The University of Regina has announced it will increase tuition as part of its 2016-17 budget.
On Thursday, the university released its $215-million operating budget, which includes a 3.8 per cent tuition and fee increase for most programs.
There will be an increase in graduate tuitions from zero per cent to five per cent and the international surcharge for graduate students is also set to go up.
In 2015-16, the average undergraduate tuition fee in Saskatchewan for full-time students was $6,885 according to Statistics Canada, the second-highest in Canada. Ontario had the highest average undergraduate tuition rate at$ 7,868.
In November last year, university administrators across the province said they were notified in September 2015 that they had to come up with more than $1 million in funding as the provincial government pulled back on operating grants.
At the time, the Saskatchewan government said the reductions would save the province $1.4 million.
READ MORE: Millions cut from college, university budgets due to Sask. gov’t deficit
In this year’s budget, the university stated that it had base operating grant increase of 0.9 per cent, “the smallest since the funding formula was instituted in 2002.”
The university will be saving $700,000 by not replacing some vacant positions and reducing non-salary spending.
Other highlights of the budget include three new academic positions in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences and two new academic positions in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies to deal with increased enrolment.
The university is also hiring another student counsellor psychologist and a discrimination and harassment prevention officer.