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EDMONTON –The University of Alberta’s Board of Governors approved a tuition increase for both domestic and international students.

In U of A President Indira Samarasekera’s blog, she explained tuition fees for domestic undergraduate and graduate students will increase by one per cent.

“The Board passed a motion to increase general tuition for domestic undergraduate and graduate students by one per cent (CPI), the maximum allowable increase as set by government,” she explained in a blog post dated Dec. 13.

Samarasekera also explained that after “considerable debate” the board also approved a five per cent overall increase to undergraduate international tuition and fees.

“This increase includes the one per cent increase for CPI. The additional four per cent increase will be used to fund programming and services for international students as well to address other inflationary pressures faced by the university,” she said in the blog.

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Tuition for graduate international students will increase by one per cent.

“As you know, the Provost’s Office is in the process of reviewing graduate student experience, enrolment, and funding, a review which includes, of course, the experience and support we provide international graduate students. Once the full review is complete, we will determine at that point whether we will bring forward proposals changing domestic and international graduate tuition and support.”

The Provost’s Office also launched an online feedback form to get input from faculty, staff and students.

All increases and fees will be effective as of Sept. 1, 2014 for all students.

Samarasekera also said Acting Provost Martin Ferguson-Pell and the senior team decided to partially restore funding for graduate assistantships in the Science and Arts faculties. The funding was reduced in the 2013-2014 budget, however, provincial reinvestment of $14.4 million in the university’s operating grant meant the institution could allocate $2.4 million in the 2014-2015 budget to graduate assistantships.

Samarasekera also commented on the recent provincial cabinet shuffle, which saw Dave Hancock replace Thomas Lukaszuk as deputy premier and minister of advanced education.

WATCH: Premier Redford shuffles her cabinet

Hancock is the fourth minister to take the advanced education portfolio since Premier Alison Redford was elected.

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“I look forward to meeting with the new Deputy Premier once he is sworn into office and discussing with him his vision and plans for Alberta’s post-secondary sector,” wrote Samarasekera.

“He was our minister when I first came to the U of A. Spring 2005 marked the beginning of a period of reinvestment in Alberta’s post-secondary system and Dave Hancock was a champion in helping to secure the funding for the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy and the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science.”

Minister Hancock will be interviewed on the Global Edmonton Morning News on Wednesday around 7:20 a.m.

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