Over the last week elected representatives from VIUSU attended the BC Federation of Students’ Lobby Week in Victoria, alongside seventeen students’ associations that represent more than 200,000 students across British Columbia. Student representatives lobbied MLAs from October 26 & 27 on issues that impact all students across the province.

Recommendations highlighted three main topics – all centring around the importance of economic recovery in British Columbia and the positive impact that Post-Secondary Education can have on it.

The first recommendation focuses on providing $100 million annually in funding to the BC Access Grant – a progressive program that provides up-front, needs-based, non-payable loans that would help British Columbians re-train and re-skill to ensure their return to the workforce.

Our second recommendation is to complete the post-secondary funding review and determine gaps in government funding, in particular for regional institutions, then provide an infusion of $200 million annually. Despite its goal of creating a world-class post-secondary education system, past BC governments have been remiss in adequately funding post-secondary institutions, leaving institutions scrambling to make up for annual shortfalls with cost-recovery programming and ancillary fees. With an infusion of $200 million annually, institutions could then freeze tuition fees and develop a plan to progressively reduce tuition fees at public colleges, institutes and universities to lessen the financial burden on students and their families.

To further our recommendation to reinstated funding to institutions and freeze tuition, we are asking the government to strengthen the tuition fee Limit Policy to ensure that institutions are not increasing fees beyond the prescribed limits in the form of new ancillary fees. For example, in the 2016-17 academic year, VIU implemented new ancillary fees to pay for services that were previously covered by students’ tuition fees. These new ancillary fees that total almost one million dollars annually at VIU - are tuition fee increases that circumvent government’s Tuition Fee Limit Policy.

The third recommendation is to include an additional amendment to the Tuition Fee Limit Policy to include regulation of fees for international students in order to ensure fairness, consistency, and predictability of international student tuition fees. In addition to these recommendations to support international students, we are asking the government to release a new BC International Education strategy that will provide sufficient supports for international students to assist in their cultural, social, and academic integration.

Our final recommendation is to develop an apprenticeship completion strategy for Trades Training which includes provision for retuning apprenticeship counsellors back to campuses.

Our recommendations were met favourably by both the government and opposition. We are excited to work alongside all MLAs to progress our goals of ensuring public post-secondary education in British Columbia is accessible, affordable, and of the highest quality.

If you’d like to learn more, you can read the policy proposals published here.