Students residing at the University of Victoria (UVic) could face significantly higher costs if a proposed housing fee increase is approved. The 10-year plan consists of a 13 per cent increase this September, followed by two years with six per cent increases, then by seven years of four per cent increases.
Kathryn MacLeod, UVic’s director of residential services, said in recent interviews that the university is facing high costs in deferred maintenance. According to Jim Dunsdon, the associate vice-president (student affairs), the university receives approximately 2.5 applications for every available room. Increased costs would feasibly help finance maintenance, balance supply and demand for on-campus housing, and help fund a new residence building to accommodate more students.
But some students disapprove of the proposed fee increases.
“Deferred maintenance and expansion are things that must be funded, but not off the backs of students who are already struggling to pay their way through school,” said Greg Atkinson, director of external relations for the University of Victoria Students’ Association (UVSA).
The association also expressed concern that middle and low-income students would be increasingly forced to live further from campus, or inclined to drop out.
The university’s current residence costs are 30 per cent lower than the national average, and are expected to remain 14 per cent below the average after the 10-year plan’s conclusion. However, Atkinson said he does not see this as a valid reason to increase costs.
“If everyone were to follow this logic, we would continually drive the national average up,” he said. “Instead, I think affordable housing should be defined not as a comparison, but as an independent cost that is weighed against a student’s ability to pay.”
UVSA has held workshops to educate students on tenant’s rights, and will continue to voice their opposition to the proposed fees, interact with members of the board of governors in the hopes of a no-vote, and focus on publicity to inform students and the community of the issue, Atkinson said.
“We’ve been mobilizing our membership and will be expecting some actions leading up to the vote in March,” he said.
The university’s board of governors will vote on the matter in March.
