At Camosun College, tuition for international students is higher than tuition for domestic students. People have often expressed concern to us at Nexus about this, but as an international student, I believe that the international tuition fee should not be reduced. The high tuition has many advantages for Camosun College, Victoria, and Canada.
In Canada, most schools are public; because Canadian students do not need to pay a high tuition fee, Canadian colleges and universities don’t have much capital, unlike post-secondary institutions in the USA. The international students’ tuition fee is one of the most important sources of funding, and the money can go toward Camosun College infrastructure (hi, Young Building!) and learning tools for classrooms.
Camosun can use the money from international students’ tuition to build or repair gyms, art rooms, and libraries, infrastructure which benefits Camosun students, including international students.
Secondly, a higher tuition fee can help the college hire great instructors. Because the school can use a high salary to employ a valuable instructor, the students get a good education.
The city of Victoria also indirectly gets some advantages. The development of a city needs money, educated people, and circulated sources: people from different cities. Although Victoria is a beautiful city, that isn’t enough of a reason to make people move here and fight the high cost of living and brutal rental situation. However, when an institution like Camosun can give instructors a decent wage, it encourages people to move here for employment opportunities.
This one is definitely an unpopular opinion, but the international students’ tuition puts more money into the pockets of the government. Wait, is that a good thing? Well, the government can use the extra money to, in theory at least, improve the quality of their services and the quality of people’s lives.
When people want to go into a new environment and become a new member of the area, they should do something for the place in question. When us international students pay higher tuition it’s a contribution towards Camosun College, Victoria, and the Canadian government; the international students also enjoy some benefits as Canadians in return.
When we as international students pay this high tuition fee, we give some things, and we get even more things back.