Students, officials square off over proposed tuition hikes at University of Manitoba

Students and officials at the University of Manitoba are launching into a debate over proposed tuition increases that could see rates climb by up to 114 per cent in some programs.

The U of M plans to ask the province to overlook the five per cent tuition cap to allow for the increases.

A town hall meeting was scheduled for Tuesday night to discuss the proposed increases.

Many students say the hikes are too much too soon, while some university departments say they can't afford to charge less.

The University of Manitoba Students' Union says the current tuition fees are already a concern.

"There are students that can barely get by now," says Sid Rashid, president of UMSU.

Some departments, however, say a cash crunch is stretching resources thin.

"We are an incredibly good school but we are doing it on a shoe string (budget)," says Glenn Feltham, dean of the Asper School of Business.

The Asper School of Business wants a 78 per cent increase spread over three years for its MBA program and a 54 per cent increase for its undergraduate degree over two years.

UMSU says other departments are also going to ask for more tuition, including medicine wanting 114 per cent more, dentistry wanting 40 per cent more, occupational therapy wanting 60 per cent more and agriculture wanting 20 per cent more.

"The fear is that this will snowball into faculty after faculty increasing tuition fees with exorbitant results," says Heather Laube, a U of M student.

Aisyah Abdkahar, an international student, already pays almost triple the tuition fees of other students at the U of M.

"For $21,000 per year, I would rather go to UBC, U of T or U of C, where the programs are much more recognized," says Abdkahar.

Feltham says the business school needs to compete against programs at other universities and needs cash to do so to provide smaller class sizes and more in-depth education.

The university will approach the province's arms-length council on post-secondary education, which will then approve or reject the proposals. The council examines whether the proposed increases will have an adverse impact on a university program's accessibility or on the Manitoba labour market.

In the end, the province's Minister of Advanced Education has the final say on whether to approve or deny the tuition requests.

If the increases are approved, they would take effect in the fall of 2010.

The University of Winnipeg is also considering approaching the province to increase tuition fees above the cap. Officials say the hope is to create a balance between staying competitive and providing quality education.

- with a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley