Carleton University International Students’ Petition – Against High
International Tuition Fee Increases at Carleton University.

As concerned international Students at Carleton University, we are calling on the University to postpone the tuition fees payment deadline of August 25th, 2023, in light of the increase in international students’ tuition fees given that students are currently financially hurting due to high cost of living.

We are a large group of international students, who have joined together to
lobby the University to reconsider the exorbitant increase in tuition fees for
the upcoming academic year. We feel strongly that the adjustments to the
fees were made without proper consideration for the impact it will have on
international students, who are already paying extremely high fees in
comparison to our domestic counterparts. 

For many students, the timeline given by the University is not feasible to attain and is financially crushing international students – not to mention that the circumstances and demands are causing mental and emotional distress to many. It is in this light that we would like to have this matter discussed with students’ representatives in a democratic fashion; therefore, we ask that the tuition fees deadline be delayed until an agreement is reached between the students and the University. The stipulated 7% increase means students have to choose between being homeless or buying food. 

We hope that the university can appreciate the challenges that international students are facing, such as food insecurity, working too many jobs to cover the high tuition fees, and lacking time to engage in their studies actively and meaningfully. We want to reiterate that academic studies are what the
students are here for, and we want to work with the university to ensure that it is possible for the focus to remain.

We would appreciate swift dialogue with the University as the financial impact by the change is unbearable. Many international students due to civil and political unrest in their homeland cannot transfer large amounts of funds at a time. No student should be penalized by extenuating socio-political factors that seriously impact their access to funds jeopardizing their
enrollment status and opportunity for an education. International students at Carleton University are currently facing precarious living conditions due to the exponential and unregulated tuition fees’ hikes that are brought on at a time students ca not even afford to buy food.

The current tuition fees increased by Carleton University are immoral and
inhumane. These increases are causing adverse mental disturbances for
students who are already living far away from home, barely able to make ends meet, and can hardly approach their research or have enough time to sleep because they have to balance multiple jobs to try and afford the exorbitant tuition fees.

In this regard, we are asking in the interim to sit with the University President and Vice President to have a dialogue about these tuition fees’ increases and ask that they should not be implemented until a balanced discussion has been held and an agreement has been reached.

Yours Faithfully,
International Students Committee