Master’s, PhD, international students, and students in professional programs have faced the steepest increases in tuition fees. Unlike most undergraduate students, graduate students are enrolled year-round, and therefore have to pay tuition fees during the summer months. Thus, not only do graduate students pay higher fees, they also pay them for four months more than undergraduate students on the typical fall and winter academic schedule.

Students studying in Canada from other countries probably fare the worst of all, since tuition fee regulation has rarely applied to international students. Tuition fees for these students are typically triple those of Canadian students, averaging $18,641 for international undergraduates in fall 2012. International students are also currently facing higher increases than those from Canada. Nationally, average tuition fees for international undergraduate students rose 5.5 percent in 2012, compared with a 4.3 percent increase in 2011.

The higher fees for graduate and professional students are often justified by arguing that those with advanced degrees earn more during their lifetimes in the workforce. However, the increased earnings of professionals have been notoriously exaggerated by university and college presidents in their campaign for higher fees. Recent research has found that a PhD graduate only nets an average of $4,000 more per year over a master’s graduate, despite requiring several additional years of school. In addition, advocates for higher fees also ignore the fact that those who earn higher incomes as a result of post-secondary education also pay higher income taxes that pay for the cost of their post-secondary education. Finally, the earnings-potential argument for higher fees does not address the up-front impact of sky-high tuition fees on entry to these programs.