ASSOCIATION des ETUDIANTS SIMION FRASER
de SIMON FRASER STUDENT SOCIETY

December 20, 1989

Mayor Leonard Traboulay and Council

Municipality of Port Coqiitlam fe aa
2£80 Shaughnessy St

Port Coquitiam, BC JAN 8 - (990
V3G 2A8

Dear Mayor Traboulay and Council,

Representatives of the Simon Fraser Student Society, the
University of British Columbia Alma Mater Society and the
Canadian Federation of Students Pacific Region wish to appear
before council January a&th, to raise with council the
implications for students and residents of Port Coquitlam of
proposed tuition fee increases ranging from 6% to 138% for
undergraduate and graduate students at SFU.

These proposed increases are recommended by SFU president William
Saywell and will be considered by the SFU Board of Governors at
their January 23, 1990 meeting. Similar tuition increase
proposals will also be considered by the UBC Board of Governors
in January.

Tuition fees at BC universities are among the highest in Canada
and have increased by close to 200% since 1979. Tuition fees now
make up 18% of university operating budgets, up from 8% in 1979.

Our own research shows that students’ resources have not even
come close to keeping up with increased fees. Further, a recent
analysis from the BC Central Credit Union paints an even bleaker
picture: the after tax income of the average BC family has
declined in real terms since 1979, with tuition fees doubling as
a percentage of after tax income.

The tuition fee increase proposed by SFU president Saywell is
based.on continued government underfunding. Students are angry
that through higher fees we're the scapegoats for underfunding,
and because higher tuition has been accompanied by a real decline
in the quality of education we receive--overcrowded classes and
tutorials, decreased instructor contact, a lack of study space,
and inadequate library resources. We're concerned about the
quality of education future students will receive too.

Government underfunding has also had a serious impact on the
lives of support staff and instructors, many o: whom are
residents of Port Coquitlam. Declining real wages, reduced
staffing levels and poor working conditions, are a reality for
thousands of education workers throughout the province.

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY BURNABY. 8.C. vara! S& TELEPHONE 291-3181 -
BURNABY. ©-B VS5A 186 TELEPHONE 291-3181

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