SLC discusses recommendations for exceptional tuition increases

By Enobong Ukpong, June 21 2021—

This week’s Students’ Legislative Council (SLC) meeting was held on June 15. A significant point of discussion was the approval of the University and General Relations Committee (UGRC) recommendations on the University of Calgary’s exceptional tuition increase proposal.

In a unanimous vote, the SLC approved the UGRC recommendation that SLC president Nicole Schmidt vote against exceptional tuition increases in the Board of Governors meeting held on June 18.

These exceptional tuition increases would see significant increases in tuition in the Fall 2022 semester for select domestic and international programs, the highest increase being 51 per cent for international Bachelor of Engineering students. 

The UGRC arrived at their recommendations after the Students’ Union (SU) reported that the University of Calgary failed to engage in meaningful consultation with students, and gave little ability for student feedback to be incorporated into the proposal. The SU also reported that the proposed tuition increases would render international tuition unaffordable, noting that the increases to the Bachelor of Science engineering program were disproportionate to the proposed increases in program quality.

“There was no clear consultation or project proposed by the Faculty of Engineering,” said Taimur Akhtar, Schulich School of Engineering representative. “[The Faculty of Engineering are] also not even sure if the percentages provided to us during our meetings are guaranteed and admitted that they are susceptible to change. It’s also important to note ESS [Engineering Students’ Society] sent out a survey to all undergraduate students, and 100 per cent were opposed to the tuition increase.”

Agendas, minutes, and upcoming meetings for SLC can be found online.