UPEI students facing tuition increase after year disrupted by strike

Nearly a month after the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) ended an extended faculty strike, students have been handed another piece of bad news, a tuition increase.

Tuesday evening the UPEI board of governors voted for a four per cent increase, and six per cent for the Atlantic Veterinary College.

Interim President Greg Keefe said they're required by law to balance the budget.

“We used all the sources of reducing expenditures,” said Keefe. “We had improved revenues from our grants, and this was the final piece we needed to put in place in order to have a balanced budget.”

Keefe says tuition at UPEI has been about 25 per cent lower than other maritime universities in recent history.

The two student members of the board voted against the increase. The new student union president said, after the last year, it’s another burden for students.

“I do want to see the university taking the steps to accommodate the students,” said UPEI Student Union president Camille Mady. “Understanding that the students are dealing with difficult aspects of financial issues outside of the tuition pay.”

Students lost almost a month of classes last semester during an ongoing strike. That extended the year, compressed evaluations, and complicated student summer plans.

It's also a contributing factor.

“We have an agreement that has a three per cent increase each year for faculty,” said Keefe. “We’re coming into the second year of that contact, so we have six per cent to make up over that two year period.”

However, Keefe said broader inflationary pressures are the main reason for increased tuition.

One thing that’s not affecting this tuition increase is the new medical school that’s being built on campus.

Officials said healthcare programs are handled out of a different pot of money, that’s not impacted by regular university operations.

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