Canadas Laurentian University has increased tuition fees for domestic non-Ontario students by 3% and for certain international students by 5%. These fee hikes come in the midst of restructuring after announcing its financial insolvency this past winter.
After Ontario froze tuition fees by the province to make education more affordable, Laurentian University was unable to increase tuition fees for post-secondary students from Ontario. However, on June 18, the Laurentians board of governors decided to increase tuition fees for domestic non-Ontario students to the maximum limit allowed by the province which is by 3%.
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In the same meeting, they voted to increase tuition fees for international students enrolled in the programs of business administration and commerce, engineering and computer science by 5%.
International students enrolled in business administration and commerce programs will now have to pay $27,840, in engineering programs $35,453 and in computer science programs $27,258 for the 2021-22 academic year.
The university said these decisions were made after comparing the tuition fees charged by other universities in Ontario.
Since Ontario does not limit tuition fees for international students and charges them much higher than domestic students, it uses these funds as welcome sources of cash.
Member of the Laurentian board of governors Guy Labine said that tuition fees play a crucial role for international students in deciding whether or not to attend a university and how it affects its competitiveness.
He added that these hikes will ensure that the university recovers from its insolvency.
Laurentian president Robert Hache said it is important for every university in Canada to do a thorough market analysis and identify which rates are competitive.
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He added while students from China see value in price tags, those from other countries look for moderate tuition fees.
This year, international applications are quite strong, especially those that are of Francophone students. The same is a result of some of the work the university has been doing to attract more international students, he mentioned.
However, given that the pandemic is still ongoing, nothing can be thought of as certain. But the university is certain that the new tuition rates are competitive which will be effective in drawing more international students, he further said.
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