BARRHEAD - Adult students enrolled in Vista Virtual School (VVS) will pay an extra $10 per Grade 10-12 credit and an additional $70 for each three-month extension starting April 1.
Pembina Hills School Division trustees passed a motion during their Feb. 26 meeting at Pembina North Community School in Dapp approving the increase to fees for adult students taking courses through VVS.
As well, the time frame for adult students to complete core courses has been shortened from one calendar year to six months.
Secretary-treasurer Tracy Meunier said fees for adult students have not been changed since May 1, 2018, when Vista Virtual School assumed responsibility of serving adult students who previously took courses through the Alberta Distance Learning Centre (ADLC).
She reported that VVS has served approximately 1,500 adult students in the 2019-2020 school year so far. There are adults students of all age groups, including a high number of students in the age 30-39 demographic.
Currently, there are 911 adult students with active course enrolments, which add up to a total of 5,306 credits.
Given the student age demographic of the school, Meunier indicated it makes sense to offer the service to adults, as their fees help pay for the fixed costs of VVS such as rent, utilities, janitorial costs, furnishings, equipment and so forth.
However, the costs of serving adult students must not be subsidized from instruction funding that is intended only for school-aged students (those younger than 20 years of age as of Sept. 1).
Currently, revenue projections for adult students are lower than budgeted even though the number of registrations has been increasing since January. The fee increases are meant to achieve cost recovery and some additional revenue beyond that amount.
“Because otherwise, why are you even serving this population?” Meunier asked rhetorically.
As indicated earlier, the fee for each Grade 10-12 credit will be going up from $120 to $130, so a five-credit course will cost $650.
This eight per cent increase is in line with fee increases being seen in similar public and post-secondary programs. Meunier noted that administration does not anticipate adult enrolment will drop as a result.
As well, the fee for a three-month extension is increasing from $30 to $100 because the old fee was seen as too low.
“At $30, you’d be a fool not to extend,” Meunier said. “If it costs $650 for a five-credit course, and if you don’t get it done in six months, $30 is nothing to have it extended.”
She added that a $30 fee is likely not enough money to even cover the administration expenses associated with approving an extension.
Revenue at Vista Virtual School is expected to increase $40,000 for the remainder of the school year as a result of this change.
Given that the fee increases take effect on April 1, trustee Kerry McElroy asked if the adult students should be given more warning of the changes.
Meunier indicated that VVS had already warned adult students that a fee increase was forthcoming in a couple of their newsletters.
Incidentally, the increase is taking effect on April 1 because that date coincides with the start of the province’s fiscal year and Skills Investment Bursary Program.
Meunier also pointed out one further wrinkle with the fee increase: with the introduction of a new funding framework for education later this spring, coupled with any changes coming out of the 2020 provincial budget released late last week, it’s possible that the business plan for VVS would have to be re-visited.
If that’s the case, it’s possible that the fees may need to change again. It’s also possible that VVS may discontinue serving adult students entirely.
“Until we see that funding framework, we don’t know, including whether or not (VVS) should continue to serve adults,” Meunier said.
