By Ashley Wiebe

College students have mixed feelings towards tuition freeze

Mar 23, 2017 | 5:48 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The promise the NDP government made back in 2015 to freeze tuition for post-secondary students has carried through for a third year.

The announcement was made last week as part of the provincial budget.

Some students are thrilled by the news, but others are worried about what will happen once the freeze is ultimately lifted.

Beth Lewis, president of the Students’ Association at Medicine Hat College, says hearing tuition will stay frozen is a good thing for students.

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She says that by keeping post-secondary education affordable, it means it’s an option for more people.

But Lewis worries the cost could jump once the freeze is lifted, making it less of an option for some.

“Our concern with tuition freezes is that once you have a tuition freeze for a certain amount of years and it’s unfrozen, that you’re going to have an increase, a major increase, that is going to deter students from coming to school because it’s not affordable,” she said.

The province of Manitoba is currently lifting their freeze on tuition, something the NDP, under Premier Gary Doer, had introduced back in 1999.

Universities there will now be able to raise tuition fees up to five per cent plus the rate of inflation, something students here are hoping doesn’t happen.

Political science instructor Jim Groom said the NDP here in Alberta have put a focus on education since being elected and by keeping tuition frozen, despite the $10 billion deficit, shows they’re continuing with that focus.

“They really have taken a position where they put their money where their mouth is and they said that it’s really important for them to have a strong educational program and educational background,” Groom said.

The Notley government also included a two per cent increase in operating grants for post-secondary institutions in last week’s budget, a move that’s being welcomed by administrators at Medicine Hat College.