Student unions host market modifier protests in capital

By Chris Adams, November 13 2014 —

The University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) will protest student fee increases at Alberta’s legislature on Monday, Nov. 17. The rally is on the same day as the speech from the throne and the start of the provincial government’s fall session.

Students will meet in the quad at U of A at 1:00 p.m. before marching on the legislature at 1:30 p.m.

The UASU is upset over provincial funding reductions, market modifiers and unregulated mandatory non-instructional fees.

The Alberta government called for post-secondaries to submit market modifier proposals in September. They have until Nov. 17 to reject or approve the proposals.

The University of Calgary’s faculty of engineering proposed a $170 per-course hike, a 31 per cent increase. The faculty of law proposed a $250 per-course increase, while the school of business proposed a $300 per-course jump for MBA students.

The U of A proposed five market modifiers this year. The highest is a 58 per cent increase in course fees for their faculty of law, a rise of roughly $2,000 per year.

U of C Students’ Union president Jarett Henry and vice-president external Levi Nilson have arranged for buses to transport U of C students to Edmonton at 9:00 a.m. and returning at 6:30 p.m.

In Calgary, a pair of Mount Royal University students organized a city-wide student protest to “fight tuition hikes” on Saturday, Nov. 15 at City Hall at 12:00 p.m.

The event was planned on Facebook with 189 accepting the invitation and over 2,000 invites sent.

MRU sent three market modifier proposals to the Alberta government. Nursing and science students face $100–$150 per-course increases, with their faculty of business proposing a 30 per cent increase in course fees.