(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)
April 03, 2015 - 8:26 AM
OKANAGAN - Tuition fees are going up two per cent with Okanagan College’s board of governors approval of a $94.95 million operating budget.
Okanagan College Board of Governors Chair Tom Styffe says the board initially faced "a seven digit issue, created by a number of pressures,” according to a media release. He says administration and staff were able to pare down the budget in addition to finding new ways to increase revenue.
Increased revenue from tuition sources will come from a two per cent increase in tuition fees, in addition to seeing growth in the number of international and continuing studies students.
The tuition increases will add approximately $32.67 to the cost of a semester for a student taking university transfer arts. Students in the office assistant program will see rates rise by $42.82, while a level one auto service technician will pay another $14.50 for a semester’s tuition, according to the release.
For the time being, fees for Adult Basic Education or English as a Second Language courses for domestic students will not be charged fees. However, the province is now allowing public institutions to charge for these programs, reducing funding at the same time, Styffe says. One time transitional funding will offset those reductions, but only for the coming year.
He says over the next few months, the college intends to develop a plan for which courses the college may charge tuition. The board will review the plan before implementation of any fees.
“We believe it is important to do the research about how ABE and ESL fees may affect our students. At a time when so many jobs require higher education, there is a great deal of interest in preserving access to these program areas,” Styffe says in the release.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015