May 6: Tuition and fees for spring/summer courses

To: Students, faculty and staff
From: Teri Balser, Provost and Vice-President Academic and Ian Nason, Vice-President Finance and Administration

Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Re: Tuition and fees for spring/summer courses

The following is an update on tuition and fees for spring/summer courses, as well as on where we are in our planning with respect to tuition and fees for fall/winter 2020-21.

Tuition
Normally, Dalhousie would have brought tuition and fee recommendations to the university’s Board of Governors for decision in April, and these fees would have been effective as of the start of the spring/summer term. Given the uncertainty caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the university delayed moving these fee changes forward while further review occurs. 

This means that for spring/summer 2020 courses, tuition fees will remain the same as last year, other than what was previously approved by the Board (namely, the ongoing multi-year adjustment to international tuition fees approved in April 2019).

The university continues to work through tuition and fee recommendations for Fall 2020 and we will update the broader community shortly regarding the adjusted process and timing.

Auxiliary Fees
Appreciating that some services/facilities are not available to students at this time, the university is modifying some auxiliary fees for the spring/summer term:

• Fitness and Athletics fees will not be charged. (Students and faculty/staff are encouraged to check out Dalplex’s home fitness resources.)
• There will be no bus pass (UPass) program for spring/summer, and the fee will not be charged.
• Faculty-based auxiliary fees have been reviewed across the university and scaled back where students cannot access services or equipment/materials.

Other fees where services remain accessible remotely, or where the fee is meant to support a longer-term investment in programs/services/campus spaces, will continue.

More information
Students should contact Student Accounts with any further questions or visit dal.ca/studentaccounts.

We greatly appreciate our community’s patience, as we know taking this extra time to review tuition and fees for the upcoming academic year adds another level of uncertainty to an already uncertain time. It is prudent for us to ensure we have fully reviewed the potential impacts of this pandemic on our operations, our budget and our students before making these decisions. We promise to be in touch soon with recommendations, including measures to provide additional financial supports to our students in light of this pandemic.

Sincerely,

Teri Balser
Provost and Vice-President Academic

Ian Nason
Vice-President Finance and Administration