Full-time University of Winnipeg students can expect to pay either five per cent or $150 more in tuition next year as the university prepares to increase tuition fees on the recommendations of Dr. Ben Levin.

The increase amounts for full-time students will be determined by calculating and charging the lesser amount - either five per cent or $150 - and will continue over a three-year period. This is the first time tuition will increase in the province of Manitoba since 2000, when the Doer government froze tuition.

The increases for part-time and international students were not available by press time.

Levin, who led the one-man commission on whether or not the province should eliminate the tuition freeze, said in his report, “...tuition fees can be increased gradually but should remain below the Canadian average.”

“ If they offer more classes it would be a lot easier. You’re giving students more choices and making the university more competitive by improving faculties.

Meryl De Leon, U of W student

But some students argue that current tuition fees aren’t cheap. Third-year communications student Meryl De Leon was surprised after registering for only one spring course at a cost of $823.28.

“It’s hard for students who are on student loans and struggling to pay for school right now as it is,” said De Leon, who’s paying out of her own wallet. “It’s also not helping people who want to go to school.”

De Leon said that if the university is raising tuition, they should be funneling that money back into the classroom by hiring more and better teachers, where it will benefit students the most.

“If they offer more classes it would be a lot easier. You’re giving students more choices and making the university more competitive by improving faculties.”

However, the university has different plans.

Bill Balan, U of W’s vice-president of finance and administration, said the extra funds the university is expecting in the first year alone are going straight to pay down debt.

“The university is still working on closing gap deficits,” Balan said. The money will go straight into the university’s operating budget, 70 per cent of which already goes to pay salaries and benefits.

But De Leon said she’d like to see more tangible results that directly benefit her and her classmates.

“It’s good for them to pay off their debt, but at the same time I’d like to see some improvements because of the money I’m paying,” she said.

Still, the province is praising the thaw of the decade-long tuition freeze. Advanced Education and Literacy Minister Diane McGifford said it provides a lesson to students and helps them become more responsible.

“We recognize students’ responsibility to contribute to their education,” McGifford said. “Throughout our lives we’re going to make many investments. Everyone agrees that the best investment you can make is in your education. Asking students to invest in their bright future is not asking them for a lot.”

Despite the increase, tuition fees in Manitoba remain the third lowest in the country. McGifford said Manitoban students pay an average of $3,100 per year.

By comparison, Saskatchewan students pay $4,600.

Published in Volume 63, Number 27 of The Uniter (May 20, 2009)