Student Union Press Releases
Liberal PSE Announcement Includes Some Student Priorities
September 8, 2010
Fredericton, September 8, 2010 - The University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU) is pleased that the liberals have included some of their recommendations on post-secondary education in their platform.
The plan includes lowering the cap on student debt by $2000 to $24000, something the student union fully supports. The continued trend of increasing debt should also be helped by the commitment to give students and their representative organisations, like the UNBSU, control of increases of ancillary fees, something that the UNBSU has strongly advocated for in the past year and that will increase accountability at our universities.
Also in the announcement is a commitment to implement accountability agreements with post-secondary institutions and to increase accessibility for aboriginals and persons with disabilities. These commitments are consistent with what students have been advocating for over the past several years and should serve to strengthen the post-secondary education system.
"We are pleased to see a continued commitment towards helping students manage their student debt as well as the plan to provide students with control over ancillary fees," said Shannon Carmont-McKinley, president of the UNBSU. "However we also feel there is a lack of emphasis on quality that is missing. We are competing with universities from across Canada and around the world and in order to be the economic driver that the liberals talk about we need to be able to compete at a world class level."
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The University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that represents over 6,000 undergraduate and professional students at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Andrés Fuentes
Policy and Research Officer
University of New Brunswick Student Union
Tel.: 506.451.6878
Email:pro@unbsu.ca
Click here for a PDF of this press release.
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada Report Highlights the Economic Importance of Universities
September 1, 2010
Fredericton, September 1, 2010 – A report issued yesterday by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) titled “The Value of a University Degree highlighted the importance of universities and a university educated labour force to our economy.
The report states that university graduates contribute more to the community and the economy. It notes that graduates pay higher taxes, rely less on government benefits and place less strain on the health care system.
The report also talks about the greater demand for degrees today in the labour force as the shift from a resourced-based economy to a knowledge-based economy occurs. In the period between September 2008 and March 2010 there were 150,000 more jobs available for university graduates compared to 684,000 fewer for those who did not have a degree.
“This report seems very timely in our current provincial discussion about the debt we face,” said Shannon Carmont-McKinley, President of the University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU). “People are talking about cutting government spending but we must remember that the right spending can be an investment that allows us to both grow our tax base and lower government spending on social services such as health care.”
The UNBSU hopes that all parties commit to improving the quality and access of our universities so that the province of New Brunswick can be part of the new knowledge economy.
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The University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that represents over 6,000 undergraduate and professional students at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Andrés Fuentes
Policy and Research Officer
University of New Brunswick Student Union
Tel.: 506.451.6878
Cell: 226.808.4133
Email: pro@unbsu.ca
Click here for a PDF of this press release.
The University of New Brunswick Student Union hopes for a strong dialogue on education from all parties.
August 25, 2010
Fredericton, August 25, 2010 - The University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU) looks forward to comprehensive visions for post-secondary education from all parties during this election. We are hopeful that the campaign period will allow for a complete discussion on strengthening and growing our universities. The UNBSU wishes to see a commitment from all parties for the continued improvement of quality and access at UNB and across the province.
The UNBSU will be working closely with Elections New Brunswick throughout the election to make sure that students are informed and that they participate by registering and voting.
"The campus satellite returning offices program implemented by Elections New Brunswick will hopefully alleviate many problems students have had voting in the past," stated the President of the UNBSU Shannon Carmont-McKinley. "We hope that the different parties will present strong visions for the future of UNB and our province, as they are intrinsically linked."
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The University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that represents over 6,000 undergraduate and professional students at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Andrés Fuentes
Policy and Research Officer
University of New Brunswick Student Union
Tel.: 506.451.6878 Email: pro@unbsu.ca
Click here for a PDF of this press release.
MPHEC report has mixed news for graduates; demonstrates importance of research into Higher Education
June 23, 2010
Fredericton, June 23 – Today the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC) released a report titled “Five Years On: A survey of Class of 2003 Maritime University Graduates.” The report presented several interesting findings and demonstrates the importance of research in the area of Higher Education.
Among the highlights of the report is the 5% increase in students who borrowed accompanied by a 2% increase in the amount borrowed. This highlights the need for strong government programs to help students access higher education. Also of significance is the fact that 5% less students are debt free after 5 years as compared to the class of 1999, a statistic that in New Brunswick will be affected by the recent government programs initiated at the recommendation of the University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU) and other student associations across the province to address the debt load of New Brunswick graduates.
Of special concern to the UNBSU is the debt-payment-to-income ratio, which at 11%, sits above the 8% threshold that the report recognizes as the point at which difficulty is encountered making payments. This is highlighted by the fact that 53% of graduates above this threshold reported having difficulty in repaying debt, a statistic that will not be helped by the Repayment Assistance Program which caps the repayment-income ratio at 20%.
The report also finds that 70% of graduates enrolled in a second educational program, with 57% of these students citing employability as the main reason for doing so. This finding highlights the importance of Higher Education for our economy and the individual success of our population. On an encouraging note for students in our universities the report states an annual income bump of 12-15 thousand dollars for graduates as compared to the general population.
New Brunswick also received good news with the retention rate going up by 10% to 83%.
“This report demonstrates the value of research into higher education by allowing us to see trends in our education system and identify challenges that our students and graduates face,” said Shannon Carmont-McKinley, President of the UNBSU.
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The University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that represents over 6,000 undergraduate and professional students at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Andrés Fuentes
Policy and Research Officer
University of New Brunswick Student Union
Tel.: 506.451.6878
Cell: 226.808.4133
Email: aafm@unb.ca
Click here for a PDF version of this press release.
Report Finds Students Lack Student Financial Aid Literacy
June 3, 2010
Fredericton - A report released today by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), of which the University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU) is a member, has identified a shocking lack of financial aid literacy among current students. The report "The Illiteracy of the Literate: The Lack of Financial Aid Knowledge among Canadian University Students," is based on a student survey collected in the 2009-2010 academic year.
The main findings of the report are:
o Students were very poorly informed about the details of the government financial aid system.
o A large number of students were unaware of aid that might be available to them.
o Many students who had loans did not know the basic details about repayment.
o Sources of financial aid information impacted student knowledge.
“The fact that 75% of students failed the financial aid literacy test in the study is something that should worry the government,” commented Shannon McKinley, President of the UNBSU. “If these programs are to be effective, students need to know that they are available and how to access them.”
"The Illiteracy of the Literate: The Lack of Financial Aid Knowledge among Canadian University Students" report can be found in full here: http://www.casa-acae.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Canadian-Student-Survey-The-Illiteracy-of-the-Literate-June-2010.pdf
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The University of New Brunswick Student Union (UNBSU) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that represents over 6,000 undergraduate and professional students at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Andrés Fuentes
Policy and Research Officer
University of New Brunswick Student Union
Tel.: 506.451.6878
Email: pro@unbsu.ca
Click here for a PDF of this press release.
