SFSS Response to SFU’s Further Proposed Tuition Increases

November 9, 2020

YOUR Tuition is Going Up During a Pandemic…AGAIN! SFSS Response to SFU’s Further Proposed Tuition Increases #EnoughIsEnoughSFU!

On October 26th at the Simon Fraser Student Society’s Annual General Meeting, you showed up and made your voice heard – You voted to formally condemn SFU for increasing tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year. In response, SFU Vice President Finance Martin Porchurko and Vice President Academic Jon Driver sent an email to the SFU community on November 6th, to confirm that they will NOT be rectifying tuition increases for the ongoing academic year, but that tuition will be increasing AGAIN for the upcoming year – by 2% and 4% for domestic and international undergraduates respectively, with plans to keep increasing tuition in subsequent years.

In the email, Porchurko and Driver point to supports such as bursaries and emergency aid as justification for allowing tuition increases to happen. This is not an equitable solution, as bursaries have a GPA limit that imply that financial aid is deserved by students whose grades are good enough. The $3M in emergency aid has run out – meanwhile the COVID-19 pandemic does not seem to be resolving anytime soon, which has left students in ongoing financial distress. Students are facing crushing debt, a decimated job market, and being forced into precarious employment which may significantly increase their risks of contracting COVID-19. A tuition freeze is the only way we can ensure EVERY student who needs help, gets help! With the extreme decrease in quality of education, why is your tuition still going up?

Tuition has become increasingly unaffordable over the past several decades, as post-secondary institutions rely more on tuition fees for funding, and less on government support. Student societies, such as the SFSS have been leading the charge in lobbying the provincial government to re-evaluate how post-secondary institutions are funded, and we have been pushing for more government support for years. SFU however, is happy to continue digging into YOUR pockets, instead of working with the SFSS to make SFU a truly publicly-funded institution. This needs to become a university priority.

Right now, we encourage you to attend the virtual information sessions and let the University know that #EnoughIsEnoughSFU, and we cannot continue to allow SFU to increase our tuition year after year, with limited tangible benefits for our students.

Get your voice heard

Attend the Virtual Budget Information Sessions on November 23rd and 30th, and let SFU know that #EnoughIsEnoughSFU #TuitionFreezeNow

Read the Tuition Condemnation briefing note from the SFSS Annual General Meeting.

Read this letter sent to the SFSS by SFU in response to our Members’ condemnation of tuition increases.