Tuition and Mandatory Non-Instructional Fees (MNIFs) at Medicine Hat College are regulated by the Government of Alberta through the Post-secondary Learning Act and the Tuition and Fees Regulation. The previous NDP government implemented a freeze on tuition and MNIFs at the 2014-15 academic year rates for the 2015-16 through 2019-20 academic years.Prior to the last election, the NDP government updated the Tuition Fees and Regulation with the following key provisions, beginning in the 2020-21 academic year:

–Tuition fees can be increased by the percentage annual change in the Alberta Consumer Price Index (CPI)

–Existing Mandatory Non-Instructional Fees (MNIFs) can be increased by up to 10% each year, unless the fee has reached a cost-recovery level

–New Mandatory Non-Instructional Fees must be signed-off by the Students Association.

–International student tuition is not regulated, however the maximum amount of tuition an international student will pay must be guaranteed for the standard length of the program in their offer of admission

–At least two consultation meetings with the Student’s Association must occur to discuss increases to tuition and MNIFs

–Institutions must publish their tuition and MNIFs in a public manner (MHC publishes in the Academic Calendar and website)

After the May 2019 election, the new UCP government commissioned the MacKinnon Report on Alberta’s Finances, which offered recommendations to support the planning of the Alberta Government’s 2019 Budget. Recommendations 7,8 and 9 were pertaining to post secondary institutions across Alberta and were implemented in the Budget released in 2019. Here are some points from the budget:

–Modified the Tuition and Fees Regulation to allow tuition to increase by up to 7% per year on average for the 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years, before returning to the rate of CPI in 2023-24, with no program increasing by more than 10% in each of the three years noted

–Removal of 10% increase limit to MNIFs not at cost-recovery

–Cancellation of the Summer Temporary Employment Program

–Cancellation of Alberta Education and Tuition tax credits for 2020

–Student loan interest rate increased to prime+1%

–Reduction of Campus Alberta Grant across the Alberta post-secondary system by 5% for 2019-2020 (differentially applied)

–Elimination of Infrastructure Maintenance Program (IMP) funding for 2019-2020

–Signals that the Campus Alberta Grant will be reduced across the Alberta post-secondary system by an additional 5% each year for 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023.

Medicine Hat College executives had two consultation meetings with the SAMHC executives in November to arrive at a mutually-agreed decision. Tuition Consultation meetings were held at the Medicine Hat campus on January 9th and at the Brooks Campus on January 16th. These consultations included all the information pertaining to the change in tuition rates as well as other changes recommended by the Government of Alberta. Here is the proposal for the academic year 2020-2021:

•Base Tuition for Domestic Students to increase 7% from $117.00 per credit to $125.20 per credit

•International Tuition differential to remain at 2.75 times domestic tuition

•Base International Tuition to increase 7% from $321.75 per credit to $344.30 per credit

•NISF to increase 10% from $5.20 per credit to $5.72 per credit (this will be broken into two fees as per direction from Advanced Education)

•No additional mandatory fees to be introduced for 2020/2021. If Mental Health Grant funding from province is discontinued, new fees to potentially be considered for 2021/2022.

•Apprenticeship Tuition and materials fees to increase by 7% (set by Advanced Education)

•Tuition rates for students enrolled in Years 3 and 4 of collaborative degree programs are set by the collaborative partners.

All the proposed increases for 2020/2021 are going to be sent to Medicine Hat College Board of Governors for approval. Future year tuition and fee increases to be discussed once further information is known on future budget and funding frameworks. For now, the decisions are on a year-to-year basis. For more information or any questions you might have, stop by the SAMHC Office or Mr. Sandy Henderson, Dean of Student Services/Registrar at henderson@mhc.ab.ca.