OUSA

When advocating against tuition fee increases, one argument often raised is that high fees force students to work more part-time hours during the academic year, thus eating into time for more important academic pursuits. According to a new study in the Canadian Journal of Higher Education, however, increasing tuition causes students to work more during the summer but has little effect on work patterns while in school. The study, entitled “Dividing Time Between Work and Study: Are Tuition Fees a Factor?”, looks at data from the 1999, 2001 and 2003 Youth In Transition Survey (YITS) to investigate how tuition increases impact student employment patterns.

But before accepting these conclusions, let’s look at what the study actually tells us. The authors found that in attempting to accommodate a $1,000 increase in tuition, the average student works 38 more hours over the course of the year, with 96% of those additional hours coming in the summer. While it’s true that students are not sacrificing their academics to work more during the year, this conclusion presupposes that working additional hours during the school year is a viable option for all of these students when, in fact, it is not.

One issue the authors did not take into account is the impact that a restrictive financial assistance program has on student behaviour. At the time of the survey, Ontario students who received loans from the federal and provincial governments (which are also the students most likely to feel the strain of tuition increases) were allowed to make only $50 per week while in school before their additional earnings were clawed back to pay down their debt. That’s a cap of 7 hours per week for a student working at $7 an hour, yet the study indicates the average student was working about 11 hours a week – already well above the cap. Even if these students were in desperate need of additional funds, working more while in school was simply not an option. (The Ontario government has recently increased this cap to $103 per week to provide some additional room, but the federal government has yet to follow suit.)

In addition to employment patterns, the study can also tell us something about debt levels, though the authors did not attempt to tackle this issue. If a student worked 38 additional hours over the course of the year at a generous wage of $10 an hour, the student would earn only slightly more than a third of the $1,000 increase in tuition they must pay. Many of these students would be forced to borrow the remaining funds, thus adding to debt levels that have climbed to well above $20,000 on average.

Indeed, the authors suggest that the best option for students is to take out more loans and pay them back after graduation: “An increase in tuition should not have a large effect even on summer working hours, since it would be more efficient for students to borrow additional funds during the year and pay back their loans after graduation.” Again, this presupposes that a student will find decent employment upon graduation, that he or she isn’t already receiving the maximum amount of public loans available, and that the student is not already carrying a potentially crippling amount of debt.

The truth is that we don’t know how much debt is too much debt and much more research needs to be done in this area if we are to understand how dealing with $20,000 in debt is impacting the lives of recent graduates.

Sure, higher tuition may not hurt your grades, but it may hurt your future.

-Alexi White
OUSA Executive Director

Greetings!

Having just returned from a jam-packed week in the beautiful province of Prince Edward Island, I can be certain of at least two things: the lobster season is in full swing and student representation across Canada is strong and engaged. From June 6th – 12th, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), one of OUSA’s partners, held their annual Policy and Strategy Conference in the lobster hotbed of Charlottetown. This week is designed to identify the policy and advocacy priorities that CASA’s members have for the next year.

In addition to the sessions on strategy and governmental climate, this week the general assembly was charged with the responsibility of selecting CASA’s next National Director. Congratulations to Zachary Dayler, a Hamilton Ontario native, who will surely provide great leadership for the organization as National Director.

Not alone in Charlottetown, many of OUSA’s steering committee members were in attendance including Daud Grewal (Brock University) who was elected to CASA’s Board of Directors as the Regional Director for the Central Region, Nick Soave (University of Waterloo), Saad Aslam (Wilfrid Laurier University), and Joe Finkle (McMaster University).

Another highlight includes the forming of the Pan-Canadian Accord Committee, which employs the mandate of encouraging a strong partnership between the federal and provincial government for the purpose of ensuring high quality education in post-secondary institutions across Canada. Some of the anticipated topics that will be covered in the Pan-Canadian Accord include early outreach and teaching and learning data, namely two areas that our OUSA staff are currently researching. Both Joe and I are really looking forward to contributing to this expansive initiative over the next year as members of this committee.

Moreover, OUSA will be conducting our own Strategic Planning Conference at the beginning of July. This will be a great opportunity for our Steering Committee to identify our priorities and action plan for the next year. Really looking forward to it!

Meaghan Coker
OUSA President
USC VP University Affairs

I had the pleasure yesterday of attending another one of the ‘conversations’ held by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The presentation was from Dr. Torben Drewes of Trent University, who is conducting a HEQCO research project on labour market outcomes of post-secondary graduates in Ontario. The primary goals of the project were to determine if there is, or will soon be, an over-supply of university and/or college graduates and if there is the right mix of subject being studied.

While recognizing that the ideal measure for this type of assessment would be to determine the social rate of return per student in PSE, it was determined that the more feasible measurement is the earnings premia for PSE graduates over students with only a high school diploma. A growing over-supply or mismatch in the fields of study should result in declining or shifting earnings premia. However, the Canadian evidence is that the earning premium continues to increase. From 1980 to 2005, the earnings premium for a Bachelor’s degree increased from 32% to 40% for males, and from 45% to 51% for females. This increase has grown steadily, though it is beginning to flat-line slightly for males. The rate of return, taking into account lost income during the period of study, was 13% for males and 17% for females.

The effect on annual earnings between fields of study shows that graduates of the humanities, social sciences, and physical/life sciences are below the average, while graduates of education, engineering, and math are above the average. While this isn’t particularly surprising, it is interesting to see that the gap between graduates of the humanities and the average has grown substantially since the 1980s. The author suggested though that the relatively steady employment rates could indicates that graduates of these programs and other more general programs (social and physical sciences) fill an important role in providing versatile employees for the changing market economy. Finally, it was shown that the incidence of self-reported over-qualification for jobs after graduation is on the decline.

The presentation concluded that there is very little evidence of “over-supply” of graduates in Ontario. This is consistent with previous findings from HEQCO and the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity. Furthermore, despite Canada’s leading PSE attainment rate amongst OECD countries, much of that advantage is due to our robust college system. Ontario ranked only 16 of 21 in attainment of baccalaureate attainment amongst jurisdictions of similar populations and economic structures, according to the Martin Prosperity Institute. For this and many other reasons, OUSA continues to support the Premier’s continued push for increasing the PSE and university attainment rates of the province. However, we remain concerned about the real and perceived barriers preventing equal representation in our universities amongst low-income students, students with disabilities, Aboriginal students, students with dependants, rural and northern students, and first generation students. While it is encouraging to hear that our students are achieving personal and financial success after graduation, it is imperative that all of our province’s citizens have access to these benefits.

Sam Andrey
OUSA Director of Research & Policy Analysis

Hello everyone,

My name is Chris, and I am pleased to officially have taken over as one of two Queen’s representatives to the OUSA Steering Committee. This past year was incredibly successful for OUSA and our partners in the post-secondary sector, and I look forward to continuing that trend as we move forward together. My hope is to continue working with organizations who share our vision for an accessible post-secondary system that sets the standard for quality throughout the world. As a member of Steering Committee, I’m specifically interested in researching alternate cost-recovery models and how they can be applied to the Ontarian context, systemic barriers to post-secondary education and how they can be overcome, and early outreach to groups historically disenfranchised by post-secondary education. I look forward to meeting and working with many of you over the coming year on these and other issues as they arise.

Cheers,

Chris Rudnicki
Vice-President (University Affairs)
Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University

Hello world of OUSA and the PSE sector! My name is Nick Soave and I am the new Vice President Education for the Federation of Students at the University of Waterloo. I have “recently” graduated, my convocation actually occurs on June 16^th , with a degree in Geography and Environmental Management. I have a strong passion for the environment and I will always enjoying driving through the countryside and pointing out meandering rivers and oxbows. I also have a very strong passion for education and how we can continue improve the ever-changing system we have in Ontario.

Some of my priorities for the upcoming year are aligned with student success and more specifically Teaching Quality. Access has been a main focus of the province for years now and all students should be grateful for what has come from that focus on access. Now attention needs to be paid to the quality of the education that our students are receiving. In my opinion the core of a quality education is the ability of professors and lecturers to effectively pass their wealth of knowledge to their students.

I am excited for the year ahead and I think this year can be a great year for the post secondary sector in Ontario. I am looking forward to work with the steering committee and building some great friendships!

-Nick Soave
Vice President Education
University of Waterloo Federation of Students

Click Image to View Report

TORONTO, June 3 /CNW/ – Undergraduate students across Canada are shockingly ill-equipped and uninformed when it comes to navigating our financial aid system, says a report released today by a partnership of student alliances from across Canada. The report, entitled “The Illiteracy of the Literate: The Lack of Financial Aid Knowledge among Canadian University Students,” is based on a survey of over 20,000 students, half of them from Ontario, and examines the financial aid literacy of borrowers and non-borrowers alike.

Results indicate that 75% of students, including 54% of upper-year government loan recipients, failed the financial aid literacy test posed in the survey. Students most often cited parents and friends as their primary source of financial aid information, yet these students also had the lowest test scores.

“It is clear that thousands of Ontario students are unaware of the aid that is available and are unprepared to handle the significant debt they incur,” said Meaghan Coker, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). “Our overcomplicated financial aid system is failing these students.”

The report also describes a number of the consequences that stem from poor financial aid literacy. Roughly one in five students who identified as debt-averse were unaware that it was possible to receive a grant without taking out a loan. Of fifth-year students who thought they would not quality for a loan, 71% were unaware that their parental income would not be taken into account. Furthermore, 57% of government loan recipients risk paying hundreds of dollars in additional interest because they did not know that interest on their Canada Student Loan begins to accrue immediately upon graduation.

“We urge the government to incorporate comprehensive financial aid literacy into the high school curriculum to educate students on the financial aid available to them,” said Alexi White, OUSA Executive Director. “No student should graduate from an Ontario high school without a firm understanding of the support available in pursuing higher education.”

The Canadian Student Survey was a bilingual, multi-institutional survey conducted on university campuses across the country in the fall term of the 2009-10 academic year. It was commissioned by a partnership of student alliances across the country, including the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) and Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA).

A copy of the report can be accessed at www.ousa.ca/

OUSA represents the interests of over 140,000 professional and undergraduate, full- and part-time university students at seven Ontario institutions.

-30-

For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact Alvin Tedjo, Director of Communications & Public Relations. Office: (416) 341-9948, Cell: (647) 669-6885, Email: communications@ousa.on.ca

TORONTO, June 1 /CNW/ – The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is pleased to announce the election of Meaghan Coker to the position of OUSA President, effective immediately. Coker replaces Dan Moulton, who has completed his one-year term. Joining Meaghan in the OUSA Executive Team is Saad Aslam, from Wilfrid Laurier University, as Vice President – Finance, and Joe Finkle, from McMaster University, as Vice President – Administration. The executive is elected for the 2010-2011 academic year.

As President, Coker provides leadership for OUSA’s Steering Committee and, along with the Executive Director, acts as a voice for the organization to media, government and other stakeholders. Coker is from Guelph, Ontario and is a political science student at the University of Western Ontario. Coker is also the Vice President – University Affairs at the University Students’ Council. In this role she is the chief student contact on academic matters. She also lobbies on behalf of students to university administration and all levels of government.

“Coker, Aslam and Finkle have demonstrated a strong commitment to the students they represent and to improving post-secondary education in Ontario. I am confident that this will be an effective team to lead OUSA forward,” said Alexi White, OUSA Executive Director.

OUSA would also like to thank outgoing President, Dan Moulton, for his exceptional work and commitment to the organization. Moulton provided outstanding leadership and demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the accessibility, affordability, accountability and quality of post-secondary education in Ontario.

On Monday May 17^th, the OUSA Research Team were pleased to attend a session of the Conversations series, co-hosted by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The topic of concern was the interim results for the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Pilot Project, an early intervention strategy aimed at increasing student success and access to university, which is currently underway in BC. The program targets middle-achieving high school students through an elective class that provides students with the support and skills required to take on more rigorous course loads. The objective is to reduce the academic barriers facing these students and encourage them to take on the more challenging pre-requisite courses necessary for entry to postsecondary education (PSE).

The presentation was led by Dr. Reuben Ford, a Research Director at the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC), the organization charged with assessing the impacts of the AVID program. Dr. Ford focused heavily on the strict research methods employed in the evaluation, along with a discussion of the applicability and potential modifications required in adopting a US designed project. Interim results show an increase in the take up of more rigorous classes among program participants, however it is still inconclusive whether this translates into greater student interest and acceptance into university.

The implementation of early outreach programs that target under-represented groups within the PSE system has long been a priority of OUSA. This summer our Early Outreach policy paper is undergoing a review and will be updated to incorporate the latest research. This most recent session in the Conversations series reaffirms the government’s continued commitment to research and to exploring new innovative strategies that increase student access to PSE.  OUSA would like to thank MTCU for the invitation, and we look forward to the full impact report of the AVID pilot, scheduled for release October 2012.

To learn more about the AVID program and the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, visit www.srdc.org or read the report at http://www.srdc.org/uploads/AVID_EIR_full_report_eng.pdf . To read about OUSA’s position on early outreach programs, visit OUSA on the books: Early Outreach at http://www.ousa.ca/policy/policy-papers/.

Morgan Campbell
Research Team
morgan@ousa.on.ca

TORONTO, May 17 /CNW/ – Student leaders from the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) met with Premier Dalton McGuinty on Saturday to discuss a range of issues facing the post-secondary education system in Ontario.

“The Premier remains committed to partnering with students to improve Ontario’s post- secondary education system,” said OUSA President Dan Moulton. “We look forward to working with the Premier to address our shared priorities of enhancing the quality of teaching, providing e-learning and international education opportunities, and strengthening accountability for public and student funding.”

At the Premier’s request, OUSA will be providing further input on a number of proposals related to system design that arose during the private meeting.

“The post-secondary sector and the Province as a whole are facing many challenges,” added Moulton. “Students are committed to collaborating with the Premier, his staff and the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities to develop educated solutions that will build on the success of the government’s historic Reaching Higher Plan.”

-30-

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Alvin Tedjo, OUSA Director of Communications & Public Relations, work: (416) 341-9948, cell: (647) 669-6885, email: communications@ousa.on.ca

It is with some sadness that I submit my last blog. Even though I’m working at OUSA home office for the summer, I’m going to miss my time with steering committee greatly. It’s been a truly incredible year, with successes in lobbying, policy development and determining the future direction of OUSA. We’ve accomplished so much, and I’m incredibly proud to have served with such a hardworking and intelligent group of people. They had better stay in touch; otherwise I’ll be sad.

Don’t worry though; this isn’t going to be a sentimental piece about how awesome OUSA is (though it is). Instead, I’d like to offer some advice to the incoming steering committee, and really anyone who wants to make a constructive difference in student government.

Seek to contribute, not to impress. OUSA’s biggest strength is the commitment student leaders put forth every year to roll up their sleeves, sit down with a bunch of research and find out how the education system really works. It’s only then that we can provide the educated solutions that our organization values so much.

Its not glamorous and it requires late nights and hard work, but I have always believed that student leaders are there to do this work so that others don’t have to. It’s easy to believe that because of a position or a title that you are important. However, in my time involved with student government I’ve seen some students with titles do very little, and some of their defeated rivals make tremendous differences and contributions.

Its up to you to decide what kind of OUSA you want to lead, but know that any kind of change takes an incredible commitment. The difference you make will depend on your ability to make this commitment.

I know you’ll do it.

-Chris Martin
OUSA Steering Committee 2009-2010