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This article was published 17/05/2018 (1843 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

International students will pay more than $1,000 each in additional undergraduate tuition fees in September to help the University of Manitoba balance its budget as it copes with provincial funding cuts.

Tuition hikes and a big jump in extended education have helped the university avoid major reductions in the 2018-2019 school year.

There are no major cuts to programs and services in the $618.7 million draft budget that went before the university’s board of governors late Tuesday afternoon, university officials said Thursday.

While university president David Barnard won’t comment until the board passes the final budget, the agenda shows that the university has already cut administration and is relying heavily on higher tuition rates to avoid program cuts.

Tuition increases have been capped for several years at cost-of-living increases but, as of the 2018-2019 academic year, universities can increase fees by five per cent plus inflation for a total of 6.6 per cent.

The university says that a Canadian undergraduate student in the faculty of science taking a maximum course load will be hit with a $260 tuition increase to $4,205. The surcharges on foreign students mean that an international student in the same academic situation will pay $1,013 more, jacking their tuition fee to $16,361 a year.

However, the university will also pay $2.1 million for a private health care plan for international students after the provincial government of Premier Brian Pallister scrapped their coverage as of Sept. 1.

How high can the tuition of international students go? The surcharged annual tuition in master’s level orthodontics is $53,766.04.

The 6.6 per cent increase in tuition will bring the university an additional $9.5 million in revenue. Summer students will pay only 1.3 per cent higher fees, because provincial legislation allowing five per cent plus cost of living does not take effect until September.

Revenue from extended education will jump $4.5 million. External affairs executive director John Danakas said Thursday that the money comes from “growth of registrations in non-degree programs — increased promotion, increased demand.”

Meanwhile, the province has cut university and college grants by 0.9 per cent, and the U of M has lost $500,000 through lower access grants and $1.65 million in cuts to Research Manitoba.

Education Minister Ian Wishart said recently that the across-the-board 0.9 per cent reduction in operating grants represents the costs of excess administration the provincial government wants chopped.

The university has also needed to dip into contingency funds to pay $2.4 million to its faculty association as a penalty for losing an unfair labour practices decision. The Manitoba Labour Board ruled the university bargained in bad faith in 2016 by obeying Pallister’s order not to tell the union during bargaining that the province had imposed a wage freeze.

Danakas said Thursday that details of international student health coverage has not yet been worked out.

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“The health care is still being sought through possible providers,” Danakas said.

It is not yet clear what level of health coverage will be provided, and the draft budget notes that the provincial government has made not only international students, but also their spouses and dependents, ineligible for provincial health coverage.

The U of M says its $2.1 million will assist international students in the transition to private health-care coverage.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca