Tuition Fees in Quebec State,

¶ … Tuition Fees in Quebec State, Canada

Tuition represents the fee charged for educational instruction by formal institutions of learning. These educational institutions charge this fee in order to support financially the staff of the faculty, the lab equipment, computer systems, libraries, facility upkeep, by this managing to create an adequate learning environment.

Although tuition fees are charged in order to create a modern environment for students, tuition fees are anything but modern, as there are records of them being used in ancient times. In ancient times, teachers and philosophers offered their wisdom and knowledge to their students after a requested amount of money was paid by the students. One of these philosophers was Confucius, who actually supported himself by teaching. But this method was strongly criticized by other philosophers, such as Plato, who considered to be "unworthy to charge for the teaching which practically meant that the teacher should be either a person of means or employed by some benefactor."

In medieval times, European universities were institutions of the Catholic Church, therefore they mainly trained clergy and no fee was charged in exchange of the provided education. Such a reasoning was also applied by modern corporate universities and military academies. Later, in Russia and protestant countries, the universities' main objective was training future civil servants. Also in this case, charging a tuition fee was considered not to be in the state's best interest, as this would have decreased the quality of civil servants. However, due to high expenses of living during the years of study, typical families could not afford the education of their offsprings, even if education itself was free. Many Third World countries experience the same situation, a lot of children not being able to attend school (not even primary school) due to high additional expenses.

The situation changed after the World war II, when the enhanced standard of living and free university education in many countries allowed a great number of working-class youths to receive a degree.

Nowadays, the majority of developed countries follow a dual scheme for education: basic education (up to high school) is supported by taxes rather than tuition, while superior education is usually given for a fee or tuition.

Recently, students coming from families with lower incomes have been assisted through processes such as the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), allowing them to gain a college education through government subsidies. An important part of the tuition is supported through a financial aid package, generally a portfolio of federal, state, and private loans and grants. The rest of the tuition's amount is supported by the student's family. However, some believe that the expected family contributions are too high for middle-class families to afford.

Considering the level of the tuition, "the general trend has been towards marked increases in tuition. For example, Canada has seen its tuition fees more than double in the last ten years."

In Canada, education is a provincial responsibility, with many variations between the provinces. For example, provincial funding for Kindergarten varies widely. Started from grade one up to grade twelve, the access is publicly funded.

As far as the Canadian private universities are concerned, all of them have a religious history or foundation. Top universities in Canada find it difficult to compete with the private American powerhouses because of funding. Education receives about 7% of the GDP in Canada.

In Quebec the education system is governed by the Ministry of Education of Quebec (Ministere de L'education du Quebec). Quebec's educational system is different from the systems of English Canada.

In terms of private schools, "Quebec has the highest proportion of children going to private schools in North America." Weather they are part of the middle class, lower middle class or working class, families make efforts to save money and send their children to private schools. "The government of Quebec gives a pro rata subsidy for each child to any private school which meets its standards and follows its prescriptions, but the tuition remains very high." 17% of the high school population of Quebec attend a private high school. Even more, in Montreal and other urban centers 30% of the high school population attend a private high school. "A study released in August 2004 by the Quebec Ministry of Education revealed that, over the preceding five years, the private sector had grown by 12% while the public sector had shrunk 5.6%, with slightly steeper rate in the last year."

Post-secondary education is subsidized in Quebec, and the university education is considered to be having low costs. There are three levels of tuition: Quebec resident (lowest level), Out-of-province Canadian resident (tuition set to average Canadian tuition) and International tuition (highest level). For the Quebec resident tuition students have to meet particular residency requirements. Residents of Quebec have had seven consecutive tuition freezes since 1996/97.

Students returning to Canadian universities for undergraduate studies this fall will face greater increases in tuition than last year." The expected increase reaches on average 3.2%, almost twice than the previous academic year.

For the 2006/2007 academic year undergraduate students' tuition fee will reach on average $4,347 up from $4,211 for the previous year and triple than the tuition fee in 1990/1991.

According to Statistics Canada, for the past sixteen years tuition fees have increased at an annual average rate of 7.0%. In the 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 academic years tuition fees' level went up 15.2% and 16.5%, respectively. However, since 2000, the increase has slowed to an annual average of 3.9%. This trend reflects the government's moves to regulate fees. Average tuition fees between 1990/1991 and 2004/2005 increased faster than the inflation: tuition fees rose at an annual average rate of 7.7%, almost four times the average rate of inflation. For the 2006/2007 academic year tuition fees are rising in six provinces. Fees will remain almost at the same level as the previous academic year in Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, while in Quebec the increase is less than 1%. Tuition fees in Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba and Quebec will situate below national average. "Quebec undergrads will continue to pay the lowest fees in the country as a result of a tuition freeze for Quebec residents that have kept fees at less than half the national average since the late 1990s."

Tuition fees have doubled compared to 1990/1991 academic year and in some cases, they have more than tripled.

Professional fields will suffer the highest increases this year. The highest increases will occur for architecture and commerce students, although the most expensive programs are medicine and dentistry.

For architecture students the tuition fee will reach the average amount of $3,805, up 5.4% compared to the previous academic year. Commerce students' tuition fee will reach an average amount of $3,989, up 4.8%. Medicine tuition fee will reach $10,553 and dentistry tuition will reach $13,463, therefore being the leader of the highest tuition fees. For law students, the tuition fee will face an increase up to 4.6%, compared to the 65.4% rise in the past five years.

In the past five years large increases have been signaled in all professional fields. Average undergraduate fees have increased by 21.5%, while law, medicine and dentistry fees have increased by 65.4%, 47,5% and 41.5% respectively.

The tuition fee increase for students in graduate programs will be almost twice as high as the undergraduate tuition fee, 5.6% respectively, and will reach an average amount of $6,479. Graduate fees have increased up 44.1% in the past five years. The sole provinces know to have experienced tuition fee decreases for the past five years are Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.

As concerns international students, their tuition fees will also suffer an increase up 4.1% higher than the previous academic year. Undergraduate tuition fees for international students 5.2% to $13,205, over three times higher than tuition fees for resident students. In Quebec the tuition fee for international students will increase up 2.5%.

Additional compulsory fees also vary from an institution to another. They include fees for recreation and athletics, student health services, student association and other fees for full-time Canadian students. These additional compulsory fees for undergraduates make up 12.5% of the total fees to be paid by a student to the institution. On a national level, additional compulsory fees will increase up 4.0% compared to the previous academic year. Undergraduate students will be charged for the additional compulsory fees $619 for the current academic year, while last year the charged amount was $595. The provinces where additional compulsory fees will decrease are British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Denis Herard, the Advanced Education Minister stated earlier this summer that "university and college tuition fees will rise at no more than the cost of living when an existing fee freeze ends." Herard also said that student groups must cut Alberta's annual fees by about $2,000 in order to make them the most affordable in the country. Linking tuition fees to the rate increase in the consumer price index is the effect of a ministerial steering committee report on improving post-secondary education. The report also shows that some changes must be made in order to make student financial assistance more affordable, by reducing loan interest rates for example.

Denis Herard also stated for the Edmonton Journal reporters: "We're on track to implementing the new tuition fee policy that will be in place and working for the students in the fall of 2007."

However, the new policy must be approved by the cabinet and other levels of government. Last year, premier Ralph Klein unveiled a tuition freeze as a "centennial gift" and promised to come up with the most "affordable" tuition policy in Canada.

These recommendations simply reinforce the status quo," said David Cournoyer, chairman of the Council of Alberta University Students and a vice-president of the University of Alberta Students' Union, about the proposals and recommendations in the steering committee's report.

Both the Advanced Education Minister, Denis Herard, and the Premier, Ralph Klein, have faced strong criticism: "Raj Pannu, NDP Advanced Education critic, said it's clear Herard has yet to line up cabinet support even to limit fee increases. As for the minister's decision to consult further before endorsing other recommendations in the report, Pannu accused him of 'foot-dragging'." In his defense, Herard stated that students and their parents "tend to overestimate the cost of post-secondary education and underestimate its benefit." However, the Advanced Education Minister decided to re-engineer the system of loans, grants and other assistance for the students. He promised the suggestions will be based on consultations with post-secondary institutions, students and other interested parties.

A study conducted by Statistics Canada "shows a consistent trend since 1990 of tuition rising faster than the rate of inflation." In the past fifteen years tuition rose at an annual average rate of 7.7 per cent, almost four times the average rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. Students who cannot afford to pay higher tuition fees might want to transfer to schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. In these provinces tuition fees remain virtually unchanged compared to those of the previous year.

A similar situation is in Quebec, where due to a tuition freeze for Quebec residents that has kept fees at less than half the national average since the late 1990s, undergraduate students will continue to pay the lowest tuition fees in the country.

The opposite situation is in Nova Scotia, where undergraduate students will pay the highest tuition fees up 3.9 per cent this year to $6,571.

In the Gazette, "Ontario gets it right on tuition fees" article reveals that "in Quebec, undergraduate tuition hasn't changed since 1994, and will not change before the next election," Jean Charest's government has pledged. The article shows an opposite position, as "the basic undergrad fee of $1,851 should have climbed past $2,300 merely to account for inflation, to say nothing of universities' capital costs, maintenance needs, enrollment increases, and so on." In Quebec, the government states not having new money for universities, which are suffering from years of underfunding. In Quebec alone, universities estimate the annual shortfall to be $350 million. As a result, Quebec and other provinces want both low tuition fees and more funding from Ottawa, so that students will not be driven away by raising tuition fees.

CanWest News Service's Sarah Schmidt reveals that "student leaders say the huge discrepancies in tuition across the country speak to the varied ways provinces dealt with the billions of dollars cut from federal transfer payments for post-secondary education." Due to the lack of a national education strategy, provinces follow two distinct policy directions.

The StatsCan report is contradicted by the Educational Policy Institute in the report entitled "Beyond the Sticker Price: A Closer Look at Canadian University Tuition Fees." They consider the StatsCan report to be "an inadequate tool for measuring what students and families actually pay to attend university because it fails to take into account education tax credits and, in some cases, grants." The study also claims that once inflation and tax benefits are taken into account, average costs are up by 25 per cent in the past ten years.

Liberal leadership contender Ken Dryden wants to overhaul the student loans system by reviving a controversial idea scrapped by the Liberals more than a decade ago," Sarah Schmidt reveals. Dryden unveiled his "Big Canada" platform in Ottawa on September 05-2006, highlighting education as a key policy plank for the country.

Ken Dryden is reviving the idea that Lloyd Axworthy proposed in 1994, that is to replace the Canada Student Loan Program and federal transfers to the provinces for higher education with an income-contingent, loan-repayment scheme as part of the Liberal government's comprehensive review of Canada's social safety net. Lisa Jolicoeur, the campaign spokeswoman, stated that Dryden's proposal is better than the criticized Axworthy proposal which was linked to increased tuition and funding cutbacks. However, Dryden's idea is also strongly criticized by Duncan Cameron, visiting professor of Canadian studies at Simon Fraser University and research associate at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Cameron stated that "it also gives governments an excuse not to fund universities." The idea was also criticized by Ian Boyko of the Canadian Federation of Students, who said "it's naive to think this wouldn't result in tremendous upward pressure on tuition fees."

Although Quebec enjoys one of the lowest tuition fees level in the country, the universities are allowed to charge additional fees for administrative purposes or others. Compulsory additional fees are allowed for both public and private schools.

Among students, concerns over rising tuition fees have diminished due to the government's tuition freeze.

The steering committee "disappointed students on the tuition front, calling for modest and steady fee increases instead of the deep cuts students were given reason to expect." A report conducted by Statistics Canada revealed that in B.C. this year's hike will be 1.9 per cent.

However, students don't just resign themselves. Members of the Canadian Federation of Students across B.C. are organizing a campaign to reduce tuition fees. Their demands concern ensuring that "the B.C. government legislates a multi-year tuition fee reduction beginning in fall 2006," ensuring that "all money transferred to the provinces from the recent Federal budget goes directly to reducing tuition fees" and ensuring that "the federal government restores $4 billion in post-secondary education funding."

Apparently, the number of students enrolled in Quebec's CEGEPs for the current school year is finally up, for the first time in a decade. The negative side of this situation is that the increased number of students "will further strain the resources of a CEGEP system already stretched to near-braking by chronic underfunding." The provincial government allocated $80 million new funding for CEGEPs, spread over the coming three years. This amount of money is not even close to the $250 million claimed to be needed by the Federation des cegeps.

All in all, the important fact is that for ten years, between 1990/1991 and 2000/2001 academic years, tuition rose 126.2 per cent, six times faster than the 20.6 per cent rise of the inflation rate during the same period.

The highest tuition per program is paid by Nova Scotia Undergraduate art students, followed by resident of Ontario. However, the highest tuition hike in Canada was "suffered" by British Columbia undergraduate students from 2002/2003 to 2003/2004 academic years. The increase was of 30.4 per cent. This massive increase took place due to the British Columbia Liberal Government, who lifted the tuition freeze, therefore increasing tuition fees.