Reaction to flat fees is mixed among incoming first-year Arts and Science students, the first in their faculty on the St. George campus to be billed for five credits if they take as few as four.
“To my understanding, this compulsory flat fees is contradictory to what U of T has previously said: that students are recommended to take four courses in their first year as they’ll adapt into the new environment,” said Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School senior Daniel Bao, who turned down U of T’s offer of admission, and is planning to attend University of British Columbia instead.
However, incoming Qatar Academy student Tariq Hussein isn’t bothered about flat fees.
“To be quite frank, I’m a Canadian and $5,000 per year is still a relatively low amount to pay, thus the flat fee proposition did not affect my decision at all,” he said.
The universities that Hussein had refused were all outside Canada with higher tuition fees. Even with flat tuition fees, U of T was the cheapest option on his list.
“However, it did affect some of my friends’ decisions as they are now considering other universities,” he added. “I was not aware of the implementation of the flat fees till May; as the university did not share this vital piece of information with me until after I accepted their offer.”
The university informed students with offers of admission about the new flat fee structure on May 23 after the Governing Council meeting where the proposal was approved. The university justified the timing of the announcement saying that students would not be required to commit to their choice of university in Ontario until May 28. Starting in September 2011, all incoming full-time Arts and Science students will pay for five courses, where the threshold for full-time status will be lowered to three courses.
“I don’t agree with flat fees, purely because of the financial strain it puts upon part-time students,” said incoming Humberside Collegiate Institute student Tori Hoszka.
Though she wasn’t aware of flat fees when she accepted her offer, Hoszka concludes that they won’t affect her as she plans to take a full course load anyway.
Students taking fewer than three courses, designated as part-timers by U of T, will continue to pay on a per-course basis. However, the part-time students’ union has argued that those taking between three and 3.5 courses, who were formerly categorized as part-timers, still share the same needs as those taking less than three courses, as many are part of the same demographic: often parents and mature students.
During the GC meeting where the flat fees motion was passed, Dean Meric Gertler reiterated the main argument in support of flat fees: the precarious financial condition of Arts and Science, which has incurred an accumulated deficit of almost $40 million. Provost Cheryl Misak assured the council that revenue acquired from flat fees will be re-invested to benefit students.
The application of flat fees is contingent upon the July 11 decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on the legal case advanced by the University of Toronto Student Union, former Arts and Science Student Union president Colum Grove-White, and sociology professor Judith Taylor.
For more on flat fees, check out thevarsity.ca
