Calgary student advocacy groups have urged the province to go back to the drawing board on post-secondary funding models, where changes were proposed earlier this week. 

Amid a slew of education-related updates issued by the Government of Alberta Tuesday afternoon, Bill 38 was announced, proposing changes to tuition and scrutinizing institutional neutrality while reinforcing fair treatment for students. 

“Students should be free to ask hard questions, debate ideas openly and know they’ll be treated fairly,” said Myles McDougall, minister of advanced education. 

“Families should know what tuition will look like so they can plan ahead. This bill would deliver both.”

If passed, amendments to the Post-Secondary Learning Act would replace the two per cent tuition cap with “maximum tuition amounts” for programs and groups of programs, effective starting the 2027-28 academic year. 

In a news release published on Nov. 3, the switch to maximum tuition amounts is intended to make costs “more predictable.”

The bill also proposed amendments requiring post-secondary institutions to remain publicly neutral on social and political issues in their official statements. 

This would not affect the academic and expression freedoms held personally by students, faculty, or staff, within lawful limits. Additionally, the bill targeted student codes of conduct, with the province suggesting provisions that ensure clear, accessible rules. 

“Post-secondary institutions are places of diverse viewpoints, rigorous inquiry and open debate,” said John Alho, executive director of the Alberta Post-Secondary Network. 

“By remaining impartial on social and political questions…our institutions help preserve the broadest possible space for members of the academic community to express their views, challenge ideas and engage in open inquiry.”

Local student representatives have since expressed their concern and confusion about Bill 38, calling the proposal a step in the wrong direction amid ongoing affordability troubles. 

Possible tuition changes the primary worry of students

In an email statement, the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University (SAMRU) expressed concerns about the ministry’s minimal consultation with post-secondary advocates and the bill’s vague wording. 

“The topics of institutional neutrality and freedom of expression, tuition models, and student codes of conduct must reflect the reality of our campus community and require more discussion,” the statement read.

“The language regarding tuition maximums and student codes of conduct is broad, so the true effects of this legislation remain unknown beyond the few consultations we’ve received.”

Gabriela Dziegielewska, president of the University of Calgary’s Students’ Union (SU), said she saw the focus on neutrality and learner codes of conduct as an “intentional distraction” from removing tuition caps.

Dziegielewska cited UCalgary’s existing neutrality policies, which, according to its website, state that the institution “and its faculties and units will refrain from taking positions and releasing statements” while “members of the campus community remain free to do [so].”

Both Mount Royal University and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology share similar policies. Although they do not explicitly address institutional neutrality, they state that the schools welcome expression on campus but do not “endorse the views and opinions.”

What piqued students’ attention were the changes related to tuition, Dziegielewska explained, saying that the union shared its disapproval of the proposed framework with the ministry before this week’s announcement, but it appears to have gone unconsidered.

“Young Albertans and their families are already at a breaking point, and students, just like many others in this province, are suffering a cost of living crisis,” she said. 

“To be honest, the removal of the two per cent tuition cap is a slap in the face to low-income students and also middle-class students in Alberta.”

An unwelcome history repeating itself: UCalgary union president

An earlier statement issued by the UCalgary SU on Wednesday questioned whether Bill 38 is a precursor to a cluster tuition model, where tuition costs are determined by enrolment and market demand for certain programs. 

This follows the Expert Panel on Post-Secondary Institution Funding and Alberta’s Competitiveness, appointed to review the framework almost two years ago, which shared its findings with the ministry in August 2025. 

Its final report directly informed the province’s new bill, with the panel having concluded that the two per cent cap on all annual tuition fees should be replaced with a maximum allowable tuition for cluster programs. 

Dziegielewska referred to Australia’s Job-Ready Graduate Package — a series of post-secondary reforms introduced in January 2021 — as an example where clustering high-demand programs and setting tuition maximums increased costs for students. 

She said that Alberta students are struggling to pay for their courses even with the two per cent tuition cap. If the maximums and clustering are passed, Dziegielewska expects this to worsen the same way it did down under. 

“This model ballooned student debt and made it so much more unaffordable,” she said. 

“There’s a lot of worry about what that’s going to do to our students.”

Dziegielewska closed with a message to the legislature, asking that the proposal not pass a second reading and for an improved tuition model to be introduced. 

“They need to leave the tuition caps alone, and they need to go back to the drawing board on a new funding model,” she said. 

“Speaking to young Albertans who are thinking of studying in Alberta — I would say look elsewhere.”