Trent Radio 2023/24 Online Ads
Severn Court (October-August)
Theatre Trent 2023/24
Arthur News School of Fish

TDSA demands tuition freeze

Written by
Christopher Fernlund
and
and
January 19, 2016
TDSA demands tuition freeze

There is common misconception that the average student is able to pay for their education by working hard before they go away to school.

One could argue that if a student worked full-time over the four-month summer at the current minimum wage, they could make just enough to cover the bare cost of tuition.

However, the reality is that students are not just covering tuition; they are paying for rent, food, transit, and a slew of other costs associated with “being a person” that even the industrious, hardworking student described above can’t cover without being in the red.

According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, in 1990, the after-tax income of a middle-income family was $48,000 and the average one-year tuition in Ontario was $2,500. In 2011, the same family was making an average of $54,000 and tuition had risen to $6,500. Middle-incomes have risen about 12.5% while the cost of tuition has risen about 260%! How did we end up with such a large increase in tuition rates?

In the 1990s, the Ontario government relinquished control over-regulated tuition and universities were free to raise their costs to competitive rates compared to those internationally. The post-secondary student financial aid budget must then have been raised to compensate for this deregulation of tuition. The assumption is semi-correct.

While the current government has subsidized 30% of average tuition in the form of a grant for those families who make less than $160,000, and OSAP has been adjusted to inflation, to date there has been no real correction in the up-front price paid by students who are covering over 50% of universitys’ operating budgets.

As tuition continues to rise at a faster rate than incomes while provincial contributions remain stagnant, students are forced into working more and longer hours and/or taking on larger amounts of debt.

In 2003, the average repayable debt for an undergraduate was $20,875. Our student members reported ten years later that they had an average debt load of $26,887. The Ontario Student Assistance Plan (OSAP) has increased its own caps to address the rising tuition costs, but unfortunately its calculations do not accurately reflect the costs student incur as a result of their post-secondary education.

This is a triple negative problem: students are faced with high, rising tuition bills; cannot make enough money to cover all the necessitates; and are forced to take out larger amounts of student financial assistance.

Over the past half-decade, tuition has been allowed to rise by 3-5%. At Trent, the typical raise has been 3%. If you are in your fourth year, your tuition will have risen almost 10% since your first year. This is faster than inflation, faster than government contributions, and faster than students can afford.

Over the next three days, in partnership with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), the Trent Durham Student Association (TDSA) is campaigning for a fully-funded tuition freeze. “Fully-funded” might sound like a confusing qualifier, but it’s an important one.

We at TDSA and OUSA are asking that the government to continue funding universities, so that they are able to provide the high-quality academic experience we have right now, while reducing the contributor that comes from the pockets of students. We are asking that the government cover that 3-5% increase to make university more affordable for you.

We want to tip the scales back so the government is responsible for maintaining the publicly funded system.

While we recognize that students should have a financial stake in their education, we want a cost-sharing model that’s fair for everyone and reflects Ontario’s values. We’re asking for a time-out on unfair cost-sharing, a time-out on mounting debt, and a time-out on tuition hikes.

Trent Radio 2023/24 Online Ads
Severn Court (October-August)
Theatre Trent 2023/24
Arthur News School of Fish
Written By
Sponsored
Trent Radio 2023/24 Online Ads
Severn Court (October-August)
Theatre Trent 2023/24
Arthur News School of Fish
Hmmmm...
It looks like there's nothing else from this author. Perhaps you, the reader, could
pick up the pen and begin where they left off.

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5
Caption text

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

"Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system."
  • adfasdfa
  • asdfasdfasd
  • asfdasdf
  • asdfasdf

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5
Caption text

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

"Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system."
  • adfasdfa
  • asdfasdfasd
  • asfdasdf
  • asdfasdf