Archive for the ‘All’ Category

It is budget time again in the province of New Brunswick and citizens are providing their input to Finance Minister Blaine Higgs as he travels the province holding public consultations. About this time on university campuses, students and the university administration sit in anticipation waiting for the news from government on the amount of funding universities will receive and if tuition will be increasing.

Education is a great investment for the province to make. According to a recent economic study commissioned by the University of New Brunswick, UNB provides a return on investment of 5.8%. For every $1 invested in UNB there is a return to government of $1.058. If we are looking to grow revenues through investments, here is one that has a decent return. UNB also provides employment spin-offs in the community. For every employee of UNB, 2 additional jobs are created in the community. Meaning that if 30 people at UNB lose their job there will be a net loss in employment in the area of 90 jobs.

So it is proven that investing in PSE provides a return to government. But critics in government are quick to say: why shouldn’t students pay more? The answer is simple, they can’t afford to.

Let’s take a look at some numbers with respect to student’s financial situation. Adjusting for inflation, tuition in New Brunswick has increased 44% since 1997. Not 4.4%, fourty-four per cent. That’s adjusting for inflation. During this same period textbook prices have increased by 25%. According to the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation, in recent years spending on need-based aid by government has not kept up with increases in tuition and that it has increased roughly the rate of inflation. This leaves students who rely on student loans and grants will less money to cover costs.

But why can’t students get a job, critic’s state. Easier said than done. According to Statistics Canada, student unemployment in summer 2011 was 17.2%, up from summer 2010 when it was 16.9%. In comparison, the summer unemployment rates for students in 2006 and 2008 were less than 14%. So, student unemployment is on the rise. It is also worth noting that more students work now than they did years ago. Also according to Statistics Canada, in 1976 approximately 25% of students who were pursing Post-Secondary had a job; in 2009 that number was 45%. Students are working. They still can’t make ends meet.

This doesn’t paint a rosy picture for students or universities. The government has not committed to increasing university operating grants, freezing tuition, or even capping tuition increases at a certain percentage. Costs continue to increase and student loans continue to fail to adequately address expenses students face. Comments made by Minister of Finance, Blain Higgs, at the pre-budget meeting in Fredericton, do not give hope to students. Implying that students spend too much money on cigarettes and liquor and saying that the reintroduction of parental contributions hasn’t impacted accessibility show that Minister Higgs doesn’t understand the situation student’s face (disagree with his comments? Send him an email at blaine.higgs@gnb.ca).

Brace yourself for the worst.

- Jordan Thompson, President

Sources:

Statistics Canada

Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation – The Price of Knowledge

Economic Impact Analysis: University of New Brunswick

This week Student Union Presidents and VP Externals are in Ottawa to lobby Federal decision makers on behalf of students. We are all there under the umbrella of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), which is one of the two Federal lobbying organizations that represent students from across Canada. Although education funding is primarily a provincial responsibility, the federal government plays a large role, as 60% of your student loan is from the federal government, the feds transfer money to the provinces in the form of transfer payments, and that copyright laws are federal jurisdiction and have a profound effect on education.

Each year, CASA delegates travel to Ottawa for the Lobby Conference. This is where students from across the country sit down with Members of Parliament, Senators, and senior policy officials to present advocacy goals for that year. At the 2010 Lobbying Conference CASA met with over 110 of the above.

CASA’s main advocacy goals for this year are: elimination of parental contributions on Federal student loans, amend the Student Loans Program’s assessment of borrower assets to exempt ownership of one vehicle per-student, lift the 2% fund cap on the Post-Secondary Student Support Program, eliminate book importation regulations which will lower the cost of textbooks for students, allow the circumvention of technological protection measures for non-infringing purposes, and eliminate the $150 fee international students must pay to work off campus.

Each of these asks will ease the burden student’s face to study. For example, the elimination of the book importation regulations is estimated to save students across Canada $30 million annually, with no cost to government. We all know that textbook prices have been increasing, between 1995 and 2007 textbook prices increased by over 280% far outpacing inflation which increased just 27%!

For more information about CASA and the role that the UNB Student Union plays in it, feel free to contact me at president@unbsu.ca or Joey O’Kane, VP External, at external@unbsu.ca. For more information about CASA in general and to view this year’s lobby document, check out CASA’s website: www.casa-acae.com.

Jordan Thompson

President

The provincial government and the four publically funded universities in the province are currently negotiating a four year Memorandum of Understanding that will set university operating grants and tuition levels for the next four years. Approximately 56% of universities revenue comes from the provincial operating grant and 37% comes from tuition fees. With university inflation running at approximately 4 to 6% per year, an increase in needed in the universities revenues. This increase can come from either an increase in operating grants or an increase in tuition.

UNB is currently running a tight fiscal ship. The administration is balancing the budget and paying down UNB’s debt, while also tackling the large amount of deferred maintenance on campus. In the past five years, $18 million has been cut out of the university’s operating budget. Not much more can be cut without sacrificing the academic integrity of the university. Needless to say, UNB relies heavily on the operating grant provided to it by the province.

Currently, New Brunswick students face, on average, the second highest tuition fees in the country. Any decrease in the operating grants means one thing to students: tuition will be increasing. Can students afford any increase in tuition? Let’s look at some statistics. According to Stats Can, the summer 2011 student unemployment rate (15-24 year olds) was 17.2%, up from the years before and that students are working approximately 24 hours per week in the summer, one of the lowest levels of hours worked since 1977. Also, the New Brunswick government, with the reintroduction of parental income contributions, has made student loans less accessible. Students in New Brunswick also have higher student debt levels than the national average. According to a survey conducted by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, New Brunswick student debt averaged $32,000 while the national median student debt was calculated as $20,000. All these statistics, I believe, lead to the conclusion that student cannot afford any increase in tuition.

That brings us back to the MOU. The province needs to make an investment into PSE to ensure a bright future for both the province and its universities. New Brunswick needs to invest in its people and train its citizens. We are no longer competing with other Atlantic Provinces and New England. The economy is global, and we need to compete with the rest of the world. The knowledge economy is here and we need to embrace it. One way to do that is for the province to support the universities and the people of the province who wish to pursue a higher education.

Jordan Thompson

President

When it comes to financing education, 55% of students at UNB rely on government student loans, considerably higher than the national average of 31%. This is why when the Progressive Conservative government reinstated the parental contribution calculation to New Brunswick Student Loans, students at UNB were hit hard.

According to the government’s estimates, 29% of student loan recipients will be affected by this change. That is roughly 4,500 students. Some students will find their loans reduced by a few dollars and not face a massive reduction in loans in comparison to previous years. Others will find their loans reduced by a considerable amount. One of our students had his loan reduced by 73%! He is receiving less for the entire year than he received in one semester last year. The problem is that his parents cannot afford to contribute what the government has assessed them to contribute.

The question then becomes how do these students finance their education? If their parents cannot, or refuse to, contribute, one option that those students have, is to go to the banks to get student lines of credit or rely on credit card debt. Both options have interest incurring immediately, as opposed to student loans where interest is only charged after graduation. Other benefits to student loans are the Timely Completion Benefit, where debt is capped at $26,000 if you finish you degree in the specified time and the Repayment Assistant Program, which limits your monthly loan payments to 20% of your income if you qualify for the program. These options do not exist with private financing.

This move by government is a step in the wrong direction to improving accessibility to Post-Secondary Education. The main selling point for this move is that it would be saving the government $1.6 million. However, no study was done on the impact that this would have on the economic growth that attainment of Post-Secondary has on the provinces economy. By hindering access, what is the impact on New Brunswick? No study was ever done.

Parental contributions erect barriers for students who need to apply for student loans in order to finance their education. These students will now be taking on more debt as a result of needing to borrow from banks. What can you do if you are affected? Make yourself known. Write Martine Coulombe, Minister for Post-Secondary Education, Training, and Labour (martine.coulombe@gnb.ca), Blaine Higgs, Minister of Finance (Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca), and Premier David Alward (david.alward@gnb.ca). Let them know this change affects you and is impacting accessibility to Post-Secondary Education.

Hopefully they will reconsider.

Jordan Thompson

President

Wow. The summer really flew by, didn’t it?

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jordan Thompson and I am the Student Union President for the 2011-2012 Academic Year! It is a great privilege to hold this position and to represent the full-time undergraduate students at UNBF. The Student Union has a variety of great events lined up for the year, as well as various services for students, and advocacy on your behalf.

I want to take a moment of your time to reiterate what you have most likely already heard. I have been spreading this idea around to new students during Orientation Week, but I also want the returning students to heed this advice as well. The advice is simple: get involved. UNB has so many opportunities for students to join campus life: there is the Student Union, the Bruns, RedShirts, over 100 clubs and societies, residence, committees, Sports, Senate, and other various ways to get involved and explore your passions.  Most importantly, is that it is never too late. Your time at University is about growing as a person and facing new challenges. The time you spend here is more than time in the classroom or assignments, but the friends you make, the life experience you will gain, and the personal growth that will change your direction in life.

University can be overwhelming. With looming deadlines for assignments, papers, and tests; classes, labs, and tutorials; and financial worries of bills, tuition, and textbooks, it is important to have a passion. Finding something you are passionate about will help you cope with the stress that comes with a University life. I believe strongly that there is something for everyone on this campus. No matter what you love and what your passion is, I bet you will find a club or society that shares the same. If not, the Student Union will help you create one!

In summary, University is a time for change. The trick to life is keep doing what you love and success is just a consequence. Enjoy your time here and don’t let it pass you by.

Jordan Thompson is the President of the UNB Student Union. Although the above article is a bit clichéd, he still thinks it is important advice.