Funding will target low-income families
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne visited the University of Guelph on Jan. 25 as part of her tour of college and university campuses across the province.
Premier Wynne met with various student groups on campus, such as the Young Liberals, and sat down for a roundtable discussion on mental health with President Franco Vaccarino and student leaders from the University community in the spirit of Bell Let’s Talk Day.
In addition to meeting with students and staff across campus, Premier Wynne sat down with The Ontarion to discuss the upcoming changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).
Beginning September 2017, prospective students and current undergraduates who come from families with an income of $50,000 or less will be eligible for free tuition through the revamped OSAP system.
In this newly revitalized model, the grant portion of OSAP funding will be an estimated $8,700, enough to cover the tuition of most university programs, and will be available to graduate students.
“The grant part you don’t pay back—and that’s the point, because what happens is, kids from low income families whose parents want to support them but can’t, they end up with huge debt loads and what we’re trying to do is remove that debt load and therefore remove the fear of incurring that debt and that may get them to come to school,” said Premier Wynne.
The grants, however, don’t guarantee that the full cost of tuition will be covered. For example, programs with a higher tuition cost, such as engineering, will have a large amount of the tuition covered, but some will still be paid through loans.
The new targeted OSAP system, which Premier Wynne says will direct the money towards students who need it most, will also pay the tuition for the majority of students who come from families who make between $50,000 to $80,000.
Premier Wynne hopes to assist 210,000 students with the adjustments to the OSAP program and hopes that the consolidated funds from existing student aid programs—roughly $400 million in tax credits—will go to those who need it most.
There have been critics of the forthcoming OSAP grant system, questioning the effectiveness of a grant-based system and the lack of support for students who already struggle to pay off their loan.
The Ontario NDP leader, Andrea Horwath, launched an initiative in October 2016 to hear from students about their struggles in paying off debt that they incurred while pursuing their degrees.
In an article published by The Toronto Star, Horwath pledged to put an end to interest that accumulates on student debt.
Premier Wynne said that making the program retroactive would be very challenging and explained that, for students looking for assistance in repaying their student debt, there are existing programs available to help.
“Students don’t have to start paying back their loans until they are earning money and they can apply for that relief and there are caps on how much students can be asked to pay back.”
Canadian students who have recently graduated from university can apply to have their payments suspended until they earn at least $25,000 and the interest on their total amount will also be frozen.
Students looking to pursue postsecondary education also have expenses that exceed the costs of tuition.
In an interview with Vice Money, Donna Mihalcheon, senior vice-president at BDO Debt Solutions, said that tuition isn’t the only financial stress put on students during their post-secondary education.
“It’s not the tuition fees, it’s the fact that you have to live somewhere for eight, to nine, to 10 months of the year while you’ve got no money coming in.”
Premier Wynne emphasized that the changes to OSAP, which will be implemented for the 2017 to 2018 academic year, are meant to increase the accessibility of post-secondary education, while still keeping money in the system to support those who may not be able to pay for university themselves.
Photo by Dana Bellamy/The Ontarion.