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According to the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada has 163 recognized universities, including both public and private. There are 51 colleges operating as authorized institutions and 68 university-level institutions.
Publicly funded universities have the power to set their own admission standards and degree requirements as they are autonomous institutions. They also have flexibility regarding the management of their finances and programs. The government only intervenes when it comes to "funding, fee structures, and the introduction of new programs."
The governing system of most Canadian universities is typically two-tiered, including a board of governors and a senate. Each body has specific responsibilities:
However, the senate's decisions must be approved by the board. Both bodies often have student representatives, also including alumni students and community representatives. For more information on post-secondary schools, please visit the Council of Ministers on Education website.
Enrollment in post-secondary institutions has increased over the last several years alongside tuition costs. Simply speaking, tuition increases when the demand for post-secondary schools remains high. For more information regarding the affordability of tuition, please see below.
According to the RBC report (June 2018) concerning post-secondary tuition costs in Canada, rising university tuition has been a trend that has outpaced inflation since 1982. As of 2018, with the exception of Quebec, the average university tuition (excluding housing costs) reached $7,600 per domestic student for the 2017-2018 academic year. Specifically, graduate programs in the previous 10 years have seen an increase in tuition; approximately 85% for law, 78% for dentistry, and 144% for pharmacy. The average undergraduate degree tuition during that same time span has increased by 44%. Furthermore, according to a study conducted by Maclean’s in 2018, the average university education cost incurred per student is approximately $19,498 per year. A breakdown of that aforementioned number is shared below, with average tuition being around $6,630, while the other average costs are as follows: