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Students pay less than half the cost of a university education

University funding 101

• All qualified students – no matter their financial situation – can attend university thanks to the availability of scholarships, bursaries, student aid provided by the government through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), and the Student Access Guarantee (SAG).
• Ontario students pay less than 50% of the actual cost of their university education as, on average, government grants account for half of a university’s revenue.1
• Tuition fees are regulated by the government and increases are capped, making tuition costs predictable for students.2
• Tuition fee revenue helps universities maintain the high quality programs that students deserve.
• Ontario has one of the highest university participation rates in the country.3
• New research suggests that parents’ level of education and sociocultural influences are stronger factors in a student’s decision to go to college or university than financial factors or the cost of tuition.4

Helping remove financial barriers

• In 2009-10, Ontario universities provided about $118 million to assist over 58,000 students through SAG, ensuring costs were covered for those students whose financial needs were not fully met by OSAP.5
• The actual cost of tuition may be much lower than the “sticker price,” as tuition and some living expenses are eligible for income tax credits which can reduce the overall cost for students and/or their parents.

Jennifer Grass,
Senior Director, Communications & Public Affairs
Council of Ontario Universities
416-979-2165 extension 261
Email Jennifer Grass

Published June 2011
 

1. Council of Finance Officers – Universities of Ontario (COFO-UO), Table 2 (Revenue) 2009-10. Ontario government grants and contracts from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities plus other provincial grants; data reflects total Ontario university system average.

2. Under the current tuition fee framework, the maximum increase is 4.5% for most first-year programs and 4% for subsequent years. Tuition fees for international students are not regulated by the government. Ontario universities must respond to global market demands when determining fees for international students.

3. Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program. Catalogue no. 81-582-XPE (Ottawa 2007) 125.

4. Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, Access to Postsecondary Education: How Ontario Compares (Toronto 2011).

5. Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, 2009-10 Student Access Guarantee Expenditures, (universities). The Student Access Guarantee applies to all OSAP recipients who have unmet need related to the cost of tuition and books. Undergraduate students are automatically assessed by the universities for non-repayable assistance, while students in second-entry programs, such as law, medicine, dentistry and teacher education, submit an application to the university, and part of the assistance may be provided through access to a student line of credit. All universities set aside a portion of revenue from tuition increases for additional student assistance.