Many people have worked across partisan lines to lobby for an end to the practice of charging flat fees in the Faculty of Arts & Science, and they should be applauded for their efforts in light of recently announced provincial policy changes. But to echo Alastair Woods, the chairperson of CFS-Ontario, this change only represents a step in the right direction. To call it a victory is to erase the realities of post-secondary education funding in Ontario.
The title of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities’ (MTCU) press release announcing the policy changes is rather instructive for students: “Fairer Fees for University and College Students.” Yes, the provincial government seems to be acknowledging the fact that flat fees are inherently unfair.
Student organizations have long understood this to be true, opposing flat fees based on the principle that students should only pay for the courses they take. A basic contradiction in the flat fees program makes clear why they are necessarily unfair.
Flat fees are sold to students on the basis that they provide the opportunity to take a sixth course (on top of the five FCEs of a full course load) without having to pay the additional course fee. However, if all students took advantage of this incentive, flat fees would cease to be a revenue-generating device. It can only make more money for the university if a majority of students take less than a full course load. In other words, it is only effective when most students are overcharged.
University of Toronto president Meric Gertler has expressed concerns that the provincial policy change would eventually result in lost revenue for the university, putting the figure at around $16 million annually. Along with changes to flat fees, the mtcu move will likely also affect the revenue generated by interest charges on late tuition.
Neither flat fees nor interest charges have disappeared completely. Broadly, the university will no longer be able to charge flat fees to students taking less than four credits (after the phase-in period). With the new split tuition model, students will now face two interest periods (one each semester).
Alternative revenue tools like these have become necessary to combat Ontario’s chronic underfunding of post-secondary education. Increased tuition fees and private investment now account for more than 50 per cent of U of T’s operating budget, a shift reflected in the mtcu’s new rhetoric of “publicly-assisted universities” that has replaced the long-used term “publicly-funded universities.” Despite the mtcu touting the 80 per cent increase in government funding for Ontario universities in the last 10 years, these institutions receive the lowest per-student subsidy in the country.
Therefore, it is important to understand the mtcu’s policy change as restricting the effectiveness of alternative funding strategies implemented by the university in the face of inadequate funding from the government.
The case of flat fees is illustrative for anyone interested in the current state of post-secondary education policy in Ontario. Rather than making holistic reform, we see incremental policy changes which seem to only further complicate an already complex web of loans, research grants, and private partnerships.
As I see it, the university and students have a unique opportunity to harness current momentum for change in post-secondary policy, and to work together in pursuit of a common goal. Rather than relying on exploitative measures like flat fees to make up for funding shortfalls, the university can stand with students to demand more per-student funding from the provincial government. Rather than chanting “drop fees” or claiming this policy change as a victory, students can stand with the university in demanding more appropriate funding from the province.
In addition to exploitative policies like flat fees, the defunding of Ontario’s universities has had other negative impacts on the landscape of post-secondary education. One rather terrifying example is the huge increase in undergraduate enrolment, ostensibly undertaken to bring more money into these institutions. Larger class sizes have eroded the quality of education, and high unemployment amongst recent graduates speaks to the devaluation of undergraduate degrees in the labour market.
Students paying more for less valuable degrees makes no sense. Let’s not congratulate ourselves yet. Let’s stand up for the needs of U of T and its students. Let’s push for more per-student funding, lower tuition, and an end to flat fees.
Dylan Chauvin-Smith is a multi-year student at New College studying English and Film. He is currently an executive member of the Arts & Science Students Union.
