HALIFAX--Tuition fees in Nova Scotia still exceed the national average according to the 2010/11 university tuition fee data released today by Statistics Canada. The data comes a day before Tim OʼNeill releases his report on Nova Scotiaʼs university system that will influence upcoming government decisions regarding funding levels and tuition fees.

"It is clear that simply freezing tuition fees is not enough," said Gabe Hoogers, Nova Scotia Representative of the Canadian Federation of Students. "The fact is that Nova Scotia is still one of the least accessible places in Canada to attend university."

Average undergraduate tuition fees in Nova Scotia are currently $5, 495, $357 more than the national average. Students in Nova Scotia paid the highest tuition fees for 20 years until last fall. Graduate students in Nova Scotia pay the highest graduate fees in the country at $7, 350. Students in Newfoundland and Labrador pay the lowest tuition fees in the country at $2,624; just over half of those paid by students in Nova Scotia."Students expect tomorrowʼs report from Dr. OʼNeill to contain concrete recommendations about how to make post-secondary education in Nova Scotia more affordable and how to reduce student debt," said Hoogers.

The current funding agreement between the government and universities as well as thetuition fee freeze (both in place since 2008) will expire at the end of the 2010-11 academic year. The government has not yet announced whether it will negotiate anothermulti-year funding agreement for universities nor a strategy for reducing tuition fees.