Tuition / : Policy paper, tuition

Current Tuition Framework, used throughout this document, refers to the 2013/14 to 2016/17 Tuition Fee Framework and Ancillary Fee Guidelines for Publicly-Assisted Universities provided by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to govern the collection of tuition and fees. [...] In Alberta, tuition normally increases annually by inflation; with the use of a market modifier the government was able to allow some institutions to increase tuition beyond the rate of inflation for specific programs based on market comparisons to similar programs across Canada.13 Net Tuition refers to the real amount of tuition students are required to pay after non- repayable aid and other subs [...] In order to rectify the challenges associated with tuition and the goals of the system, the new tuition framework focused on predictability and overall weighted tuition increases to prevent significant cost inflation in specific programs. [...] This is one of the most extreme examples of the challenges stranded tuition can create—in comparison to all programs offered at the University of Toronto, the University of Windsor is stranded. [...] Boggs notes that, “institutions appear to be pursuing avenues to circumnavigate the regulatory features of the tuition policy in an effort to match the tuition fee levels and resources of other institutions, an activity that counteracts the fee differentiation achieved by decoupling tuition increases from the formulate fee.”48 Any new tuition framework in the province will need to take this loopho