The hike in tuition comes as SAMU raises affordability concerns.

MacEwan’s board of governors has approved tuition fee increases for the next school year, including a staggering 110 per cent increase in the student Mental Health fee.  

Tuition is set to increase by two per cent for domestic students, and by 10 per cent for international students. 

Most mandatory non-instructional fees (MNIFs) will increase by three per cent, while the technology fee will continue to be waived. The hike in MNIFs is required in order to “maintain the level of service MacEwan students expect and require,” a university spokesperson said. 

The Mental Health fee will see the biggest jump—from $7.05 to $15.00. Students pay MNIFs, which go towards funding services and offsetting service costs. The Mental Health fee is earmarked for crisis counselling and other mental health services for students. 

The increase is meant to partially offset the cost of UWill, an online counselling and 24/7 mental health service, which costs around $400k a year, according to a December report from SAMU vice-president (governance and finance) Andrei Santiago. UWill was implemented this school year to accommodate the growing demand for MacEwan’s psychological and wellness services.  

“This is all still happening, or all happened very recently,” said Poon. “So we’re still working on a response, and sort of seeing how we can inform and mobilize students to hopefully convince the university that these increases are not necessary — that affordability should be a core aspect of the student experience, not just an afterthought.”

— Nathan Poon, SAMU president

Tuition and fee increases come as students continue to struggle with affordability—something the university says they are attempting to address through consultations with SAMU. 

“Two years ago, MacEwan Executive[s] and SAMU worked collaboratively to develop a consultation framework for establishing tuition and mandatory non-instructional fees (MNIFs),” a spokesperson for the university said, adding that the framework includes four consultations throughout the year, which exceeds provincial legislation requirements.

The spokesperson also said that while MacEwan has had “modest” end of year surpluses, this year and the next are projected to end in losses. “Through consultations with SAMU, the initial proposed MNIFs decreased and ended at a level substantively lower than their operating costs,” they said. 

However, SAMU president Nathan Poon expressed concern that students increasingly bear the costs of services.

The Mental Health fee was initially proposed in 2022 as a “supplementary revenue stream to support mental health services on campus,” Poon said.

Poon says that since that time four years ago, the Mental Health fee expenses are being “downloaded onto students.”

MNIFs, governed by the Alberta Tuition Framework, operate on a cost recovery model, meaning schools cannot generate a profit and services cannot exceed the amount generated. 

Poon and Santiago both sit as student representatives on the board of governor’s, and they voted against the motion to increase tuition fees because it was “not in the best interest of the university from a student perspective, and hinders the achievement of MacEwan’s Teaching Greatness strategic plan by risking student retention figures in exchange for tuition increases,” according to Poon’s January report. 

“This is all still happening, or all happened very recently,” said Poon. “So we’re still working on a response, and sort of seeing how we can inform and mobilize students to hopefully convince the university that these increases are not necessary — that affordability should be a core aspect of the student experience, not just an afterthought.” 

“It damages the student well-being, student mental health, and we want to continue to advocate those positions to MacEwan.”

Poon also said he would like MacEwan to be transparent with SAMU about how student fees are being used. 

“So in the past, it has been difficult for the university to keep track of some of the expenses with regards to some of the MNIFS, and when that happens, it’s sort of difficult to ensure that the university is being compliant with the ministry’s regulation,” he said. 

Beyond institutional compliance, Poon pointed to the realities of high costs that MacEwan students are experiencing. SAMU’s survey data reveal that financial constraints have led many students to sacrifice basic living essentials. 

“Well, what our survey data tells us is that students are foregoing meals,” he said. 

“Affordability for all aspects of student life, including tuition and student fees has always been a priority for the university,” MacEwan’s spokesperson said. “We are committed to continuing to collaborate with SAMU to address the challenges faced by our students.”