Tuition in region varies by as much as $2,000 per year
A recent report on university tuition in the Maritimes says some students could be paying as much as $2,000 more per year than others, depending on the university they choose.
The report by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission includes the yearly tuition cost of each Maritime university as well as the cost of meal and residence plans.
Mireillle Duguay, CEO of the commission, said the report is intended to act as a source of information for prospective students.
“So you go to one place to find what is the tuition fee, for an undergraduate arts degree at Mount Allison University, at UNB, at Acadia — it’s one place you can go where you have a sense of how it varies from across institutions and across provinces,” she said.
Duguay said the study gives prospective students an idea of the total cost of each institution.
“So right now in terms of [tuition] … the lowest cost is St. Thomas, the highest cost is Mount Allison. So if you were to look at tuition plus residence you might get a different answer to that high and low number,” said Duguay.
Joelle Martin, student body representative for the Université de Moncton, said it is important to keep track of the total cost for a university education.
“This report is really useful for us and it gives us push when we go see government and say, ‘Look, you need to do something about it because ancillary fees are going up faster than tuition because tuition is capped, but not the ancillary fees,’” she said.
Ancillary fees include everything from gym memberships, to health services, and vary by more than $250 a year at New Brunswick universities.
Martin said she’ll be bringing the report, full of increased fees and tuition, to a meeting with government officials next week.
Comments are closed.