U of C proposes fee hikes for professional programs

The University of Calgary is considering large tuition increases to its medicine, business, engineering and law programs.

Tuition for most undergraduate and graduate programs will likely only go up 1.5 per cent in 2010-2011 because of the cap set by the provincial government that started in 2004.

But the province has allowed universities this year to submit applications for "market modifiers," extra increases for some professional programs.

The University of Calgary is proposing hikes to its engineering, business, law and medicine programs that could see the cost to students rise by as much as 47 per cent. The annual program fee for medicine, for example, would increase from $14,384 to $19,000.

The programs were selected based on earning potential, the costs of delivering the program and a tuition comparison with other universities, said Alan Harrison, vice-president in charge of academics, in a letter released on Thursday.

The university is also considering a "moderate increase to student fees later this spring, with the goal of consolidating student fees and bundling the services offered throughout a student's experience at the university and also after graduation," he wrote.

The plan isn't popular with students, who are already burdened with too much debt, said Charlotte Kingston, the president of the students' union.

"These numbers are absolutely shocking for students," she said, adding that it's short notice for those who would have to come up with the extra cash over the summer.

The university administration doesn't seem to have its priorities straight, she said, pointing to the university's costly new buildings, large salariesof itsvice-presidents and otherexecutives and the $4.5-million pension ofdeparting president Harvey Weingarten.

"There are lots of things happening at this campus, and students are asking 'Why am I being asked to bare the burden for these benefits when it has nothing to do with the cost of my programs or my education?'"

The board of governors will make a final decision on fees in April after hearing back from the province on its "market modifiers" proposal.

U of C ended the 2008-09 year with a deficit of $14.3 million, which was primarily the result of poor returns on its endowment funds used for scholarships and other programs specified by donors.