More than 1,100 people sign petition asking MRU to reduce tuition

Students are asking Mount Royal University to consider lowering tuition for the upcoming school year in light of classes shifting online.

More than 1,100 people have signed a petition.

The students saythey will not be getting what they signed up for, since classes are expected to remain online for the foreseeable future.

Petition organizer Portia Kusakdwedu says the tuition increase is deterring students from coming back to school.

"Maybe I just won't attend this upcoming semester until classes are back from online because paying tuition is very hard for a lot of people my age right now," Kusakdwedu said.

In February, before COVID-19 changed the way education is delivered, MRU approved a seven per cent increase to tuition for next fall.After COVID-19 hit, the majority of classes were moved online.

Annalise Van Ham, vice-president of finance and administration at MRU, says the university does not plan to reduce tuition.

"The quality of our faculty, the quality of our instruction, the courses we're delivering, are intact though the delivery method is different," she said.

"But certainly all of our student support services and access of students to faculty remains a priority for us as an institution."

Van Ham says she understands the students' concerns.

"Certainly regarding tuition and fees and particularly during this period when our access to campus is limited for further consideration of safety around COVID-19," she said.

Nonetheless, Van Ham says, MRU continues to deliver courses and do everything it can to provide top quality faculty and instruction.

"Which is what tuition primarily goes toward."

She says that while the school doesnot plan to reduce tuition, MRU will evaluate potential reductions to student fees.