Lakehead University students will pay three per cent more next school year

Lakehead University students will pay three per cent more in tuition this coming fall.

The school’s board of directors on Tuesday unanimously approved the fee hike, despite last-minute protests from students seeking to tie the increase to the inflation rate.

Lakehead University Student Union vice-president operations and finance Dan Bacsa said the news is disappointing, adding he’s not sure the board of governors has done everything it can to keep costs down.

LUSU had proposed a 2.1 per cent hike, which would match the consumer price index and be a bit more palatable to students, a $450,000 decrease to university revenues.

“Given the lackluster consultation process, I’m not surprised,” said Bacsa, subbing for LUSU president Ian Kaufman, who was unable to attend the meeting, which saw about 90 student protestors silently watch the vote unfold.

“However we are a little disappointed they didn’t consider our recommendation a little more seriously.”

Bacsa said the school has not done anywhere near what they could have done and the fact they deferred the vote, originally scheduled to take place on March 12, is proof.

Despite the initial disappointment, Bacsa said it is encouraging the board of governors moved to create a better consultation process in future tuition discussions.

University officials said with changes to provincial funding formulas, they can’t afford anything less than three per cent.

Board member Cam Clark said it’s an ongoing challenge, and while the board recognizes students are their most important resource at Lakehead University, the school has to pay its bills.

“We have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure the university is whole, to make sure we can supply you with the very best academic opportunities that are available,” Clark said.

“What I think we find ourselves in is a position of being in a balancing act. On the one hand, we’d rather not raise tuition. I think that’s a given. On the other hand we are faced with a structural deficit that’s larger than the result of a funding formula that’s seen a reduction occurring to the university.”

At the same time costs are rising faster than the school’s revenue intake.

“We have a limited opportunity to make adjustments to accommodate those financial challenges.”

Student governor Sebastian Murdoch-Gibson was among those giving the go-ahead, and said the student request simply came too late in the process, leaving the board little choice but to pass the full three per cent increase allowed under Ontario regulations to the student body.

“Our current budget expires in 23 days, which means we need to know how we’re going to spend our money within 23 days for the next year,” Murdoch-Gibson said.

Bacsa said students have seen tuition rise nearly $1,400 since 2006, while international students rates have jumped nearly $8,000 annually over the same timeframe.

He added the difference between their 2.1 per cent increase and the three per cent sought by the school represents one-seventh of the school’s travel budget, just one area where he thinks cuts could be found without impacting university operations.

Board of governors chairman Murray Walberg said Northwestern Ontario’s inflation rate is 2.6 per cent, while pointing out 10 per cent of all tuition fees is given back to students in the form of bursaries and scholarships.

While there’s not much the school can do about next year’s tuition, instructing both sides to work together is a positive step, he said. 

“I know that this time next year we’ll have a much more consultative process going forward,” Walberg said.