The Government of Ontario announced significant changes today to tuition fees and to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Starting next academic year (2019-20), tuition fees will be reduced by 10 per cent at all university and colleges relative to 2018-19 levels, and they will remain frozen (at 2019-20 levels) the following (2020-21) year. At the same time, the government says it will be revamping OSAP to ensure it is sustainable and focused on supporting students with the greatest financial need.

Queen’s shares the government’s goal of helping to ensure access to university for all students who qualify. Queen’s provides significant support to students in need of financial help each year through a range of programs and we remain committed to supporting student accessibility as the changes to OSAP are implemented.

The tuition fee reduction will have an impact on the university’s budget. In 2018-19 for example, approximately 40 per cent of our budgeted operating revenue comes from funding-eligible tuition fees. International student tuition fees are not subject to this reduction.

Queen’s recognizes that the government faces a challenging fiscal situation, including a significant deficit, and that all areas of the broader public sector will be asked to do their part to help solve the fiscal issue. It is a challenge that Queen’s has been planning to meet as a part of our commitment to remain an innovative, cost-effective, and responsible steward of public funds.

To this end, I have instructed the provost to provide options to me within the next six weeks on how Queen’s can best adapt to the tuition fee reduction and take every reasonable step to minimize the impact this will have on our operations and our academic mission.

Over the coming weeks, Queen’s will work with the government and with our partner institutions to clarify the effects of today’s announcement. We will keep you informed of what is learned as we commence more planning to ensure our ongoing financial sustainability and the integrity of our teaching and research core missions.

Daniel Woolf
Principal and Vice-Chancellor
Queen’s University