The University of Ottawa (U of O) will raise its tuition for the ninth consecutive year this fall despite opposition from the student federation.
Anne-Marie Roy, the president of U of O’s student federation, said every time tuition hikes are suggested the federation voices their concerns.
This year was no different, according to Roy.
“We held a rally in front of the administration buildings. We also did a banner drop on campus on the morning of May 26, the day of the vote [on tuition hikes],” she said.
U of O’s director of corporate communications, Patrick Charette, told the Ottawa Citizen that the tuition hike is necessary to “balance the books.”
Roy said that the hike is not necessary for that reason.
“The consolidated budgets of the university actually show surpluses,” Roy said.
“While the operational budget of the university may have indicated a deficit at the end of the previous fiscal year, the reality is that in other areas of the consolidated budget the university of Ottawa has actually been generating surpluses,” Roy said.
Roy said she thinks the university is “making the choice to not redirect some of these surpluses into the operational budget and using its deficit to justify an increase.”
“They are making the choice to not prioritize students in the budget,” Roy said.
Roy said the student federation has identified various ways for U of O to save money.
“For example, administrative salaries,” Roy said.
Doaa Abou Hussein, a political science student at U of O expressed concerns about the hike.
“I’m not very pleased about the tuition hike. In Ontario, we already pay incredibly high tuition rates and knowing that each year of my studies, I’ll be paying more and more is terrifying,” Hussein said.
“I wish we knew where exactly the money was going towards too,” Hussein said. “If they told me my money would be going towards financing renovations around campus, I would feel a bit more okay with it. But until I know, I feel like I am being robbed each year and for now good reason.”
Tuition hikes are not exclusive to U of O, according to Reda Zarrug, Carleton University Students’ Association’s vice-president (finance).
“The tuition fees at Carleton University have also been increasing,” Zarrug said.
Zarrug said CUSA has created a fund to help students pay their tuition.
“Our recent creation of a close to a quarter million dollars bursary fund that currently and will in perpetuity assist the students in need.”
