Tuition Fees in Canada - Example

Utong Awaji-Imam Morrison 200312323 Economics 280: Writing for Economists Tuition fees in Canada have been increasing over the years with 1990’s being the period that experienced the highest tuition rate increase with 1991/1992 experiencing 16.7% tuition increase rate. The causes of the increase include reduced government spending in education, high dependence on tuition for revenue by universities, augmented demand for education, increased cost of living, and inflation. The effects of increased tuition rates include high dropout rates, increased participation in the labor market, and middle and low income households are unable to access education. Other effects include increased students debts and social inequality. The study recommends reducing tuition fees through making Saskatchewan a low tuition province and making tuition 15% of university revenue. Index Introduction 1 Education, 4 Good Education 4 Enrolment overview 4 Cost of Good education, 7 Historical trend analysis, 7 Historical tuition standards, 8 Analysis, 8 Government spending in university education, 9 Inflation, 9 Cost of living, 9 Student debts, 10 Labor market, 10 Equity, 10 University, 11 Low tuition province, 11 HIGH TUITION FEES AND ITS EFFECTS IN CANADA THESIS: WHY IS THE COST OF ACQURING GOOD EDUCATION INCREASING OVER TIME? 1. Introduction Education involves formal learning where skills, knowledge, beliefs, habits, and values are transferred from one generation to the proceeding one through discussion, training, teaching, storytelling, and research1. Education also comprises information transfer of knowledge from one person to the other including apprenticeship and other informal learning methods. Pedagogy entails the art and science of understanding of education and teaching. Education is divided into different stages depending on the age of the learners from preschool, primary, secondary, college, university, and apprenticeship. University education is further divided into undergraduate and graduate levels with the option of international students going to other countries to access education. This study aims at understanding the reason for the cost of acquiring good education increasing over time. Good education involves an education that is directed to the human personality development in full and strengthening the respect for human rights and promotes fundamental freedoms. Good education must have the ability of promoting goods relations among learners, countries, and prepare one for access to opportunities in global scale and be able develop a learner’s culture to maintain peace, religious and racial tolerance. The other importance of acquiring good education is that it allows the learners to acquire knowledge and skills, develop character, and understand the behavior congruent with changing economic and environmental conditions within the society. The other importance of a good education is the development of the whole person and the creation of employment opportunities for the learners. Good education also allows students to have good communication skills that have been necessitated by globalization allowing them to access job opportunities I a global scale. Ability to interact with global populations, developing access to new opportunities from learning in different regions of the world, and meeting new challenges effectively are the other benefits of good education accrued by learners. A good education is therefore a medium of reducing barriers to global interaction, promoting understanding and gaining of knowledge, and developing a whole person able to work in global positions and locations for the benefit for his/her country and the world. Enrollment overview Analyzing tuition fees in early 1990s in Saskatchewan There were different rates of increase of tuition fees for undergraduate, graduate, and international students as depicted in the following analysis. Undergraduate students in the 1990’s witnessed double-digit increase in tuition fees with the tuition fees in 1990/1991 at $1,464 representing 15.2% increase2. In 1991/1992, tuition fees increased by 16.5% being the highest rate of increased in the 1990’s as depicted by the following graph showing the different rates over the years, The average annual rate of tuition fees for undergraduate students between 1990/1991 and 2003/2004 is 8 % depicting the high rate of tuition fee increase for undergraduate students3. Comparing the rate of increase in tuition fees with the inflation rates shows that the rate of tuition fees is four times greater than the average inflation rate of 1.9% shown by the consumer price index. Graduate students have a 13% average rate of increase in tuition fees in the 1990’s. The graduate tuition fee increases rate is higher than undergraduate by 5% depicting the high increase in tuition fees for graduates in Canada. International student’s fees in Canada were much lower than the current rate and have been a case of increasing in affordability of international students accessing education opportunities in Canada. Analyzing the recent escalation in tuition fees Background Cost of good education The cost of good education entails the sacrifices that have to be made by a student in both monetary and nonmonetary terms to access quality education. Monetary costs of good education include tuition fees, amount of money used in purchase of books, travelling, supplies, equipment, payment of compulsory and administrative costs among other costs paid to access an education in the best schools. Non-monetary costs include time spent in learning, difficulties associated with having to be at school, opportunity cost, among other costs. There has been an increase in all the costs of accessing a good education as explained by the increased rates of tuition fees in Canada with specifics from Saskatchewan. Historical trend analysis The undergraduate fees have been increasing at alarming rates but owing to the tuition fees in 2005 to 2008; the increase rate decreased, and access to education was affordable. However, after the end of the freeze, undergraduate fees in Canada and Saskatchewan have resumed, and the growth in tuition fees for undergraduates has been growing at an average of 3.4%. After increasing by 13% in the 1990’s, graduate fees increased by an average of 40% between 2000 and 2005 depicting a higher increased tuition rate growth compared to the undergraduate rates 4. International students will also face an increase in tuition fees for them to access education in Canada with Saskatchewan having the highest rise in international student’s fees at 37.0%. Undergraduate international students have to pay 6.7% fees higher, over graduate international students pay three times the fees paid by Canadian students. The international students have current fees at $ 14,274, depicting increased rates between 1990’s and 2014. Data/graph of tuition fees in Canada The tables showing the different tuition fees for undergraduate and graduate students are attached on the appendix5. Comparison of historical tuition standards The current tuition fees in Saskatchewan for undergraduate students are 2.4 times the tuition fees in the 1990. This is as a result of 138 percentage increases in the 1990’s followed by 38% increase in the 2000-2004 periods. Despite a four-year tuition freeze from 2005 to 2008, the high tuition fees have not been reversed. The tuition rests at $5,601 for undergraduates reflecting the large historical difference to that of the 1990. The graduate tuition fees increased over the years and have been almost double the amount offered for students in the 1990’s showing the difference in affordability of education in 1900 and the current period. The international tuition fees have been increasing for different reasons with the current rate much higher than the rates offered in 1990 with the payment at $18,641, almost three times more than that paid by Canadians. III. Analysis The annual growth rate of tuition for undergraduate is at 3.4% depicting the continued decline in affordability of good education depicted by increasing tuition fees. The graduate tuition fees increased at an annual rate of 2.4% while the international tuition fees at 6.7% depicting high tuition rate increases. Causes of high tuition include reduced government funding of university education from 80% to 50% resulting in reliance on tuition fees for revenue generation by universities from 14/% to 35%6. Other reasons include inflation, increase in the cost of living, increasing demand for quality education, and the importance of acquiring quality education. Increasing operating costs is the other reason attributed to the high tuition fees through the higher costs being passed on to the students by the universities. Effect of high tuition includes inability by low and middle-income households to access post-secondary education. The chances of students from low-income families have less than 50% chance of accessing university education compared to students from wealthy households 7. High tuition fees have resulted in high levels of student debts increasing dropout rates from university and high unemployment rates in Canada for lack of university education. Effect of tuition on equity: there are tuition fees differences in the Canadian provinces owing to lack of national policy on post-secondary education resulting in students facing different tuition fees depending on their province. The differences in tuition fees depending on the province results in social equity differences and threatens the Canadian economy. Economic growth and regional development are also affected by the equity differences resulting from charging different tuition fees for students in different provinces. Effect of increasing tuition on student loans is increase in student loans for the students to be able to finance the tuition fees and other costs of accessing education. A student will have almost $ 26, 680 in loans by the time they graduate, and the high debts may result in some students dropping out of university due to high tuition fees. Effect of increased tuition in the labor market: an increase in tuition fees result in an increase in labor market participation. The reason is that an increase in low and middle income households has to join the labor market for lack of resources to Access University. Students with higher levels of debt from financing higher education have to participate in labor market to raise extra finances. High debts also force students to enter the labor market quickly to allow for making early payments for a high-interest paying debts repayable starting six months after graduation. Conclusion The analysis shows that the tuition fees in Canada and specific data from Saskatchewan have been increasing, and the trend will continue. There is a need to reduce the increase owing to the negative impacts on the students and the community. A reduction in the tuition rates will allow for educated population with reduced crime rate owing to access to education by low and middle income population. Allow for affordable advanced education and competition in the labor market because of increased education levels, if the tuition fees reduce. Recommendation The issue of high tuition fees should be addressed for advanced education to be affordable. This will make both Canadians and international immigrants to partake in it and choose the type of career they want. Increased affordability of tuition fees will determine the income they are able to earn, and there will be a decrease in the poverty rate. The recommended rate of reduction of tuition fees is 15% of the university revenue to avoid a high debt growth that have resulted in school drop outs and affected access to education. The other option is making Saskatchewan one of the low tuition provinces in Canada. A low the tuition cost province in Saskatchewan allows all to benefit, reduces student debts in the end, and allows low and middle-income households to access education reducing social inequity caused by high tuition fees. Bibliography Canada. Statistics Canada. Undergraduate Tuition Fees for Full Time Canadian students, by Discipline, by Province. Ottawa. 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. Coelli B., Michael. "Tuition Fees and Equality of University Enrolment." The Canadian Journal of Economics Vol. 42, no. No.3 (2009): Pp. 1072-1099. Neill, Christine. “The Effect of Tuition Fees on Students’ Work in Canada.” Wilfrid Laurier University (2006): 1. PDF file. Macdonald, David, and Shaker Erika. “Eduflation and the High Cost of Learning.” Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (2012): 6. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. Thomas, Kane. The Price of Admission: Rethinking How Americans Pay for College. University of California Press, 1999. Print. "Trends in Higher Education: Volume 1 - Enrolment." Associate of Universities and Collages of Canada (AUCC). January 1, 2011. Accessed October 20, 2014. http://www.aucc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/trends-2011-vol1-enrolment-e.pdf. Appendix Weighted average graduate tuition fees for Canadian full-time students, by province   2013/2014 (final) 2014/2015p 2013/2014 to 2014/2015   current dollars % change Canada 6,038 6,210 2.8 Newfoundland and Labrador 2,506 2,506 0.0 Prince Edward Island 4,820 4,820 0.0 Nova Scotia 8,044 8,222 2.2 New Brunswick 5,604 5,765 2.9 Quebec 2,726 2,821 3.5 Ontario 8,470 8,738 3.2 Manitoba 4,357 4,464 2.5 Saskatchewan 3,610 3,796 5.2 Alberta 4,944 4,997 1.1 British Columbia 7,555 7,706 2.0 Weighted average graduate tuition fees for Canadian full-time students, by field of study   2013/2014 (final) 2014/2015p 2013/2014 to 2014/2015   current dollars % change Agriculture, natural resources and conservation 5,236 5,370 2.6 Architecture and related technologies 5,483 5,620 2.5 Humanities 4,525 4,617 2.0 Executive master of business administration 38,750 39,862 2.9 Regular master of business administration 26,201 27,173 3.7 Business, management and public administration 8,987 9,389 4.5 Education 5,536 5,654 2.1 Engineering 6,168 6,362 3.1 Law, legal professions and studies 5,834 6,009 3.0 Visual and performing arts, and communications technologies 4,700 4,844 3.1 Physical and life sciences and technology 6,024 6,177 2.5 Mathematics, computer and information science 6,001 6,145 2.4 Social and behavioural science 5,103 5,236 2.6 Medicine F F … Dentistry 11,631 12,044 3.6 Nursing 5,844 5,997 2.6 Pharmacy 6,456 6,544 1.4 Veterinary medicine 3,650 3,727 2.1 Other health, parks, recreation and fitness 7,707 7,930 2.9 Undergraduate tuition fees for full time Canadian students, by discipline, by province (Canada)   2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014r 2014/2015p   average ($) Canada 5,146 5,313 5,586 5,767 5,959 Agriculture, Natural Resources and Conservation 4,803 4,961 5,119 5,251 5,407 Architecture and related Technologies 5,179 4,788 5,340 5,495 5,711 Humanities 4,638 4,769 4,941 5,023 5,165 Business Management and Public Administration 5,386 5,673 6,097 6,274 6,525 Education 3,850 3,804 4,273 4,394 4,510 Engineering 5,992 6,155 6,560 6,871 7,151 Law, legal professions and studies 8,657 9,335 9,549 10,039 10,508 Medicine 10,867 11,313 12,012 12,470 12,959 Visual and Performing Arts & Comm. Technologies 4,748 4,591 5,002 5,138 5,287 Physical and Life Sciences and Technologies 5,049 5,247 5,335 5,481 5,640 Math., Computer and information Sciences 5,526 5,781 6,051 6,245 6,471 Social and Behavioural Sciences 4,586 4,656 4,966 5,116 5,262 Other Health, Parks, Recreation and Fitness 4,698 4,873 5,232 5,529 5,691 Dentistry 15,062 16,037 16,678 17,387 18,187 Nursing 4,662 4,731 4,985 5,140 5,287 Pharmacy 9,014 9,719 10,463 10,691 11,173 Veterinary medicine 5,612 5,889 6,383 6,680 6,926 p : preliminary.   r : revised.   Notes:   Since the distribution of enrolment across the various programs varies from period to period, caution must be exercised in making long-term historical comparisons.   For Nova Scotia and Quebec, both in- and out-of-province students are included in the weighted average calculations.   Source: Statistics Canada, Centre for Education Statistics.   Last modified: 2014-08-26. Increased tuition rates is also depicted in the graph below in different Canada provinces Read More