Bob Rae visits Kingston, students express concerns
Controversy stirred during the Postsecondary Review session on Tuesday, Nov 23, where St. Lawrence College welcomed former Premier Bob Rae and his advisory panel.
"Institutions should take a larger role in providing financial aid," stated Leslie Church, who is part of the Advisory Panel and currently taking Law at the University of Toronto. "They know their students best, where their costs are most high and the communities that they come from. That makes it very important determining the support that the students need in school."
Church was among approximately 300 people in attendance at the town hall meeting. While funding for Ontario's Postsecondary Education budget was discussed, most people seemed pleased that Rae took the time to listen to their ideas, but they were not pleased with where the future of education funding is headed.
On a cash basis, the amount of money spent by the province for student financial assistance in 2003/04, is about the same as in 92/93. Considering this, tuition fees have risen 195 percent since 90/91. On the budget last year, health spending consumed 40 percent, compared with 19 percent for education.
"Students should have the flexibility to choose payment options after graduating," voiced a Queen's student. "Without having to pay so much interest."
Rae partially agrees. He is currently pro Income Contingent Loans (ICL). This is where tuition fees rise to pay off government debt, and pay back time is increased to however long a student needs following graduation. However, interest rates will still rise on the loan year after year, making it harder to pay back.
"I think it is fair and reasonable for students to partially pay for their education," stated Rae. "It is central to building the economy and students should completely be a part of that."
The problem with that is many students are finding they are not eligible for OSAP and bursaries. OSAP measures a student's need for funding by how much they or their family makes. This creates controversy because not all parents choose to pay for their children's education, or their financial status can be misleading on paper.
OSAP's max loan for a student is $9,350 (an amount unchanged since 1994). The Canadian Millennium Scholarship states that for a student living away from home costs are approximately $14,500.
Students were able to voice their opinions, discussing the need to constitute a coherent coordinated system between colleges and university credits, as well as ways to lessen overall student debt. Other concerns touched on the elimination of barriers those students with disabilities often face.
"What I'm terrified most about is coming out of college and not being able to obtain a job," stated a student from St. Lawrence College. "There has to be more Apprenticeships out there for students to get a hold of."
Rae was all ears, listening to the students' comments on the education system. He said there is a lot of turmoil in the process of switching from university to college, vice versa and still receiving all the credits deserved.
"We want to build bridges between colleges and universities, that is definitely one of the next logical steps. Along with this though I feel we have to allow for evolution in the system."
Earlier in the day round table dialogue took place at Queen's University where groups discussed different topics and ways to improve them.
"Rae's closing comments during the round table dialogues definitely indicated that he was listening to what was being said and he seemed to have a clear idea of what he thinks the future of post secondary education should be," stated Tyler Turndull, the President of Almamata society at Queen's University.
Judith Martin, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a financial advisor with Nesbitt Burns agreed that the meeting went well.
"There was a really excellent cross section of people that were at the meeting: business people, students, university and college administrators. So it wasn't just one view point. The funding issue is absolutely huge and seems to be the central topic of everything. Every issue was inter-related, and always ended up on the funding topic," stated Martin.
The next stop for Rae is at the University of Guelph. St. Lawrence was his 12th stop out of 17 across Ontario. For more information, visit www.raereview.on.ca.
"Institutions should take a larger role in providing financial aid," stated Leslie Church, who is part of the Advisory Panel and currently taking Law at the University of Toronto. "They know their students best, where their costs are most high and the communities that they come from. That makes it very important determining the support that the students need in school."
Church was among approximately 300 people in attendance at the town hall meeting. While funding for Ontario's Postsecondary Education budget was discussed, most people seemed pleased that Rae took the time to listen to their ideas, but they were not pleased with where the future of education funding is headed.
On a cash basis, the amount of money spent by the province for student financial assistance in 2003/04, is about the same as in 92/93. Considering this, tuition fees have risen 195 percent since 90/91. On the budget last year, health spending consumed 40 percent, compared with 19 percent for education.
"Students should have the flexibility to choose payment options after graduating," voiced a Queen's student. "Without having to pay so much interest."
Rae partially agrees. He is currently pro Income Contingent Loans (ICL). This is where tuition fees rise to pay off government debt, and pay back time is increased to however long a student needs following graduation. However, interest rates will still rise on the loan year after year, making it harder to pay back.
"I think it is fair and reasonable for students to partially pay for their education," stated Rae. "It is central to building the economy and students should completely be a part of that."
The problem with that is many students are finding they are not eligible for OSAP and bursaries. OSAP measures a student's need for funding by how much they or their family makes. This creates controversy because not all parents choose to pay for their children's education, or their financial status can be misleading on paper.
OSAP's max loan for a student is $9,350 (an amount unchanged since 1994). The Canadian Millennium Scholarship states that for a student living away from home costs are approximately $14,500.
Students were able to voice their opinions, discussing the need to constitute a coherent coordinated system between colleges and university credits, as well as ways to lessen overall student debt. Other concerns touched on the elimination of barriers those students with disabilities often face.
"What I'm terrified most about is coming out of college and not being able to obtain a job," stated a student from St. Lawrence College. "There has to be more Apprenticeships out there for students to get a hold of."
Rae was all ears, listening to the students' comments on the education system. He said there is a lot of turmoil in the process of switching from university to college, vice versa and still receiving all the credits deserved.
"We want to build bridges between colleges and universities, that is definitely one of the next logical steps. Along with this though I feel we have to allow for evolution in the system."
Earlier in the day round table dialogue took place at Queen's University where groups discussed different topics and ways to improve them.
"Rae's closing comments during the round table dialogues definitely indicated that he was listening to what was being said and he seemed to have a clear idea of what he thinks the future of post secondary education should be," stated Tyler Turndull, the President of Almamata society at Queen's University.
Judith Martin, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a financial advisor with Nesbitt Burns agreed that the meeting went well.
"There was a really excellent cross section of people that were at the meeting: business people, students, university and college administrators. So it wasn't just one view point. The funding issue is absolutely huge and seems to be the central topic of everything. Every issue was inter-related, and always ended up on the funding topic," stated Martin.
The next stop for Rae is at the University of Guelph. St. Lawrence was his 12th stop out of 17 across Ontario. For more information, visit www.raereview.on.ca.
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