International students at Lakehead University say they can’t afford the latest tuition increases.
Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal is studying for an Honours Bachelor of Commerce and says the extra cost may force him to drop out, on top of his family’s reduced income because of the pandemic.
“It might, because my family doesn’t yet know that I have to pay, like $30,000 and they were planning for something like $25,000. So, where do we manage the money from, especially during this time?”
Kamal points out many international students also haven’t been able to travel to their home countries because of travel restrictions.
He says students have reached out to the school but have gotten “no response.”
“There is no transparency from them saying why [they approved] this increase, or why they were thinking this was a good idea,” Kamal says, adding there is “no regulation” for how much universities can charge international students.
An anonymous Change.org user started a petition on Tuesday asking the university not to increase tuition for the upcoming school year. It’s gathered over 1,300 signatures.
An emailed statement from Lakehead University says the increase of 13% quoted in the petition only applies to the Undergraduate Engineering program.
“Tuition fee increases are made in order to maintain the comprehensive supports and services Lakehead offers all of its students. The changes to tuition rates for our 2020-2021 academic year occurred before the global pandemic,” the statement says.
“During the 2019-2020 year, Lakehead University’s Engineering program tuition was the lowest among all of Ontario’s 13 Engineering programs. Even after the increase, Lakehead’s tuition is still below the provincial average while delivering exceptional programming and remaining among the top 2-3 value-added Engineering degrees in Ontario in terms of tuition fees.
Lakehead University has also taken steps to support our students during this time, including advocating for more support from the Province, offering remote and alternative course delivery models to minimize the impact to students’ access to post-secondary opportunities, and increasing financial aid to our students through a donor-funded COVID-19 Student Relief Fund and Lakehead University matching those donations, contributions from Lakehead University International’s emergency bursary fund, and plans to offer more financial supports and payment flexibility this fall.”
