U of R president says tuition hike needed for growing campus

University of Regina president Vianne Timmons said the school had no choice but to hike tuition rates by 2.8 per cent to keep up with the demands of a growing campus.

Timmons, speaking to reporters after a campus cleanup Wednesday, offered a few reasons for why the school needed to raise fees for the 11th straight year.

“The more students you have, you have to get more faculty, you have to hire more people. We have a lot of pressures in terms of regulatory requirements like health and safety. We have to get more staff in that area,” she said.

As well, she noted that funding from the province did not change.

In a news release on Tuesday, the school said it would be hiring additional faculty and academic support workers for programs including nursing, science and continuing education.

The increase works out to about an extra $100 per semester for a domestic full-time arts student.

She pointed out that U of R students will see a smaller increase than their counterparts at the University of Saskatchewan, which is raising tuition by 3.4 per cent.

“We did our best to keep it at 2.8. It’s lower than our sister institution in northern Saskatchewan and it still allows for a great investment. A university education is a great investment,” Timmons said.

Brooke Meili studies psychology full time but also works about 35 hours per week. She said she stresses about her finances.

“I’m trying to do it without student loans because I don’t want to have to be paying them off for the rest of my life. As it keeps increasing, I feel like I need to work more and work harder,” she said.

That makes for a juggling act, said kinesiology student Amaima Siddiqi.

“You’re trying to maintain your grades while also trying to maintain you being able to go to school and I think that’s kind of unfair,” Siddiqi said.

Meili also worries about accessibility to post-secondary education.

“I think everybody should have an opportunity to do it and if we keep increasing it, then less and less people are going to get an opportunity to get an education,” she said.

The school president said students are always top of mind, which is why the university invests in scholarships, bursaries and emergency funds.

“I worry about every student who has to work multiple jobs, every student that has challenges financially,” Timmons said.

“When I went to university, my undergrad, I came from a very poor family. I worked two jobs when I went to university and did my undergrad. I know personally how tough it is. So absolutely, we worry about our students all the time.”