Students Urge Government to Strengthen Tuition Policy, Ensure Meaningful Consultation and Provide Increased University Funding
Halifax, NS – Today, postsecondary students across Nova Scotia released recommendations for the new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government and Nova Scotia’s 10 universities. The MOU sets the strategic direction of post-secondary education by regulating tuition, providing funding and creating sector priorities; the current agreement is set to expire March 31 2024.
“Despite some regulation in the current MOU, domestic tuition rates in the province remain the highest in the country, with no regulation of out-of-province or international tuition,” said Georgia Saleski, incoming Executive Director of Students Nova Scotia. “In order to provide equitable access to education amid an increasingly unaffordable landscape, it is imperative that the government strengthen regulation and work towards bringing tuition in line with national averages while mandating predictable tuition models for international students studying here.”
In addition to predictable tuition, students are also asking the government to increase public funding to universities to offset strengthened tuition regulation and to address rising accessibility costs; under the current MOU, operating grants increase by only 1% annually. Indeed, government contributions to universities have proportionally decreased in recent decades, from approximately 80% in the 1980s to nearly 30% in 2022. As a result, the costs of institutional funding have increasingly been passed on to students, while rising deferred maintenance costs further impact accessibility and quality.
“Beyond promoting accessibility and sector sustainability, students are seeking expanded support for underrepresented groups, creation of student housing policy, and strengthened institutional accountability, to name a few,” says Sadie McAlear, President of the Acadia Students’ Union. “We believe these priorities will strengthen the affordability & quality of postsecondary for years to come, and look forward to sharing our recommendations with government and stakeholders in the months ahead.”
Notably, despite the fact that students are the primary stakeholders and largest financial contributors to Nova Scotia universities, they are not full partners in the MOU process.
“We remain concerned student voices will not be as integral as they should be within MOU decision making if students themselves are not directly involved in development processes for key clauses such as tuition regulation, institutional accountability and student wellbeing,” says Lydia Houck, outgoing Executive Director. “Students Nova Scotia looks forward to continuing to share their MOU recommendations with government, MLAs and stakeholders in the months to come, while continuing to advocate for direct student engagement in MOU negotiation and development.”
The MOU report and recommendation list can be viewed at studentsns.ca/government-submissions.