Tuition increase in line with government framework says college

The board of governors at George Brown College have increased tuition fees for domestic and international students 3 and 5 percent for the 2016-2017 school year.

Shivam Kumar Khullar, the sole student representative on the board of governors,  said the increase came as a shock to him at the April 13 meeting. “It is not a small change but five per cent for next two years for international students. That means almost $600 per semester which is a lot to bear for international students.”

The tution increase for domestic students is three to to five per cent next year depending upon the demand of the program while international students will see a five per cent increase in fall 2016.

Karen Thomson, George Brown’s vice president of marketing and strategic enrolment management, said that the increased was in line with the framework and guidelines specified by Ontario government.

“The ministry also when they created the framework created something called student access guarantee.” said Thomson, “The philosophy behind this is that financial resources or the lack of financial resources should never be a barrier to education.”
Thomson said that the college is taking steps to help students in financial need.

“At George Brown we set up $6 million last year for students who have financial challenges,” she said. “As long as they meet the criteria, we want to ensure that those funds are allocated to students who would otherwise be unable to attend the college.”