UNB’s Tuition Hike
The news broke on the 28th of February, that the University of New Brunswick’s tuition prices would be raising, depending on the faculty.
Hit the hardest, was the Law School, whose tuition rose a whopping 51 percent. Nursing, Engineering, Business, and the Renaissance College rose by 22 percent.
The Education program, Kinesiology, and Computer Science program increased by 17 percent. Forestry and Environmental management went up by 12 percent, and finally Arts and Science rose by 7 percent.
News began to quickly spread around campus, as students reacted on social media. Some students believed that the tuition increase was fair to have different programs cost different amounts, while others believed having some programs at a higher cost would make some students feel as though they could not take what they really wanted, due to the price.
International students also were concerned. Ojaswi Joshi, a student from Nepal, made the comment that she believes driving the fees up will make international students think twice about their decision to attend university in a different country. Not all students will be able to afford it anymore, especially due to the lack of scholarships available to international students.
The Law school is currently the only program that is not covered by the government of New Brunswick’s free tuition program for students in need of financial aid. For this reason, the Law faculty will greatly struggle under the new proposed tuition.
On April the 6th, the UNB Student Union hosted a town hall event, where alongside George MacLean, the VP of administration, answered any questions that students had about the proposed tuition increase.
Students expressed their dissatisfaction with the Student Union’s approach on the topic. The SU made a comment in an article of the Brunswick that they were behind the university’s decision. One student asked why they made that comment, as they were supposed to represent the voice of students, who for the most part were unhappy with the decision.
The Student Union commented that they understood that in order to run a university, these changes may happen.
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Maclean also made the comment that things are worse at other universities, such as the university of Saskatchewan, who are facing bigger cuts.
Although the rise of the tuition is scary for many students, nothing is 100% set in stone. There is more to come during the voting process in early May. Until then, students are watching their dollars a little more closely.
