Tuition Fees to Rise by 2%; University focuses on attracting more students

March 26, 2011

The Board of Governors for the University of Northern British Columbia has approved a $66.9 million operating budget for UNBC that is balanced. The budget provides limited opportunity for strategic investments aimed at increasing UNBC’s attraction to students.
 
While achieving a balanced budget, the University is facing increased expenditures related to electricity rates, Library acquisitions, software licensing, salaries and benefits, and overall inflation.
 
“In addition to rising costs, UNBC is constrained primarily by two factors: static funding from the Province and enrolments that are not rising,” says UNBC President George Iwama. “As a result, increasing student enrolments is vital for the University.”
 
Making UNBC more attractive to students has been central to the development of the 2011-12 budget. For example, some funds are being allocated to special marketing and student recruitment efforts that will increase the profile of the University among prospective students. Provisions are also being made to adequately fund the Nursing and Education programs, two programs with large regional student populations, as well as to increase the contribution to the University’s reserve to maintain capital equipment.
 
As part of the budget, UNBC will be increasing the tuition fee for students by 2%. This increase is consistent with other universities and is regulated by the Province. The tuition fee for a full-time undergraduate student now will be $4629 per year, an increase of $90 compared to this year.