Business Tuition Increases
Following a period of frozen tuition levels, under the Alberta Tuition Framework, the University of Alberta School of Business submitted proposals to increase tuition for domestic students in early 2021. The U of A’s 2022-23 extraordinary tuition increase (ETI) proposals are now approved by Ministerial Order.
Collecting tuition is essential to providing students with high-quality learning and research opportunities. It allows the School to enhance and support EDI and Indigenous efforts, offer further student financial support and provide curricular initiatives to inspire undergraduate and graduate student success.
Rationale
We understand that no one likes to see costs go up. While we aim to keep tuition low and accessible, University of Alberta fees have not kept pace with inflationary pressures and cost increases in program delivery. In many cases, current tuition fees are well below average compared to peer institutions that are similarly ranked, partly due to a domestic tuition freeze between 2014-2019 and an MBA tuition rollback in 2015. Raising tuition above the approved 7% increase allows the School to enhance student services, hire and retain accomplished faculty and staff to offer more courses, maintain small class sizes, and increase the number of experiential learning opportunities available.
Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
Proposed Increases
Note: Costs for 1-year of tuition assuming a normal full-time load of 10 courses per year.
Current Tuition (2020/21) |
Proposed Tuition (2022/23) |
$7,488 | $9,775 |
Market Comparators
Ranking* |
School |
2020/21 Tuition and Fees |
4 | Western | $25,200 |
4 | Queen’s | $16,397 |
1 | Toronto | $15,900 |
8 | York | $9,619 |
7 | McMaster | $9,355 |
10 | Calgary | $8,318 |
3 | McGill | $8,186 |
1 | UBC | $8,160 (Tuition for Years 2-4) |
9 | Waterloo | $7,700 |
4 |
Alberta | $7,488 |
Average | $11,632 | |
Median | $8,837 |
*Based on Maclean’s 2021 Business School Rankings
BCom FAQs
Tuition would increase from $7,488 per year as proposed for the 2022/23 academic year to $9,775 per year. This assumes a normal full-time load of ten courses per year. That is an increase of 22% for tuition in the BCom program, which includes the U of A wide tuition increase.
Current tuition rates place the School the Business near the bottom when compared to peer institutions. The proposed tuition increase will allow the School to improve the quality of its program and services, while still remaining at a tuition rate in alignment with other Canadian business schools. A lower cost of living for students living in Edmonton compared to living in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto also provides the School with a competitive advantage.
The additional funds from the increase will be used to improve program quality by investing in the following areas:
- 85% will be used to support work-integrated learning initiatives, fostering a connected learning environment, and other equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives
- Expand course-based and co-curricular experiential learning opportunities for all students at each year of their BCom degree
- Offer a broader selection of opportunities including case competitions, challenges, and consulting projects
- Expand the Co-op program to support more students and more placements, while also offering a variety of internships that are flexible to student schedules
- Offer unique skills-based online learning options to complement the BCom program (ex. financial modelling, coding, digital marketing, data analytics, etc)
- Support students in flexible in-person and online learning options (ex. develop high quality online material to support immersive in-person learning and collaboration)
- Support students in collaborating with partners from around the world in real-time on common projects
- Support the creation of a new admissions pathway based on diverse qualifications, and building a culture of inclusivity by decolonizing and indigenizing our curriculum
- 15% will be dedicated to funding for new student scholarships, awards and other supports for Indigenous, Black, and other groups of students based on financial need
Following the official Ministerial Order, the University of Alberta's exceptional tuition increase has now been approved.
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Proposed Increases
Note: Costs for 2-year program assuming a normal full-time load of 10 courses per year
(20 courses total).
Current Tuition (2020/21) |
Proposed Tuition (2022/23) |
$28,438 | $49,250 |
Market Comparators
Ranking* |
School |
2021/22 Tuition and Fees |
1 | Toronto | $95,075 |
4 | Western | $87,850 |
3 | McGill | $85,002 |
4 | Queen's | $84,600 |
8 | York | $71,840 |
1 | UBC | $59,808 |
7 | McMaster | $38,394 |
10 | Calgary | $36,148 |
9 | Waterloo | $34,869 |
4 | Alberta | $28,765 |
Average | $62,203 | |
Median | $65,824 |
*Based on Maclean’s 2021 Business School Rankings
MBA FAQs
The exceptional proposed tuition increase applies only to domestic students who enter the MBA program in the Fall 2022 semester or later. Current domestic and international students are exempt from the exceptional proposed tuition increase. Under the Tuition Fee Regulation, an exceptional tuition increase can only be applied once in a five-year period.
Tuition would increase from $15,389 per year as proposed for the 2022/23 academic year to $24,625 per year. This assumes a normal full-time load of ten courses per year and represents an increase of 60%.
Domestic MBA tuition at the University of Alberta is very low by Canadian standards and impacts our ability to continue offering a competitive and sustainable program. MacLean’s Magazine currently ranks the Alberta School of Business fourth out of the 2020 Top 10 business schools in Canada; however, our domestic MBA tuition is now the lowest in Canada out of these programs.
With this proposed increase, our total program tuition would be $49,250. This amount is well below the current average Canadian MBA domestic cost of over $62,000. The increased tuition will allow us to enhance the services provided to our MBA students and signal to prospective applicants that our programming is competitive and at a quality level similar to other highly-ranked MBA programs.
The Government of Alberta froze tuition from 2014-2019 and rolled back the approved MBA tuition increase for 2015. While the government provided targeted taxpayer funds to partly make up for the tuition rollback, recent government funding announcements for the University of Alberta have eliminated those funds. Had the tuition rollback not occurred, MBA tuition would now be approximately $22,500 per year.
The additional funds from the tuition increase will be used to improve program quality by investing in the following areas:
- 15% will be allocated to scholarships to promote access for those from historically underrepresented groups in the MBA program
- 10% will be allocated to supporting the MBA Student Association and their activities
- The balance (75%) will be used to enhance student services, such as increased career coaching and support, hiring and retention of faculty to increase available elective courses, and increasing the number of experiential learning opportunities such as the Creative Destruction Lab and Frontiers of Business courses
While domestic tuition was frozen or rolled back between 2014 and 2019, there was no freeze on international tuition. As a result, international MBA students at the University of Alberta currently pay 109% more in tuition fees than domestic students. This international differential is by far the highest out of all of our comparator schools in Canada, where the difference averages 38%. We feel that our current international MBA tuition is at an appropriate and fair level, and as a result are not seeking a tuition increase for international students.
Following the official Ministerial Order, the University of Alberta's exceptional tuition increase has now been approved.
Consultation
The university and the School are committed to conducting meaningful consultation with students and stakeholders to communicate the rationale and principles underlying the proposed tuition increases. Throughout March and April 2021, the School hosted many consultation activities, including focus groups and town halls. Bachelor of Commerce and MBA students and other stakeholders were also invited to submit feedback through an online form. A second round of consultations took place in September 2021.
Consultation Activities To-Date
Bachelor of Commerce Student Focus Groups
September 22 & 24, 2021
BCom Exceptional Tuition Increase Proposal Feedback Form
Open for submissions until September 24, 2021
Bachelor of Commerce Students Town Hall
April 13, 2021 & September 16, 2021
MBA Students Town Hall
April 9, 2021
Bachelor of Commerce Student Focus Groups
April 2, 6 & 9, 2021
MBA Association Executive Committee
March 26, 2021
Next Steps
Further institutional and government approvals are needed before these proposals can be approved. We are currently in the consultation phase and no decisions have yet been made. Any proposed tuition increase needs approval from the University of Alberta Board of Governors and the Minister of Advanced Education.