Increasing graduate tuition fees further undermine access, threaten Canada's
future innovation

OTTAWA, Sept. 16 /CNW/ - Graduate students will be paying significantly higher tuition fees in most provinces this fall, according to a report released today by Statistics Canada.

"Increasing graduate tuition fees are threatening Canada's future economic success and undermining our future innovation," said Kimalee Phillip, Chairperson of the National Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Government divestment in higher education has left students buried in debt and Canada ranked dead last among peer countries for PhD graduation."

According to the report, graduate tuition fees rose by an average of 6.6% to over $6,400 this year. Fees increased in every region other than Atlantic Canada. By comparison, inflation was only 1.8 percent over the twelve months to July 2010. Despite recent increases, federal transfers for post-secondary education are less than half what they were in 1980. Funding for the federal research granting councils has been reduced by $116 million dollars over the past two years. Canada ranks dead last for the number of PhD graduates, regarded as key contributors to innovation. Canada boasts only 209 PhDs per 100,000 people aged 25-29, compared to 734 for Sweden and 448 for the U.K.

In calculating 2010-11 tuition fees Statistics Canada chose to exclude all masters in business administration (MBA) students, artificially lowering the average by over $1200. Statistics Canada offers no reason as to why MBA students should not be included, other than the fact that they pay higher fees than most graduate students.

"Real graduate tuition fees are significantly higher than Statistics Canada is reporting," added Phillip. "By choosing to exclude MBAs from their calculations Statistics Canada is fudging the numbers and making graduate studies appear more affordable than they are."

The National Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students represents over 60,000 graduate students across the country.

For further information:

Kimalee Philllip, National Graduate Caucus Chairperson, 613-261-3231