rt_0891
September 28th, 2005, 12:50 AM
It's hard being a middle-class citizen in Ontario...
Is there a doctor in the province?
By TERRY WEBER
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 Posted at 3:17 PM EDT
Globe and Mail Update
The cost of getting a professional degree in Ontario soared in the wake of deregulation, with the tab for medical school quadrupling and law-school fees nearly tripling, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
In a new study looking at the impact of rising tuition fees, the government agency also said the sharp increase also went hand-in-hand with changes in who was attending professional schools during the period, with students from families in the middle of the socio-economic spectrum less likely to pursue those career paths.
According to the findings, tuition fees in undergraduate programs across Canada rose by 50 per cent on average between 1995-96 and 2001-02.
In law, however, tuition fees surged 80 per cent, while costs associated with medical school jumped 160 per cent.
The agency also said the increases were not shared evenly by all provinces, with some provinces even seeing declines in some costs during the period in question.
"These increases were largely the product of trends in Ontario, where fees in professional programs were deregulated in 1998," Statscan said.
That policy change meant universities in the province could set whatever fees they wanted for all graduate programs and some undergraduate professional programs.
By comparison, in British Columbia where fees continued to be regulated during the study period tuition costs fell moderately. In B.C., the cost of attending medical school fell 3 per cent, while law-school fees fell 5 per cent.
In Quebec, which also regulated fees, tuition costs increased by about 44 per cent in medicine and 27 per cent in dentistry, Statscan said.
"Other provinces had already deregulated fees, or experimented with deregulation to varying degrees." Statscan said.
"This resulted in fee increases for Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, that lay somewhere between the two extremes of Ontario on the one end, and Quebec and British Columbia on the other."
Tuesday's report also found that during the period of rapidly rising tuition fees in Ontario, recent university graduates from the most well-educated families those with parents holding either graduate or professional degrees became much more likely to pursue professional degrees.
Before the jump in fees, 2.4 per cent of those students pursued professional degrees, Statscan said. That percentage increased to 5.2 per cent afterward.
The study also found a similar increase in Ontario students from the least-educated families those with parents who had no post-secondary qualifications.
The likelihood of enrolment for those students rose to 1.2 per cent from 0.5 per cent, Statscan said.
"Although the study did not determine the reason for this increase, it is possible that increased access to student aid may have played a role," the agency said.
Students from families in the middle those with parents who had post-secondary education below a graduate degree saw their likelihood of enrolment drop to 1 per cent after the fee increase, from 2 per cent before.
"It is possible that some students in this group either could not afford or chose not to pay the higher fees, and did not qualify for as much student aid as students from less educated families," Statscan said.
In Quebec and British Columbia, where fees stayed relatively stable, there were no changes in enrolment patterns. No declines in enrolment were registered among students in these provinces from middle educated parents, the agency said.
Student groups said Tuesday the study backs up their arguments that climbing tuition fees erode access to education.
"We've been saying all along that rising tuition fees aren't just an ongoing concern for low- income families, rising fees will steadily impede access for more and more modest-income families," Jesse Greener of the Canadian Federation of Students said in a statement issued in response to the study.
Is there a doctor in the province?
By TERRY WEBER
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 Posted at 3:17 PM EDT
Globe and Mail Update
The cost of getting a professional degree in Ontario soared in the wake of deregulation, with the tab for medical school quadrupling and law-school fees nearly tripling, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
In a new study looking at the impact of rising tuition fees, the government agency also said the sharp increase also went hand-in-hand with changes in who was attending professional schools during the period, with students from families in the middle of the socio-economic spectrum less likely to pursue those career paths.
According to the findings, tuition fees in undergraduate programs across Canada rose by 50 per cent on average between 1995-96 and 2001-02.
In law, however, tuition fees surged 80 per cent, while costs associated with medical school jumped 160 per cent.
The agency also said the increases were not shared evenly by all provinces, with some provinces even seeing declines in some costs during the period in question.
"These increases were largely the product of trends in Ontario, where fees in professional programs were deregulated in 1998," Statscan said.
That policy change meant universities in the province could set whatever fees they wanted for all graduate programs and some undergraduate professional programs.
By comparison, in British Columbia where fees continued to be regulated during the study period tuition costs fell moderately. In B.C., the cost of attending medical school fell 3 per cent, while law-school fees fell 5 per cent.
In Quebec, which also regulated fees, tuition costs increased by about 44 per cent in medicine and 27 per cent in dentistry, Statscan said.
"Other provinces had already deregulated fees, or experimented with deregulation to varying degrees." Statscan said.
"This resulted in fee increases for Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, that lay somewhere between the two extremes of Ontario on the one end, and Quebec and British Columbia on the other."
Tuesday's report also found that during the period of rapidly rising tuition fees in Ontario, recent university graduates from the most well-educated families those with parents holding either graduate or professional degrees became much more likely to pursue professional degrees.
Before the jump in fees, 2.4 per cent of those students pursued professional degrees, Statscan said. That percentage increased to 5.2 per cent afterward.
The study also found a similar increase in Ontario students from the least-educated families those with parents who had no post-secondary qualifications.
The likelihood of enrolment for those students rose to 1.2 per cent from 0.5 per cent, Statscan said.
"Although the study did not determine the reason for this increase, it is possible that increased access to student aid may have played a role," the agency said.
Students from families in the middle those with parents who had post-secondary education below a graduate degree saw their likelihood of enrolment drop to 1 per cent after the fee increase, from 2 per cent before.
"It is possible that some students in this group either could not afford or chose not to pay the higher fees, and did not qualify for as much student aid as students from less educated families," Statscan said.
In Quebec and British Columbia, where fees stayed relatively stable, there were no changes in enrolment patterns. No declines in enrolment were registered among students in these provinces from middle educated parents, the agency said.
Student groups said Tuesday the study backs up their arguments that climbing tuition fees erode access to education.
"We've been saying all along that rising tuition fees aren't just an ongoing concern for low- income families, rising fees will steadily impede access for more and more modest-income families," Jesse Greener of the Canadian Federation of Students said in a statement issued in response to the study.