U of C students protest tuition hikes

University of Calgary students gathered at the McEwan Hall over the noon hour Tuesday to voice their opposition to proposed tuition hikes in some faculties for next year.

At the Day of Action, organized by the students' union, students were invited to dine on macaroni and cheese and have their pictures taken with placards reading such things as: "The average debt for a graduate is already more than $25,000."

Engineering student Mazen Alsadat posed for a photo with a wad of fake cash stuffed in his mouth and a sign that read, "The recession is hitting students just as hard as the University."

As an engineering student, he is facing a fee increase of almost 39 per cent. While his employer covers his tuition, he said the hike is unreasonable for fellow students who don't have that kind of arrangement.

"I think the university is trying to take the money out of us without any valid justification," he said.

Alsadat said hewould support a more reasonable increase.

The photos will be made into postcards and mailed to the provincial government.

The students were also asked to sign a petition against tuition hikes, and the students' union handed out Alberta tartan scarves so students could show their support for post-secondary funding.

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

If approved, students in some professional faculties could end up paying 45 per cent more for their classes. For example, the annual program fee for medicine would increase from $14,384 to $19,000.

Danielle Howlett doesn't know how shell be able to pay the proposed increase.

"It doesn't seem like the students will be getting more for their money. I'm still kind of in that shocked mode. I can't believe this has actually been proposed, so its still shocking to me," Howlett said.

"Im in business, so I'll be paying 47 per cent more next year."

Right now, there is a tuition fee regulation that limits annual increases to tuition by the consumer price index (CPI). This year, CPI is set at 1.5 per cent, which means student tuition can't go up by more than that amount.

But the university says it's not getting enough money from the province and the province is allowing this one time higher differential tuition to the professional faculties based on a calculation of market modifiers.

The programs were selected based on earning potential, the costs of delivering the program and a tuition comparison with other universities, Alan Harrison, vice-president in charge of academics, said in a letter released Jan. 28.

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