The government of British Columbia is holding a province-wide consultation with students, administrators, and educators to consider the impact of the six-year-old freeze on tuition fees.

"We are committed to hearing what students have to say about the impact of the freeze on the quality of education because they are in the best position to judge," said Advanced Education Minister Shirley Bond. In November, Bond met with university and college administrators and educators to receive their views on the fiscal impact of the tuition freeze.

Maureen Shaw, president of the College Institute Educators' Association of B.C., told the Minister that maintaining the tuition freeze was important to ensure access to post-secondary education.

"Increased tuition fees are a barrier to access," Shaw argued.

"The 1998 Adult Education and Training Survey found that 40 per cent of adults felt a major barrier to access was cost. A recent study by the Alberta government reported that 44 per cent of high school graduates who didn't go on to university or college said the reason was tuition fees were too high."

Shaw added that a discussion about tuition fee policy needs to be part of a broader discussion about overall funding levels for post-secondary education.

Fees for students in public post-secondary education institutions in B.C. have been frozen since 1996.