Undergraduate tuition in Alberta has skyrocketed by 88.5% since 1993/94, the third highest increase in Canada over that period. Alberta now has the highest tuition in Western Canada, when a decade ago it had the lowest.

University of Alberta Students’ Union VP External Anand Sharma says years of tuition increases and the "chronic under funding of education" are having an impact in the province, "compromising both accessibility and affordability for students."

The figures, from a Statistics Canada report released this summer, also show that the cost of attending university across Canada has increased 85% over the same period, and will increase again this year for most students.

The average undergraduate student in Canada will pay 4.5% more in university fees this year than they did in 2001/02. This is the largest increase in the past three years, and means that the average undergraduate will now pay $3,733.

To make matters worse, the report also states that additional compulsory fees have also increased by 14.2% to an average of $538 per year.

In Alberta, tuition fees increased by 3.3% this year, and additional compulsory fees jumped by almost 15%. The cost to attend university in Alberta for the average student is now $4,165 a year and compulsory fees add an additional $513 annually.

Sharma says that as tuition, fees and the cost of living go up, post-secondary students are going further into debt. "The average student debt load is now around $20,000, and some faculties such as medicine and dentistry are even higher. We’ve also seen an increase in levels of private debt levels for students."

"According to the provincial government’s own figures, financial barriers are the number one barrier for high school students to attending university."

Sharma says that the position of the Students’ Union is simple. "Tuition fees in Alberta have gone up, students have done their part, and tuition fees must now be frozen."

The largest single increase in tuition came in British Columbia under the Campbell government, which raised tuition by over 25% compared to last year.