Proposed Business Tuition Increases

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:

• 15% will be allocated for new student scholarships, awards and other supports for Indigenous, Black and other underrepresented groups of students. This may include bursaries based on financial need

• Creating a new admissions pathway for underrepresented groups, as well as provide meaningful supports throughout their program

• Increasing opportunities for all students to participate in case competitions, challenges and consulting projects

• Offering unique online modules as part of micro-credentials to complement the BCom, targeting diverse learners

• Increased support for students in flexible in-person and online learning options, as well as global collaboration opportunities

It is important to note that we are currently in the consultation phase and no final 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. We will be submitting our proposal in May after receiving feedback from stakeholders.

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.  

It is important to note that we are currently in the consultation phase and no final 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. We will be submitting our proposal in May after receiving feedback from stakeholders.