Fort Smith (July 26/04) - It now costs more to get a college education in the NWT.

Aurora College has increased tuition and rent for student housing at its campuses in Fort Smith, Yellowknife and Inuvik.

The 20 per cent across-the-board hikes went into effect July 1.

However, Kathleen Purchase, the director of Thebacha Campus in Fort Smith, says the costs are still relatively low.

"We're definitely one of the lowest in Canada," Purchase says.

She says the only comparable rates would be at colleges in Nunavut and Yukon.

A full-time student will now pay a total of $1,040 per semester for three or more courses. The previous tuition was $865.

A part-time student, taking one or two courses, will now pay $210 per course, compared to $175 previously.

The new rents depend on the kind of accommodation. Student housing ranges from single rooms to four-bedroom houses.

Carol Ann Chaplin, who is in a management studies program in Fort Smith, is not pleased with the increases.

In particular, she is upset the rent for her three-bedroom row-house is rising from $420 a month to $505, including heat and light.

Chaplin, a single mother of three, says $85 more in rent is a significant extra amount for her to pay.

The rent increases might look fine to someone who doesn't face the hardship of going to school as a single parent, she notes. "Living it is a different story."

Chaplin points out government says education is important to creating a better North. "The way things are right now, it's like I'm being punished to go to school."

She and her children, originally from Fort Resolution, survive on $2,100 a month, including $1,500 in student financial assistance. She also receives a government subsidy to help cover childcare, although she still pays $350 a month.

No barriers

Purchase says the tuition and rent increases -- the first in about six years -- were approved by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

"We are not out to build barriers for our students, but we are committed to quality service and programming," she says.

The increases are necessary because of continuing rising costs to operate the college, Purchase explains. "It still doesn't meet the true cost. It doesn't even come close."