OUSA report urges provincial government to freeze tuition for province-wide cost sustainability

TORONTO, Oct. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) announces the release of Ontario's Next Tuition Framework. The report, released today, outlines how Ontario can reclaim fiscal sustainability for students, families and government by freezing tuition increases and creating more efficient and fair payment processes.

Ontario's Next Tuition Framework emphasizes that rising tuition costs are not simply an issue for students, but also have a profound effect on the province's economic prosperity.

Released in two parts, the document explores two major areas; first, how freezing or limiting increases in tuition benefits not only students, but also low- and middle-income families, and the government; second, how to change tuition payment processes to make the system more fair and accessible.

Among the topics explored in the paper is the importance for government to address this issue immediately, when the current climate is ripe for change. "With the fastest growing tuition in the country and poor performance in the student summer job market, the province must act quickly to address the concern that higher education is becoming increasingly inaccessible for Ontario families," commented Alysha Li, President of OUSA.

Additionally, Ontario's Next Tuition Framework is a call to government to halt increases to tuition in an effort to help Ontario meet its stated goal of balancing the budget by 2017-18. "The more tuition increases, the more student financial assistance costs the government," commented Rylan Kinnon, Executive Director of OUSA. "To a government concerned with reducing costs, reducing tuition increases is good public policy."

"We are recommending a one-year tuition freeze at least," continued Kinnon, "should tuition increase after a freeze, we recommend that the government ensure that tuition increases do not outpace inflation. These recommendations are good for students, their families, and the government."

OUSA represents the interests of over 150,000 professional and undergraduate, full- and part-time university students at nine member associations across Ontario.

SOURCE: Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Medina Abdelkader, Director of Communications, work: [phone], cell: [phone], email: [email protected]