A release received from MPP John Yakabuski’s office today announced the lowering of tuition fees. Students who attend publicly-assisted colleges and universities will see their rates go down by 10 percent. Yakabuski said,
These reforms will make access to a quality education more affordable for students attending Algonquin College Pembroke Campus, retaining more young people in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke.
The changes mean, for example, that a student attending Algonquin College Waterfront Campus in Pembroke enrolled in a General Arts and Science Certificate will see a $300 reduction in their 2019-20 academic year tuition.
The government also announced that it will be refocusing the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) to ensure it remains sustainable and viable for future students while directing a greater proportion of OSAP funding to families with the greatest financial need.
As part of this reform package Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, also announced a Student Choice Initiative which gives every student in Ontario the freedom to choose which student fees they want to pay and how that money will be allocated. The press release pointed out that student fees in Ontario can range as high as $2,000 per year and, too often, force students to pay for services they do not use and organisations they do not support. The opt-out initiative will ensure students have transparency and freedom of choice regarding the campus services and organizations which get access to their money.
Yakabuski added,
These changes give students the freedom of choice about how their money is spent and restore accountability, affordability and access to post-secondary education while giving more of our students opportunities to find a job and build a career right here in Ontario.
Berry, N. (2019, Jan.18) Government for the People to Lower Student Tuition Burden by 10 per cent [Press release].
Featured photo: Waterfront Campus in Pembroke courtesy Algonquin College
Very good comments by Bill Schroeder with which I concur. I would also like to point out that students often don’t know what student funded support they will need until they meet the difficulties of living away from home. Initially any impoverished student will opt to support few student funded services but the stress of managing a heavy work load and complex social interactions, all managed on a tight budget and without immediate family support, will put them face to face with unanticipated problems. Many student funded services can help in these situations but, if they haven’t been funded, they won’t be there leading to increased isolation and desperation. Not a thought through plan.
As a retired teacher and a parent of young adults, I am less enthused about the recently announced changes to post secondary funding. The modest reduction in tuition may benefit students in the short term but the resulting funding shortfall for universities and colleges will present other challenges, as a number of them have already pointed out. If budget shortfalls arising from lower tuition income means that post secondary institutions decide, for example, to lay off staff or increase class sizes, the students will receive considerably less bang for their buck.
The “Student Choice Initiative” is also a double edged sword. Many of the services provided by student associations benefit from the economies of scale that arise when the entire student body participates. A common such service in urban centres involves reduced costs for local public transport, which especially benefits lower income and out of town students – including many of our sons and daughters. If those students who live near the campus or otherwise don’t need public transit opt out, the Students Association will not be able to negotiate as favourable a deal with their transit authorities. When glancing at a list of services provided by Student Associations it is certainly easy to identify some that seem puzzling or dubious, but it should also be pointed out that students already do have a choice – these are elected positions and any student is free to petition their representatives and campaign for or against any services they feel strongly about.
Based on what I have heard from young people in the last week, the announcement that seems to be drawing the most attention and worry are the changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). The new provisions call for a reduction in grants, for which most Valley residents qualify, with more of the focus being on loans. The bulk of our high school graduates move on to post secondary institutions in Ottawa, Peterborough, Kingston or other regional cities where living costs are higher than they are in the Valley. Several years of part time retail work in high school and a bit of scholarship money might be enough to pay for the first year, but many of our students are already leaving post secondary studies with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. This burden will increase with these changes. In addition, and not mentioned in the press release, is that the 6 month interest grace period following graduation is to be eliminated and students will now be expected to begin paying interest on their loans the day after they graduate, likely into an economy with higher interest rates than we’ve seen for the last decade. How many young graduates can you think of who jumped right into a well-paying career immediately after finishing school?