Lakehead University Tuition Increase Below Government Cap

(June 28, 2006 Thunder Bay, Ontario) Lakehead University administration and the Lakehead University Student Union emphatically state that a recent claim by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is patently false and misleading.

In a recently released statement, the CFS Chair, Jesse Greener, claimed that Lakehead University is one of three universities that has "budgeted for tuition fee revenue for students in regulated programs that will exceed the 5% institution-wide average increase allowed by the McGuinty government's Reaching Higher framework on tuition fee increases."

On the contrary, Lakehead University has made a special effort to ensure that the cost of tuition for its programs is below all caps provided by the provincial government. Lakehead University's domestic tuition increases range from 3.9% to 4.5%, and this cost is well below the 5% average cap established by the McGuinty government. This is a deliberate strategy undertaken by Lakehead University to ensure that students at Lakehead continue to obtain a quality education at fair "market value" when considering the continuing escalation of the costs of operating a quality institution of higher learning.

According to Dr. Fred Gilbert, President of Lakehead University: "Lakehead University has made every effort to ensure that this institution is accessible to every student who qualifies academically. This has been our strategy in the past, and it will continue to be in the future. We look at this government policy as a clear limit to tuition increases, and our institution has committed to maximize access over tuition revenue. That is why we have deliberately kept the cost of our programs at approximately 4% on average, well below the government cap of 5%."

Isabelle Poniatowski, President of the Lakehead University Student Union adds: "As Lakehead University's representative to the CFS, I am disappointed that no consultation took place before CFS released its statement."

Students at Lakehead University can obtain the cost of their programs by visiting the Lakehead University website at www.lakeheadu.ca and click on the A to Z index and go to "Tuition Fees" where program costs are available to anyone who wishes to see them.

For further information, contact Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications at 807-343-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca