COMMUNITY - Douglas College

6
budget
For the second year in a row,
Douglas College was forced to
raise tuition fees to balance its
budget and to ensure the healthy
operation of the College.
“Last year we let the
community know that our tuition
fees would likely increase by 30
percent in 2003, and that is what
has happened,” says College
President Susan Witter. “Without
the increase we would be facing
further cuts to programs right
when students need to have more
seats available.”
With the fee increase, a fulltime
student’s tuition fees rose
from $860 per semester to $1,115
per semester beginning in
September 2003. Douglas
College’s fees will remain below
the national average for colleges
and substantially less than local
universities.
Budget aims to ease impact of tuition fee increase
To ease the impact on students
facing financial challenges, a
portion of the new fees will create
more funds for student aid. An
additional $250,000 will help
needy students this year.
Combined with $250,000
allocated last year, there is now
$500,000 allocated annually from
tuition fee revenue for student aid.
“In January 2003, bursary
applications were up 40 percent
and scholarship applications were
up 25 percent compared to last
year at the same time,” says
Witter. “The good news is that
we were able to help almost 90
percent of bursary applicants, and
the value of the awards was
higher than usual.”
Another way to ease the
financial burden on students is
through the creation of jobs on
campus, which also provide
Creating opportunities for learning
When government funding was removed for work-study positions at Douglas
College, the tuition fee increase helped fill the gap. A portion of the funds
from the increase – $180,000 annually last year – went into the creation of
student employment on campus, turning those work-study jobs into student
assistant positions.
For Computer Information Systems student Cole Birnie, this was a huge
relief. Birnie, who is also a member of the men’s basketball team, works as a
personal training assistant in the Centre for Sport, Recreation and Wellness.
For him, having a job on campus has been invaluable.
“I managed to make my work hours fit around my classes, and this made
my day more like a real work day,” he says. “It wouldn’t be feasible for me to
go off-campus to a job, come back for classes or basketball practice and then
maybe have to go back to work again. This worked well with my schedule.”
In addition to the wages that help him offset expenses, Birnie appreciates
the experience he gains while on the job.
“I get to develop my communication skills when I interact with patrons of
the fitness centre,” he says. “I’d like to run my own business some day, so this
is a really important skill to have.”
valuable work experience. This
budget allocates $55,000 towards
student employment (in addition
to $125,000 added last year) for
an annual total of $180,000.
Funds will also be used to
create 15 new sections of highdemand
university transfer courses
such as Psychology, English, Math
and Biology, providing over 500
additional seats.
“We are following the plan laid
out in 2002 and taking steps to
meet future challenges. The plan
allows Douglas College to
minimize the impact on students
and maintain our commitment to
providing quality education,”
Witter says.
Cole Bernie (right), gives John McKendry, VP
Instructional Division, some pointers in the
College Fitness Centre