakeholders, including Canadian Federation of Students and Ontario and College Student Alliance. They collected in written submissions from groups in Ontario. In combination of discussion with stakeholders and written submissions formulated a report that proposed solutions for both universities and the Ontario government.

One of the solutions for the ongoing financial deficits suggested by the blue-ribbon panel was to remove the tuition freeze and increase undergraduate tuition by five per cent for the 2024/2025 academic year. They also suggested an increase per year, which would either be by two per cent per year or the percentage increase of the consumer price index. In Canada, the consumer price index is meant to look at how prices for goods change over a designated period of time. As of January 2024 the current percentage difference of the consumer price index is 2.9 per cent.

At McMaster University, the standard course load for a full-time student is 15 units per semester or 30 units per academic year. Tuition for an Ontario-resident third-year sciences student is approximately $5,955.30, not including additional faculty fees or student union fees. If the 5 per cent tuition increase were implemented, these students would pay $6,253.07 by their fourth year.

Similarly, Ontario-resident second-year engineering students currently pay $12,109.68 in tuition, which would increase to $12,715.16 by their fourth year. 

McMaster Students Union president Jovan Popovic stated the MSU stands firmly against a tuition increase. He added that the initial tuition freeze in 2019 has been valuable for many students struggling to afford basic necessities.

“We are in a time of an affordability crisis, where it's become increasingly difficult for students to live with all the costs surrounding them. Whether that be food, transportation, just cost of living in terms of housing, leases rent, it's become so increasingly challenging that having at least one thing going for them with the tuition freeze is a serious help,” said Popovic. 

McMaster University provided the Silhouette with a written statement in which they expressed that a tuition increase is important, though they hope that the government will simultaneously increase financial aid, to ensure sustainability for students.

“A modest increase to tuition, accompanied by increases to student financial aid, would help strengthen universities’ ability to continue setting aside funds to support student success,” said McMaster University, in a written statement to the Silhouette.

On Jan. 31, the government of Ontario spoke at a press conference to the recommendations for tuition increase and explained that while domestic in-province students will not experience an increase in tuition, domestic out-of-province students could experience upwards of a five per cent tuition increase.

Popovic believed that ultimately students shouldn't suffer as a result of the financial deficits of the institution. He shared that these gaps in funding should be supplemented by the government of Ontario.

“We support more funding for universities. We just don't support it coming at the stake of students who can hardly afford to live,” said Popovic.

Abigail Samuels, MSU vice-president (education) and Malika Dhanani, Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance’s executive director, shared similar sentiments to Popovic. They stated that this pattern of underfunding within the university goes back almost a decade and has been further exacerbated amid tuition freezes. However, they also noted that the problem is rooted in the fact the government hasn’t increased funding for Ontario universities in that time. 

“The pattern of underfunding from provincial brands has been very prevalent throughout the years. Then what kind of exacerbated the issue was the fact that tuition was cut. . .without the gap in funding being supplemented through provincial grants, it has limited the amount of revenue that institutions are getting for their operating revenue,” said Dhanani.

The government of Ontario recently announced that they will be providing over $1 billion to funding for Ontario universities. From that, $900 million will be pooled into an education sustainability fund.

The Council of Ontario Universities responded to this announcement stating that even though they appreciate the funding, they still encourage the government of Ontario to consider the full extent of the blue-ribbon panel’s recommendation for government-based funding. The recommendation they are referring to is a 10 per cent increase to the current government-based funding, with the same opportunity for growth as the student tuition growth.

Prior to the government's funding announcement, Samuels and Dhanani expressed the urgency of securing adequate funding for universities from the government of Ontario. When universities begin to experience these financial deficits, programs begin the suffer. This includes mental health resources and accessibility services. Samuels commented on the importance of understanding that the lack of government funding has ripple effects that will directly impact students. Samuels and Dhanani expressed that they hope the government of Ontario reflects on the recommendations shared by many of the stakeholders. 

"When we think about the impacts of limited provincial funding, we have to think about the actual well-being, and health impacts it has on students and what that does to them for in the future... I think the idea of increased sector funding always trickles down to ethe unintended adverse impacts we don't necessarily think of, but that have real consequences for students," said Samuels.

In summary, the MSU and OUSA stand against the tuition increase and urge for more government-based funding to support universities. This is an ongoing story.

The Student Choice Initiative has placed many students in a difficult position. How much choice is there when students are forced to compromise supporting student services so that they can save money to mitigate the consequences of OSAP funding cuts and increased financial stress, or vice versa?

The answer is that there isn’t much choice, and unfortunately, it’s still one that students across Ontario will have to make.

The Silhouette has been deemed a non-essential service under the Ontario Government's Student Choice Initiative, putting our funding in jeopardy. As McMaster’s independent student newspaper, we have made a commitment to providing a platform for student voice, expression, criticism and celebration for 90 years.

As students make decisions about which fees to opt-out of, we ask that our McMaster community take into consideration the effects their choices will have on services.

Ontario government releases Student Choice Initiative guidelines

In the wake of the Student Choice Initiative

Vital services, campus activities at risk as Mac students choose what fees to pay | CBC News

The fate of many of McMaster University's clubs hangs in the balance over the next week as students decide whether to fund the clubs and other student activities. Student leaders say the process endangers important student services and could fundamentally change the nature of student life. From Sept.

On June 7, Ontarians will be casting their vote to elect their Legislative Assembly. For those voting in the West Hamilton-Ancaster-Dundas riding, the riding in which McMaster resides, voters have four choices: the incumbent Ted McMeekin from the Liberal Party, Ben Levitt of the Progressive Conservative Party, the National Democratic Party’s Sandy Shaw and Peter Ormond, representing the Green Party.

Each of these parties have a unique approach to three major issues the McMaster Students Union has highlighted in the past couple of years: tuition, transportation and affordable housing.

Of the parties covered, two have released official platforms: the NDP and the Green Party. The Liberal Party released the Ontario budget back in March 2018, which makes up of what the Liberals plan on implementing. The PC Party has not released an official platform since the party leadership shifted from Patrick Brown to Doug Ford, and thus all points listed are taken from press releases or other media outlets and their coverage.

Tuition

In the past few years, the McMaster Students Union has committed itself to advocating for lower tuition, typically through their membership in the Ontario University Student Alliance. OUSA has released documents and blog posts advocating for the lowering and control of international students’ tuitions,tuition freezesand other like-minded initiatives. Previous MSU board members have also advocated for tuition freezes, such as former MSU president Ehima Osazuwa and his Tuition Task Force.

The Liberal Party has committed itself to creating more Ontario Student Assistant Program tuition grants for low-income students to pay the average cost of one year’s tuition.

The NDP, on the other hand, promises to offer tuition grants to all students who are eligible for OSAP. The NDP also plans on wiping any student loan interest either owed or paid to the government by any student who currently holds a provincial loan.

The Green Party plans on offering interest-free loans, meanwhile the PC Party has not made a discernible statement on post-secondary tuition.

Transportation

The MSU has advocated for better transportation multiple times, most notably with their delegations to City Hall in support of a light rail transit. Former MSU vice president (Education) Blake Oliver held multiple meetings with relevant city hall officials during her term to advocate in favour of bringing LRT to Hamilton.

In addition, improving transportation has been a major topic for MSU presidential candidates. Ikram Farah, the current MSU president, plans on working with Metrolinx to improve GO bus transit by extending key bus lines to run later into the evening.

The Liberal Party promises to invest $79 billion into different transportation projects all over the province and match a federal infrastructure grant of $5 billion, of which roughly $4 billion will go to improving public transit.

The NDP promises to invest over $800 million in transit all over the province, but most notably promises to immediately start construction on Hamilton’s LRT project, in addition to a number of other projects all over the province.

Since the Ford campaign has not put out a clear platform, it is still unclear what the PC Party plans to do with respect to public transit. The PC Party does, however, plan on taking a different approach to the LRT project by putting it to a vote, noting that the city will still receive funding for other infrastructure projects if it is voted down.

When it comes to public transit, the Green Party is squarely focused on making it more environmentally friendly and sustainable by phasing out combustion engines, as an example.

Affordable Housing

In the past year, the MSU’s main advocacy team worked extensively on projects aimed to improve the living standards of students. Both former MSU vice president (Education) Ryan Deshpande and current MSU vice president (Education) Stephanie Bertolo worked on projects such as the Landlord Wiki project, aimed to improve the experiences of student tenants. Such problems are a part of the larger affordable housing crisis going on in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

The Liberal Party promises to invest over $1 billion in affordable housing, with the aim of eliminating chronic homelessness in Ontario by 2025. The Liberal Party also promises $547 million over five years to improve social housing to make the buildings more sustainable.

The NDP’s approach to affordable housing is interwoven into their approaches to other issues such as mental health and the opioid crisis, but overall they plan on building more than 30,000 housing units for those marginalized.

To address the affordable housing crisis, the PC Party plans to allow some development in the Green Belt, the world’s largest protected green space.

If elected, the Green Party would institute a rule requiring all new developments include a minimum of 20 per cent affordable homes, in addition to other approaches such as laneway housing.

Each party offers its own approach to addressing the major issues highlighted by the MSU in the past years. If you wish to learn more about each candidate, you may check each party’s website for more information.

NDP    |    LIBERAL    |    PC    |     GREEN

Recently, the Sil took to the streets to find out what McMaster thinks about Ontario elections. You can watch the full video here.

The Ontario Liberals announced on Jan. 20 that they are extending the ‘30 per cent off’ tuition grant eligibility to cover about 5,000 more students.

Co-op students in their final year of a five-year program and students in private postsecondary institutions who qualify for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) are now also eligible for a 30 per cent off rebate on their tuition.

“For co-op students, while their program lasts five years [instead of four], a good part of that is taken up by work experience. When the 30-off tuition program was originally constituted, this was kind of an anomaly that was determined afterwards,” said Brad Duguid, minister of training, colleges and universities.

In spite of the expanded eligibility requirements, provincial student lobbying groups have pointed out perceived shortcomings of the program.

After the announcement, the Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario released a statement saying they do not support the extension of the grant to students in private career colleges and institutions.

“The issue is that the government is funding private institutions rather than prioritizing public postsecondary education and making it more affordable,” said Anna Goldfinch, national executive representative for the CFS-Ontario.

Goldfinch expressed concern over the ministry’s oversight of private career colleges, referencing public scrutiny over the ministry’s enforcement of the Private Career Colleges Act. In 2009, for instance, the Ontario Ombudsman’s office found that the ministry had “inadequate oversight” of Bestech Academy Inc. The owner had falsely advertised the academy as a registered private career college.

The CFS-Ontario maintains that while the expansion of the grant could help 5,000 more students, the funds would be better allocated to institutions’ operating grants toward a 30 per cent reduction of tuition over three years.

Duguid said the Ontario government is committed to providing targeted funding to lower-middle income students in the form of financial assistance.

“We want the funding that we’re providing to lower-middle income students to go directly to those students, rather than the institutions. That’s what’s important about the 30 off grant,” Duguid said.

Spencer Graham, vice-president (education) for the MSU and a member of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance’s steering committee, said he was surprised the government would extend the grant eligibility to students in private career colleges. However, he said OUSA still supports the expansion of the grant.

“OUSA believes increases to base operating budgets is important and that remains a priority for us. That doesn’t mean we’re coming out against the increased Ontario tuition grant eligibility, because it does help students. It’s not necessarily an either-or,” Graham said.

OUSA continues to lobby for expansion of the tuition grant. The grant currently covers students who attend college or university up to four years after they graduate from high school, and those in a five-year co-op program.

“That policy serves as a barrier to a number of students who attend postsecondary education after the four years after high school are up,” Graham said.

“Particularly this speaks to students who have dependents and children. We also see that Aboriginal learners tend to wait a number of years before entering postsecondary education. The grant doesn’t cover those two types of students, who face particular barriers,” he said.

OUSA’s pre-budget submission to the Ontario government also recommends that the grant should offer 35 per cent off tuition, up from 30 per cent.

Currently, eligible students can save $1,730 in tuition on average for degree programs and $790 for diploma or certificate programs. The deadline to apply for the grant for the winter semester is March 1, 2014. According to the Ontario government, 230,000 students received the tuition grant last year. About 310,000 were eligible before the expansion of the program.

This article was originally published on the Canadian University Press's newswire.

A new proposal from the Ministry of Colleges, Training and Universities suggests the province is looking to reduce deferral fees, regulate ancillary fees more and put a threshold on flat-fee charges.

According to the Ministry’s proposal, which has not yet been made public, changes to tuition payment and ancillary fees across Ontario could be implemented starting in 2015.

The Ministry outlined a province-wide cap on late fees and reduction in deferral fees. Student advocates have been outspoken about deferral fees being an unnecessary penalty for students struggling financially and those who receive OSAP in two instalments.

While student groups including OUSA and CFS-Ontario acknowledged the Ministry’s work to address the issues, they continue to push for elimination of deferral fees and flat-fee tuition.

Currently at McMaster University, students opting into an OSAP “Flex Plan” are charged $35 per term in deferral fees.

Non-OSAP students unable to make a full payment by Sept. 1 are charged a one-time $35 late fee on top of monthly interest, which amounts to 14.4 per cent annually.

Spencer Graham, Vice-President (Education) of the McMaster Students Union, said deferral fees are unfair and should ideally be eliminated, not just reduced.

“We believe universities should have flexibility in their funds for students who will end up paying their tuition anyway,” Graham said.

The Ontario government also addressed ancillary fees in its proposal. According to OUSA, Ontario students pay some of the highest ancillary fees in the country. The Ministry proposed to clarify that institutions cannot charge extra fees for credential completion or graduation.

“We’re pretty happy the government is starting to talk to us more about technology,” Graham said. “A lot of programs use technology that charges students extra – if those things are made mandatory, that’s not allowed.”

Both the MSU and OUSA are recommending a 20 per cent off rebate for students who have to buy e-learning materials. Their estimate is that 20 per cent is roughly the evaluation component that should already be covered in students’ tuition.

The MSU’s “Stop, You’ve Paid Enough” campaign launched this fall encouraged students to report and take notice of “mandatory” course materials besides textbooks that they had to pay for out of pocket.

For example, software such as APLIA, CAPSIM and Mastering Chemistry should not be mandated by professors for evaluation purposes.

“To get around the Ministry’s rules, professors can make it an optional part of your grades. For organic chemistry, for example, it’s just not included in your course breakdown so you would be evaluated based on 90 per cent instead of 100,” Graham said.

“You may also have the option to have a percentage added to your final exam…But we don’t think students should have to opt out of assignments.”

Graham said he is currently following up on one student’s report of Top Hat Monocle’s interactive classroom software being mandated in a course.

While many students are required to buy iClickers, the technology does not fall with other e-learning materials that cannot be mandated, since students can still use their iClickers or sell them after they complete a course.

The Ministry’s proposal to put an 80 per cent threshold on flat fees would not apply to McMaster, which charges tuition per credit. However, nine universities in Ontario currently have flat-fee models. The University of Toronto, for example, charges students taking a 60 per cent course load the same tuition as students taking a full course load.