The University of British Columbia has announced that 2020 winter term 1 will be almost entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only laboratories and other similar hands-on classes are in-person.

Much of the university's costs are contingent on having students on campus and in class. For example utilities, travel, sundries, and the salaries of employees hired to clean, maintain, and operate the university's in-person services. Despite this, UBC continues to charge its students full tuition, in fact, the board of directors recently approved a 2% and 5% increase to the 2020 domestic and international fees respectively.

In 2019 UBC spent $39 million on utilities, $58 million on travel, and $1.3 billion on salaries, all of which are heavily dependent on having students on campus and in class.

Much of the UBC student body and their parents have taken out considerable loans to finance their education, an education they chose to undertake not at an online university but at a physical one. Furthermore, many students are now struggling to attain gainful employment to pay off those loans and the large majority of international students are receiving no government aid. In stark contrast, the university and its employees will still be collecting their entire incomes, despite not having to fulfill their full job descriptions.

Please sign this petition to urge The University of British Columbia to lower their tuition fees to a fair level for 2020 winter term 1 and to aid its students through these difficult and uncertain times.