U of R raises tuition once again in 2017-2018 budget

The University of Regina (U of R) announced that tuition will be going up as part of its 2017-2018 budget.

On Friday, the university released its $216-million operating budget, which includes 2.5 per cent tuition and fee increases for most programs, tuition has increased every year since 2008-2009.

The university added that the province cut nearly $7 million to the U of R. It is also estimated that the university will see a $500,000 annual increase in operating costs due to the PST changes.

The U of R is doing the following to address the shortfall in funding:

• Reductions ranging from one to five percent across 19 administrative and academic units, including a five percent reduction to the university’s executive offices.
• Freezing salaries of out-of-scope staff in 2017/18;
• Suspending operations at the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative; and
• Creating efficiencies in the delivery of the nursing program.

“Our aim in this budget was to minimize the effect of government funding cuts. We looked at how to best support our students and made decisions to keep tuition increases low and reinvest funds into scholarships,” Dr. Vianne Timmons, president and vice-chancellor, said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, as we work with our various academic and administrative units to implement their respective budgets, we know there will be more tough choices to make – ones that may reduce programming and student services on campus.”

The university has also raised international student’s tuition 122 per cent since 2009, raising the revenue from $5.9 million to $24.6 million.