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by David Cochrane Ottawa Bureau Chief OTTAWA (CUP) -- More students than ever before are relying on government funded student loans to finance a post-secondary education. The most current Canada Student Loan statistics report says that 338,867 people received student loans during the 1995-96 academic year, an increase of almost 100,000 people since 1990-91. With total post-secondary education enrollment hovering at about one million, that means more than one out of every three students has to borrow to pay for their education. Brad Lavigne, national chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, says the reason more people are borrowing is because rising educational costs have outstripped earnings. The result has been what Lavigne calls a "debt explosion." The CFS reports that since 1990 the average debt load of students who borrow increased from $8,700 to $25,000 by the end of this year. In that same period there has been a sharp increase in the number of students going broke. Human Resources Development reports that 7,850 Canada Student Loan recipients declared bankruptcy during the 1995-96 school year. Lavigne puts a lot of the blame on the federal and provincial governments. As all levels of government try to reduce their deficits transfer payments and educational funding have decreased sharply. Hoops Harrison, executive director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, says post-secondary institutions must also shoulder some of the blame. "I think it is a conscious choice by universities to recover costs from the students themselves," Harrison said. "They are looking more to gain revenues from tuition rather than make their own operations more efficient. "This solidifies what we've been saying for a long time that students have hit the debt wall." by Craig Saunders B.C. Bureau Chief VICTORIA (CUP) -- It might be good news for parents, but it may still be too early to tell. B.C.'s government is relaxing restrictions to loan remissions for single parents and making administrative changes to the provincial student loans system. Premier Glen Clark and Education Minister Paul Ramsay announced the changes at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby last week. The most significant change allows single parents an additional year to complete their program and still remain eligible for provincial loan remission. Under the old system, single parents could take one year beyond the stated length of their program and still be eligible for loan remission. A single parent enrolled in a four-year university program will now be allowed six years to finish. |
However, Robert Clift, president of the Confederation of Universities Faculty Associations-BC, while supportive of the changes announced, remains skeptical of how effective the other changes have been. "They're good administrative [changes]," said Clift of a new government program that allows students to access their loan information through Internet. As for the changes for single parents, Clift pointed out that the appeals committee has already been making extra time allowances for single parents. "They've made into policy what was effective policy already," he said. by Michael Connor Atlantic Bureau Chief ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CUP) -- Students graduating from post-secondary schools in Newfoundland will now have portions of their provincial student loans forgiven, provided they finish their studies within a certain time frame. A new loan remission program effectively sets a debt ceiling of $22,016 for all students who graduate from a post-secondary program that is at least 80 weeks long. If a graduating student's total debt-load is above that ceiling, the Newfoundland government will pay back the excess debt in their provincial student loan. "This was the selling thing when [the federal government] changed the loans program in Ô94 and they got rid of grants," said Randy Miller, a student council vice-president at Memorial. "We were told they would have a loan forgiveness program for students with a high debt-load." However, because of a timely completion requirement, students who take too long to graduate will not be eligible. In general, the program calls on students to complete their studies within one year of the prescribed time. A student doing a standard four-year undergraduate degree is given five years to finish, and the government will only excuse those excess debts accumulated within the first four years. Miller says that doesn't take into account certain realities of student life. "It doesn't take into account people who have kids who can't do five courses a term, it doesn't take into account students who switch programs [part-way through their studies]" he said. Who will sit on the committee has not yet been determined, but Harris says there will be student representation. Dale Kirby, chair of the Newfoundland component of the Canadian Federation of Students, already has a seat on the committee. In a recently released policy document, the provincial component of the CFS proposed that loan remissions should be granted at the end of every study period, instead of after graduation. Any student who completes a semester of school in clear standing would be eligible for a grant which could be deducted from the principle of the loan. Kirby says he is hoping to meet with federal officials about including these proposals in a federal loan forgiveness program. |
by Sarah Schmidt The Varsity TORONTO (CUP) -- Some Ontario students could end up paying nearly three times the actual cost of their education if the provincial government implements its controversial student loan proposal. The scheme was developed jointly by the Ontario and federal governments and allows students to pay back their debt at a rate which is in line with their income. But according to a computer simulation model, nearly 20 per cent of students will be unable to pay off their loans before a 25 year maximum repayment period runs out. "It just seems like there's always bad news coming up - tuition hikes, losing grants and now this new proposal," said student Ed Choi who has had no choice but to borrow the maximum amount in order to attend U of T. The plan calls for the end of interest relief as well as the introduction of compound interest - which means students would pay interest on the principal as well as on the accumulating interest. It is one version of the new student aid approach they are pushing to set up by the fall of 1998. "The current OSAP system isn't working very well," said David Trick, assistant deputy ministry of the post-secondary education division of the ministry. "Students were asked to take on more debt but nothing was done on the repayment side." Although there is agreement among the main players, that the current system needs reform, there is widespread disapproval of what's currently on the table. "It's intended to let governments off the hook," added Henry Mandelbaum, acting executive director of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, whose organization would like to see this plan be killed altogether. "Government just can't abdicate its responsibility. There's a societal advantage to have an educated society." News Staff the Carillon In Saskatchewan, the number of students on provincial loans hasn't gone up drastically, with the amount authorized staying between $50 and $60 million for the past few years. In 1996/97, 8,078 students loans were authorized, amounting to $54.1 million. In terms of numbers, it is down since 1995/96, when 8,408 loans were authorized. Saskatchewan's loan scheme is different from Canada Student Loans because every year the government determines an amount which will be forgiven. For Canada Student Loans, there is no forgiveness policy. Annually, the Saskatchewan government commits $17 million to support students in debt. Post-secondary minister Joanne Crofford says she would like to see the federal government contributing to a forgiveness scheme. "We would like the federal government to contribute 60 per cent of the total for student debt forgiveness, which would amount to $25.5 million," she says. |