Canadian tuition increases surpass CPI

OTTAWA, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Tuition increases for Canadian undergraduate university students in 2008 were 3.6 percent higher than last year, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.

Full-time undergraduate students paid an average of $4,724 in tuition and fees this year, up from $4,558 a year ago.

On a 10-year basis, that represents an overall 4.4 percent increase, while during the same period, the Consumer Price Index rose at an annual average rate of 2.3 percent, StatsCan said.

Undergraduate dentistry students paid $12,906 this year, nearly three times the average of all disciplines, followed by medical students at $10,392, the agency said.

Meanwhile, graduate students paid 3.3 percent more for tuition this year, or an average $5,777 per student.

The Master of Business Administration and executive MBA programs were the most expensive programs, with the regular MBA program costing more than double other disciplines. The executive MBA program costs about four times the cost of other disciplines, the report said.

The Canadian dollar has been at par, or slightly above or below the U.S. dollar during the past year.