Page 14 March 4, 2009 = PROVINCIAL/ NATIONAL

Report pushes 25% tuition hike

By Joe Howell - CUP Ontario Bureau Chief

TORONTO (CUP) — “It’s a recession when your neigh- bour loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours,” U.S. President Tru- man once quipped. So what’s it called when you can’t af- ford the education you need to get that job in the first place?

Massive tuition fee increas- es will likely be necessary over the next few years, cau- tions an educational think tank, or universities will have to start slashing pro- grams and services.

A hike of 25 per cent would generate $1 to $2 billion dol- lars, necessary money that won’t be coming from any- where else.

A recent report by the non- profit Educational Policy In- stitute shows that while the recent recession has been tightening belts and light- ening wallets everywhere, post-secondary — education has not even begun to feel

the pain.

Many universities can also expect hiring freezes, slashed library spending,

fewer scholarships, deferred maintenance, and_ bigger class sizes in the years to come, according to a just- released study.

Titled “On the Brink: How the Recession of 2009 Will Affect Post-Secondary Edu- cation,” it paints a grim pic- ture of the future of PSE in Canada, but it also suggests

steps forward.

The report suggests univer- sities and colleges will be battered by converging cir- cumstances, including weak- ened endowments, changing demographics, increased en- rolment pressure, increased operating costs, and _ less- ened government spending on PSE.

Co-author Ryan Dunn says that the 25 per cent number was part prediction and part prescription, and that he des not think universities should choose to cut services in- stead.

“We could get to that point ... people can’t be afraid to touch this politically hot is- sue. Quality must be main- tained, but it costs.”

John Milloy, Ontario’s minister of Training, Col- leges and Universities, told the Globe and Mail that it “is unfortunate if this has generated fear,” adding that

increases coming after 2010 -

would not prevent qualified students from accessing PSE due to financial need.

The University of Toronto assured the Globe that im- pending fee increases would be in the “single digits,” but Dunn says the potential 25 per cent increase would hap- pen “over three years.”

“When you do the math, you’re down to single dig- its,” said Dunn.

Trevor Mayoh, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, said while there are “aspects of the re- port we agree with,” the sug- gested fee hike is “a little bit silly.”

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need to start focusing on those who can’t access

post-secondary education at current [price] levels”

““We’re in a recession; this isn’t the time to raise tuition,” said Mayoh. “We need to start focusing on those who can’t access post-secondary education at current [price] levels.”

Mayoh takes issue with the report’s assertion that aver- age family incomes have increased, and can thus ac- commodate tuition increase. He suggests Ontario’s pro- vincial government should

actually ramp up PSE fund- ing, to ensure the region is ready for the post-recession “creative economy.”

“There is money in the sys- tem that could be re-direct- ed. It’s about being more ef- ficient,” said Mayoh.

‘Dunn seems to agree. He says governments have to make sure they give institu- tions the “resources to han- dle the influx” of students,

and that increased PSE par-

ticipation rates would “allow us to move from more of a manufacturing economy to whatever comes next.”

He predicts that many who lost their job in the recession will head back to college for two-year programs.

Zach Churchill, National Director of the Canadian Al- liance of Student Associa- tions, said in a press release

that “it is important not to

have a knee-jerk reaction to the report.”

He warned that decision- makers might “pick only the ideas they want to hear, and ignore the essence of EPI’s_ solutions, which is that a considered, holistic approach is needed to fix the problems our post-secondary education system will likely encounter.”