MUN student representatives call for tuition freeze and 'a break'
CBC
Memorial University student representatives are once again calling on the board of regents to pause tuition increases, as the provincial government hits pause on its reduction of the tuition offset grant.
A handful of university students, and staff from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), showed up at MUN's Signal Hill campus on Wednesday to have their message heard.
Longtime student activist and current chairperson for CFS Newfoundland and Labrador, Nicolas Keough, wants the board to include a tuition freeze in its 2025-26 university budget.
MUN has been implementing a four per cent increase to tuition rates every year since 2022, which ended a previous 22-year freeze.
"We need to see it this week, and we need to see some relief to students who are really struggling under the current cost of living and housing crisis," Keough told reporters.
This year's provincial budget included $312 million for the university's core operating grant and $7.8 million for the campus renewal fee, which will save full-time students $500 a year.
Further, $13.7 million is tabled to support the university's budget, $4.7 million for the Faculty of Nursing's satellite sites and $2 million for the Doctor of Psychology program.
The demand comes just months before Janet Morrison is scheduled to begin her new role as the university's new president.
Morrison cut dozens of programs in her previous post as the president of Sheridan College in Ontario.
Despite that, Keough is optimistic.
"I think the president has made it clear that she wants to meet with the students, that she wants to have a good relationship with the students," he said.
Outgoing president Jennifer Lokash posted a budget update to the MUN Gazette on April 23, which says the university anticipates the reductions to continue for the next two fiscal years.
"Given this is a one-year pause, rather than a forgiveness, care must be taken to invest the money in pressing priorities that will help Memorial become more sustainable," Lokash wrote.
CFS staffer Ashlinn Pennell said MUN needs to "make the right decision" in light of the relief.
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