Acadia will take the good out of tuition, bursary money

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

Kings County Register

Administration at Acadia University were pleased with last week’s provincial move to freeze tuition. “I think it's a positive sign that funding will increase and tuition fees or the cost of attending university for Nova Scotians and, eventually, students from out of province will decline over time,” said Scott Roberts, senior director communications and public affairs.

Students Union president Kyle Steele called the agreement more of a mixed bag. “The students who are from Nova Scotia and studying in Nova Scotia have received a great deal with the deductions on their tuition,” he said. “All students will continue to benefit immediately from the tuition freeze, and we certainly appreciate the Nova Scotia government maintaining their promise to bring tuition down to the national average.”

However, Steele was upset “to see that Acadia got one of the worst deals when it comes to provincial funding. “We will have a lot of work to do in the next three years, but I'm confident that this university will come out on top. It's lived through a lot, and this is just another bump in the road.”

The new funding agreement between will freeze tuition at current levels for the next three years. A student bursary will reduce the cost for students attending Nova Scotia universities.

A memorandum of understanding, signed by Education Minister Karen Casey and Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents’ chairman Tom Traves, sets out a schedule of increased funding to universities, designed to meet operational costs and eliminate tuition increases for all students over the next three years.

A $66-million Nova Scotia University Student Bursary Trust is being established. For Nova Scotians, the bursary will provide a maximum per-student benefit of $761 in 2008-09, $1,022 in 2009-10 and $1,283 in 2010-11. Canadian students from outside Nova Scotia will benefit from a bursary of $261 in 2010-11.

The bursary and funding agreement will bring the cost of education borne by Nova Scotia students attending a Nova Scotia university to the national tuition average by 2010-11.

Over the next three years, the province will spend $180 million to increase direct funding to universities and eliminate tuition increases. Available funding to the university sector will increase by $30 million per year from $258.7 million in 2007/ 08 to $348.7 million in 2010/ 11.

The agreement also addresses student fees and other issues that may arise during the life of the agreement.