OUSA

In case you didn’t catch them, HEQCO put out two great papers today discussing barriers to access for underrepresented groups in Ontario, both based on analysis of data from the longitudinal Youth in Transition Survey. There are some great observations about the relative importance of grades, PISA scores, parental education, and family income on access in Ontario and elsewhere. Of course I won’t spoil it for you, so you’ll have to go to www.heqco.ca and download them yourself.

While you’re there, I suggest you check out Itsnotacademic, Harvey’s blog on PSE. It may not get updated as frequently as we (or Sue) would like, but we can vouch for the existence of at least a handful of regular readers.

Anyway, HEQCO’s papers are especially exciting for us given that OUSA and our partners at the College Student Alliance and the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association are preparing to release a paper on accessibility containing 42 recommendations to close participation gaps. Look for it in the coming days.

-Alexi White
OUSA Executive Director

Thinking back over the four years of my undergraduate studies, I can recall quite a number of stressed out exam periods, late night assignments and nearly empty bank accounts. I can’t imagine how some students are able to juggle all of that with the responsibility of caring for their children. I had the pleasure of getting to know a few student parents when I was attending university, and the commitment each of them had to balancing work, academic and family responsibilities was incredible.

There is no definitive answer as to how many students with children study in Ontario universities, though most provincial and national estimates place it a range of between 4% and 8% of university students. There is broad consensus, however, that students with children are vastly underrepresented in our institutions. The Youth in Transition Survey found that respondents aged 24-26 who had a child were 2.5 times less likely to have attended university, and those aged 20-22 were 7 times less likely. Those who do attend tend to be older, are more likely to study part-time, are more likely to have interrupted their studies, and also tend to be female. Unsurprisingly, younger children are typically a greater barrier to full-time university participation, as students with children under the age of five are much more likely to be studying part-time than those with older children. Furthermore, Aboriginal students are significantly more likely to have children than non-Aboriginal students.

One of the most significant challenges that students with children face is the availability and increasing cost of childcare. A survey conducted last month by OUSA found that 14 of the 20 Ontario universities offered childcare services on campus. Wait times for spots averaged between 12 and 18 months, and many campuses could not provide any prediction of when a spot would become available. Fewer than half of the campuses offered infant care. The weekly cost for childcare averaged $326, $262 and $214 for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers, respectively. Granted, students with children can also pursue childcare off-campus, but the availability and cost of childcare is not considerably different in most Ontario communities. Also, there is evidence from the United States that institutions with adequate day-care spots have higher degree completion rates for students with dependants, mature students, and part-time students.

While the Ontario Student Assistance Program recognizes childcare costs in its need assessment for students with children, the assessment vastly underestimates the true costs. Full-time students with children under the age of 12 (or students above 12 with a disability) are eligible for childcare costs. Sole support parents receive a maximum of $83 each week per child for childcare costs, while married students receive half of that. Students with three or more children do not receive any more loan funding, but instead are eligible for the Child Care Bursary.

Applicants for the bursary must provide documentation of childcare costs, the use of an eligible child care provider, course schedules, and frequently an explanatory letter indicating why care cannot be provided by a spouse, or why classes cannot be scheduled when children are in school. The maximum amount of support provided for sole support parents is $70 per week for the third dependent child, $46 for the fourth, and $58 for the fifth. For married, common-law, or joint-custody situations, the amount of childcare support is halved. Given the incredibly strict eligibility requirements for the bursary, it is not surprising that there were only 24 recipients in 2009-10 and the bursary provided an average of only $540.

Ontario seems to be the only province that converts a portion of childcare costs to a non-repayable bursary, and the government should be commended for continuing to support this important endeavour. However, the available support for students with children is not close to enough. Restricting this assistance to students with three or more children leaves out the vast majority of students with children. Furthermore, the need assessment provides less than one-third of the true cost of childcare in Ontario, and most students with children have annual unrecognized need estimated to be in excess of $15,000. Finally, provincial assistance is restricted to full-time students despite the fact that most students with children study part-time.

When an individual with children is prevented from accessing or completing higher education, everyone involved in the dependency relationship feels the economic and social damage. In the short term, both the potential student and his or her dependants are denied access to a higher income and the corresponding quality of life benefits. In the long term, the children of a parent who has not attended or completed PSE are statistically less likely to attend themselves.

The pursuit of higher education must be accessible and affordable to every Ontarian, including those with children. Institutions need to devote more resources to affordable childcare spaces on campus for children of students. Additionally, the government should revamp its childcare need assessment to accurately reflect true costs, and the Child Care Bursary should be made available to all OSAP-eligible students (regardless of full-time status) with children under the age of 12 without a separate application. To put it simply, the current support for student parents is unacceptably low and students call on all stakeholders to step up.

-Sam Andrey
OUSA Director of Research & Policy Analysis

Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to attend a breakfast event with the Honourable Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Infrastructure. Hosted by Global Public Affairs, the occasion gave Minister Chiarelli a chance to review the McGuinty government’s record on infrastructure and give some hints as to what stakeholders can expect from his ministry’s forthcoming 10-year infrastructure plan. Needless to say, undergraduate students are deeply concerned with overcrowded campuses that are having an impact on their learning experience, and we are watching the infrastructure developments carefully.

The Minister spoke broadly about a number of Ontario’s key infrastructure needs, including public transportation to relieve traffic congestion and hospitals for an aging population. Concerning to our members, however, was that his remarks contained only a passing reference to education and no references whatsoever to the post-secondary sector. The government’s last 5-year plan for infrastructure, “ReNew Ontario,” did not prioritize post-secondary infrastructure needs. Students are adamant that this not be repeated.

That recent and somewhat unanticipated growth has left our campuses overcrowded is no longer a point of debate. The Council of Ontario Universities estimated that in 2007 our universities had only 73 per cent of the space needed to support the current number of students, faculty and staff. Given Premier McGuinty’s target of doubling international enrolment and reaching 70 per cent post-secondary attainment within the domestic population, this situation is likely to worsen before it gets better. In fact, it is estimated that in the next five years our universities will need to accommodate up to 58,000 more students, an increase of a further 14 per cent. Meanwhile, not enough is being done to maintain our current space, and years of underfunding have resulted in nearly $2 billion in deferred maintenance costs across the sector.

This infrastructure deficit is having a tangible impact on the student experience, and we have documented some examples in this very blog. More than ever, space is at a premium in our libraries, residences and even lecture halls. While stimulus funds distributed through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program (KIP) provided for needed new buildings, much of the funding for universities went to building new laboratories and offices rather than classrooms and study space. None of it went to deferred maintenance or to support the building of student centres and support services, critical for student success.

On the issue of deferred maintenance, Minister Chiarelli did indicate that he recognizes the need to address this challenge, even though it is often less politically palatable than funding new buildings and ribbon-cutting ceremonies. He mused about the possibility of assigning a fixed percentage of funding to address maintenance issues.

Whatever is contained in the 10- year plan, indications from the Ministry of Infrastructure are that the current fiscal difficulties could mean much of the funding will be back-ended, and our institutions and students may have to wait many more years before adequate investments are made simply to catch up with enrolment growth.

The Open Ontario Plan’s emphasis on growth in post-secondary education was an important step forward. The forthcoming infrastructure plan is a welcome opportunity for the government to fulfill a crucial component of this goal.

-Alexi White
OUSA Executive Director

There’s a lot of talk about how to improve student motivation and engagement in secondary school. Studies have shown that poor academic performance in secondary school is closely linked with student motivation: unsurprisingly, students who report being less engaged at school tend to do worse on standardized tests, and are more likely to drop-out before completing their diploma.

A lack of engagement in secondary school that leads to poorer academic performance can create a crisis of confidence for students. A student with low motivation who performs poorly may come to believe that he or she is simply “not good” at school, and there is no point in trying harder.  This crisis of confidence can deter students from attempting the courses necessary for admission to college or university because they fear that they will be too hard, and they will ultimately fail.  Perhaps most concerning is that many of the students facing motivational barriers also are more likely to come from groups underrepresented in post-secondary education, including low-income, first-generation and rural backgrounds. Consequently, these students not only face motivational barriers, but also and financial, informational, geographic and other obstacles to post-secondary study.

If we want to raise the post-secondary participation rate among youth, the Ontario government must actively embrace strategies for tackling low student motivation and engagement in secondary school. Dual credit programs, that is, programs where students take college and university level courses in secondary school, have demonstrated success in raising graduation rates among students at risk of not completing their secondary school diploma. Dual credit programs have multiple benefits for students facing motivational barriers to post-secondary study. They provide students with familiarity with college and university curricula and environments, and also can help build student confidence.  In being accepted to the programs, students are shown that teachers and guidance counsellors believe they can succeed at the post secondary level. In tackling post-secondary level course work during secondary school, students can show themselves that they do have the ability to succeed in higher education in the future.

Currently, Ontario offers an excellent dual credit program where students can take up to four credits that count at both the secondary school and college level. However, the availability of college-level dual credit programs is somewhat limited; only 1.3 per cent of Ontario secondary students participated in a dual credit program in the 2009-2010 school year. In addition, Ontario lacks dual credit programs at the university level that are targeted to at risk students. While International Baccalaureate (IB) programs give high achieving students the opportunity to take advanced university courses in secondary school, a similar program is not in place for students with lower achievement but high potential.

It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that students who are struggling in secondary school should take a dual credit university-level course. But for students who have strong ability and potential, but lack motivation or engagement, university-level dual credit courses could be an important means of interesting students in a post-secondary pathway. American studies indicate that while dual enrolment has traditionally been geared towards high achieving students, recent evidence suggests that dual credit programs are also an important tool for improving the motivation and confidence of students from underrepresented groups. In the American context, university-level dual credit programs in high school improved both the admission and persistence rates of students from underrepresented groups.

The Ontario government has taken positive steps through the implementation of dual credit programming, and students encourage the government to continue to investigate creative strategies for addressing motivational barriers facing secondary school students. The expansion of dual credit programs, at both the college and university level, for students with low engagement in secondary school could be an important tool for lowering secondary school drop-out rates, increasing student confidence, and raising post-secondary attainment rates.

-Nick Soave
VP Education, University of Waterloo Federation of Students

My name is Kim Orr and I’m the OUSA campus coordinator at the University of Windsor. On Tuesday January 25th, 2011, I had the unique privilege of representing local students to the Provincial Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, in conjunction with Robert Woodrich, the VP University Affairs of the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance.

We were able to convey to the Committee what it means to be a student in post secondary education today and the difficulties that students face when trying to balance work and school. We emphasized how increasing the debt load of students only makes this balance more precarious. Increasing the OSAP debt repayment cap from $7,000 to $7,300 last year meant $1,200 more dollars of debt for students – that’s over 120 hours of work at minimum wage. We found that breaking down student debt in terms of its  true impact on students sent a powerful resonating message that was well received by the Committee. Reducing the OSAP cap, by moving government funds spent on tax credits to reduce student debt and extend OSAP eligibility, was the emphasis of our presentation and was well received by the Committee.

We also discussed increasing government support for support services, in particular supports for international students. Windsor has one of the largest international student populations in Ontario’s universities, and increasing the support available for these students is a key priority for the UWSA.

We received a variety of questions from the Committee, including questions on pedagogy training for faculty, tax credits, university funding and studying abroad. It was a great experience to represent Windsor students in the pre-Budget consultations, and I’m looking forward to see what comes of it in the March Budget announcement.

-Kim Orr
OUSA Campus Coordinator, University of Windsor

On Tuesday night, the District School Board of Niagara approved the implementation of a new regional school dedicated to low-income students whose parents did not attend post-secondary education. The DSBN Academy, which will start in September in Welland, is thought to be the first of its kind in Canada, and will offer advanced curriculum, tutoring, mentoring, parental involvement, before- and after-school support, nutrition programs and free transportation.

The literature on access emphasizes that a holistic approach is necessary, which simultaneously tackles access barriers through several supports early in life, including academic, personal, financial and parental supports. The use of a multi-pronged strategy has been critical to the progress of other successful outreach programs, such as Pathways to Education. From the initial plans, it appears that the DSBN Academy is taking this message to heart, and attempting to implement a holistic approach.

Unsurprisingly, reaction from the public has been mixed. Many see it as an innovative idea that will provide considerable help to the students who need it most. Others understandably worry about the effects of segregation, and feel these kinds of supports should be broadly available in all schools. There is also some concern that the application process, which requires students to demonstrate motivation for pursing post-secondary studies, may prevent some students who would benefit from extra support from enrolling.

OUSA has been emphasizing for years the importance of early outreach in primary and secondary school, as a necessary part of a strategy for closing the stubborn post-secondary education participation gaps of many underrepresented groups. Many government access initiatives have been implemented with mixed success, and it will be interesting to watch the results of DSBN Academy. As a Niagara native and a student representative at Brock University, I will certainly be watching with interest.

- Daud Grewal
VP University Affairs, Brock University Students’ Union

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Ontario Mental Health in Post-Secondary Settings working group at Ryerson University on behalf of OUSA. The working group came together as a follow-up step to the mental health and addiction summit held in October by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. A variety of stakeholders from the college and university sector participated in the working group, to discuss what changes are necessary to better support and improve mental health in post-secondary settings.

There is concern that the incidence of mental health issues has been rising on university and college campuses. According to a 2009 study by the American College Health Association, the number of students accessing counselling services has increased over the past decade. The incidence of severe psychological disorders has also increased to 44 per cent, up from 16 per cent in 2000, and the proportion of students requiring medication has risen by seven per cent. Many counsellors in Ontario believe that American trends in mental health are mirrored in Canadian colleges and universities.

In light of the rise in mental health issues, it is important that university and college campuses have adequate support in counselling and mental health centres. Increased demand for services combined with rising student populations have strained existing mental health and counselling services at many of Ontario’s institutions. Yet mental health services should be prioritized as a crucial part of promoting student success as a whole. Not only do mental health centres provide prompt service for students when they are going through periods of crisis, but they also engage in preventative health promotion, anti-stigma education, and other initiatives that can foster a healthy, welcoming campus environment for all students.

The Ontario government is currently developing a new 10 year strategy for mental health and addictions, focused on enabling individuals and communities to optimize their mental health and well-being. Students believe that adequate mental health services on post-secondary campuses are an essential component of a plan to identify problems early and create healthy communities. The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities, post-secondary institutions, and students must continue to come together and discuss how best to fund, improve and expand mental health services on campuses. The dialogue at yesterday’s working group was a great place to start.

-Laura Pin
Research Analyst

After the significant investments in post-secondary education provided in the government’s Reaching Higher Plan announced in 2005, following this act was always going to be hard, even in a time of surplus. Yet back in March of last year, students were very encouraged to see the government promise to build on its previous commitment through a new five-year quality plan for the sector. As part of the Open Ontario Plan, the government promised to “work with all its partners in education, training and business to develop a new, five-year plan to improve the quality of Ontario’s postsecondary education system.”

Over the past year, OUSA has brought the needs and priorities of Ontario students to the attention of government, and we look forward to seeing a five-year plan that provides specific, necessary improvements to the student experience. First and foremost, this means a recognition that an imbalance between teaching and research has been created, that quality teaching is no longer given the value it deserves, that the age-old methods of instruction are not good enough anymore, and that our professors need more training and support. If this is going to happen, however, we have to be sure to learn from our mistakes just as we build on our successes.

The Premier and his government have shown leadership by prioritizing higher education in our province. They recognized the tremendous value that an investment, such as Reaching Higher, could have for post-secondary education and the long-term prosperity of Ontario, most notably by providing enough funding to create over 100,000 new seats at our colleges and universities. But the plan was also intended to improve the quality of the learning environment by hiring more faculty members, and ensuring public dollars went to good use through a strong accountability framework. Five years later, students across the province agree that the quality improvements to student-faculty interaction and the student experience that we all hoped for did not materialize as fully as expected.

Even with substantial growth, per-student funding increased by about 4 per cent during each year of Reaching Higher, and tuition increased by 5 per cent each year, leaving students to wonder where exactly these increases went. Unfortunately, while multi-year accountability agreements continue to have potential, the way they have been implemented has not provided the level of accountability that was anticipated, and there are few concrete answers to these pressing questions.

If there’s a lesson to be learned here, I suggest that it is this: if we want to see specific improvements to the quality of a higher education in Ontario, then the government must directly fund these goals. We’ve tried providing a lump-sum increase while tinkering with reporting mechanisms and it didn’t work as well as we’d hoped. It’s time for government to make priorities and fund them directly for success.

Perhaps the best example of this is to bring it back to the quality of teaching and learning at our institutions. We have known for decades that passive learning methods are inferior to active learning pedagogies, such as service-learning, problem-based learning, and inquiry-based learning. Certainly, meaningful change will require new resources, but waiting for institutions to re-evaluate the way they teach could mean many decades more before a change to the culture of teaching and learning truly takes hold. The problem has been identified, the solutions presented, and it’s now up to government to demand the change that the students and people of Ontario need to see.

Colleges and universities were created as places of learning. You simply can’t have a five-year quality plan that doesn’t directly address improving the learning environment for students.

-Meaghan Coker
OUSA President
USC VP University Affairs, University of Western Ontario

I am writing from the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto where OUSA is participating in the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations’ annual conference. This year’s conference, entitled The Race to Globalize Higher Education in Canada, is off to an excellent start, stimulating discussion on the many facets of the internationalization agenda.

The first presentation from Andre Turcotte of Carleton University provided interesting insights from a recent poll into Ontarians’ views on the affordability of post-secondary education and perspectives on international recruitment. Particularly fascinating was the finding that 54% of Ontarians thought attracting international students was important, while nearly two-thirds of respondents felt it was fair for these students to pay two to three times more in tuition than domestic students.

Next up was an address by Glen Jones from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education on the history of Canada’s pursuit to internationalize higher education. The presentation provided an excellent overview of the past and current barriers to internationalization, the important role of our federal and provincial arrangements, and where the country and the province may be headed.

The afternoon will be filled with more presentations on the Australian experience of internationalization, on how to internationalize students, faculty and curriculum, and finally on Canadian universities’ attempts to establish campuses abroad.

I’d like to thank OCUFA for the invitation to attend this wonderful forum. OUSA has been working actively with the government on its internationalization agenda, stressing our concerns with international tuition, financial assistance, employment opportunities, health insurance and support services. With that in mind, we are looking forward to listening and contributing to the conversation today and tomorrow on this important issue.

-Meaghan Coker
OUSA President

Today, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities John Milloy announced plans to make it easier for students to apply for financial assistance. Starting this year, OSAP applications will be made available in February, a full three months earlier than previously. Students applaud this move as an important step in making it simpler to access government financial assistance. Providing access to the OSAP application earlier will mean students can apply for assistance while they are in the process of applying to and receiving acceptances from institutions, giving them more time to adequately plan for their post-secondary education expenses.

The plan to make OSAP applications available earlier complements the $81 million dollar package of improvements to the financial assistance system that the Ontario government announced last March. It also follows the recent overhaul of the OSAP website and the important addition of a financial aid calculator that provides prospective students with a rough idea of the assistance they could receive from the government, both of which are important steps to improve student literacy of financial aid.

In the context of increasing tuition fees, a strong financial assistance program is imperative to maintaining access to post-secondary education for all willing and qualified individuals. OUSA continues to develop recommendations for enhancing existing financial assistance programs, most of which can be found in our updated policy on student financial aid. Students have welcomed the efforts the government has made thus far in improving financial assistance, and encourage the government to continue to examine ways to improve the affordability and accessibility of post-secondary education to ensure that no student is unable to pursue higher education due to financial constraints.

-Laura Pin
Research Analyst