Unlike other Halifax-area universities, the University of King's College won't be hiking students fees by implementing a tuition reset.
Yesterday, new university president Bill Lahey put forward a motion not to implement the tuition reset for the next two school years, an option which was previously left open for this academic year and the next. According to a press release from the student's union, King’s is the first university to pass on this opportunity.
This means King's won't be imposing an extreme hike, an option given to the school when the provincial Liberal government granted a three-year window for Nova Scotian universities to increase tuition fees without a cap back in 2014.
Lahey says the primary reason behind this decision is that the university has experienced a drop in enrollment.
"We're doing a lot of work on improving our recruitment and our enrollment situation, and a reset would potentially counteract the value of that work that we're doing," he says.
Lahey also listed the school's currently high tuition fees and the concerns of students as additional reasons why he doesn't think King's should reset its prices. The university doesn't want to increase "difficulties or situations of hardship" that students already face, he says.
The King’s Students' Union (KSU) is calling this decision a “major victory.”
“Today’s victory is concrete proof that tuition fee hikes are not inevitable,” said Aidan McNally, KSU president. “When students come together and pressure our decision makers to oppose tuition fee increases, we can win.”
