James

Make education more affordable by freezing tuition fees at 2004
levels and restoring grants for students in their second, third and
fourth years of study
Gordon Campbell is driving tuition fees for
universities and colleges out of reach for too
many young British Columbians. In fact, for three
years running, BC has had the largest tuition fee
increases in the country, with students and their
families paying an additional $1,980 for a year at
university and $1,665 at college – on average,
double what they were in 2001. And if Gordon
Campbell is re-elected, students will continue to
pay more and more, as fee increases will be tied
to the rate of inflation.
To make it even harder for students and their
families, he has eliminated grants – sending the
message that advanced education is there for
only some students, if they’re well enough off
to afford it.
The results of all this: enrolment is down at 10
of BC’s 22 colleges, particularly in northern
and rural institutions, as young people and
their families simply can’t afford it anymore.
Carole James wants to make education and
training more affordable by freezing tuition fees
at 2004 levels, compensating institutions for
revenue lost from the Liberals’ proposed tuition
fee increases. And she will improve financial
assistance for learners, and restore grants for
students past first year so they can afford to
complete the education they’ve started.
The New Democrat plan will make sure that
25,000 new spaces that are affordable and
accessible for people throughout the province
are added to BC’s colleges and universities
by 2010.
If the transition period has been tough on BC
students, who barely have time to recover
from one round of [tuition fee] increases
before they are hit with another, the
Province’s parsimonious attitude has made
it more painful still.
Globe & Mail
February 9, 2004
Percentage Change in
University Tuition Fees
by Province 2001 – 2005
British Columbia 92.09%
Alberta 21.01%
Saskatchewan 27.75%
Manitoba 13.06%
Ontario 22.11%
Quebec -1.15%
New Brunswick 24.87%
Nova Scotia 26.46%
P.E.I. 18.54%
Newfoundland -12.26%
BCNDP Platform 2005 19
100
50
0
-50
[Government should] reinstitute a modest
system of needs-based grants for low-income
students enrolled in post-secondary
institutions, to operate alongside existing
student loan programs.
BC Business Council
2005 submission to the government’s
Finance Committee