Essentially, the article above is about how post-secondary students were once again left out of the federal budget. That despite the fact that tuition fees are reaching an all-time high and constantly climbing, no new student financial aid initiatives were made in the 2012 budget (Godmere, 2012).
I’ll
kick this blog off with a question: what have you done to pay your tuition to
get into Algoma University? Some of you have probably been working and saving up
for quite some time. Maybe a few of you opened a Student Line of Credit or made
a loan (hello debt). As you sit there and wonder “is it worth it?” as I’m sure
you have, most people would dubiously answer “yes”. But in reality, no one can answer
that question with exactitude, for in our day of economic downturn, we find a lot of
highly educated people flipping burgers (not to be Debbie Downer). However, can one
really put a price tag to education and a future career? Perhaps not… to a
certain extent.
According
to the 2012 Guide to Education Costs in Canada, the average student pays 42,000$ on a standard four year program in University; this is
without residence or any of the extra living cost, strictly tuition. For those
that choose to live in residence, the average would be hiked up to 71,800$ for the same
amount of schooling (Knowledge First Financial, 2012). Those of you living in residence… starting to wish you
stayed at home yet? Unfortunately that’s not an option for most of us.
The
next extrapolated fact is not for the faint of heart. Unless, like my own, your future plan is to
marry into A LOT of money, or if you’re the secret grandchild of
Bill Gates, you might want to disregard these coming few lines and skip to the next paragraph. According to the same Guide to Education Costs
in Canada, we’re looking at a whopping 116,200$ (with residence) in 2030. (Knowledge First Financial, 2012). Though
it may seem far away, for all you first years in or nearing your 20s, that will
be the price you pay to send every single one of your children to University
for just four years. And who knows? Maybe a Bachelor’s degree will mean nothing by
that time. Just twenty years ago, pursuing your post-secondary
education wasn't a requirement. Going to college back then was BIG. Nowadays,
it’s a societal and, generally, a familial expectation. Maybe by the time our
children get to University, we’ll be paying double of what I just said so they
can go through eight years of school to keep up with the standards of the harsh “Real World”.
I’m
not trying to discourage prospective or current parents into sending their
children to post-secondary schools. Simply trying to state that, ONE HUNDRED SIXTEEN THOUSAND
DOLLARS IS INSANE. I mean, I know I shouldn’t have a problem sending my
children to school when the time comes considering that my husband will be the
CEO of an international airline or the inventor of the teleportation machine,
but I am worried about the rest of you less ambitious folk.
All gold-digging jokes aside, something needs to be done. If the government adds to the tuition fees over the coming years, most of us will probably be frustrated (to say the least) at the fact that the people we call our subservient leaders have yet again crossed a line. Although, it would appear as though they cannot perceive the line, and it is up to us students to draw it. The students in Quebec took a stand when word had been heard that the tuition fees would be heightened. As you can see in the table below (Statistics Canada, 2012), the Quebec tuition fees are eclipsed by Ontario's. "There are many situations of social injustice and group discrimination where the majority of disadvantaged group members appear to passively accept their situation."
So why do we stand by? It is up to us students to
say when we’ve had enough of paying tens of thousands of dollars for an education that should be made accessible without pushing students into living in poverty. "Faced with dwindling government support, higher education institutions had to increase
their tuition revenues."(Fortin, 2004).
We need to adopt a more socialist way of thinking when it comes to tuition fees and education. As it values freedom and equality, it should not only be the wealthy and privileged of the "ruling class" that are promised a post-secondary education, but all people of every class. So have you had enough? Or the better question is, will you have enough ($) to send your (maybe) children to school when the time comes?
We need to adopt a more socialist way of thinking when it comes to tuition fees and education. As it values freedom and equality, it should not only be the wealthy and privileged of the "ruling class" that are promised a post-secondary education, but all people of every class. So have you had enough? Or the better question is, will you have enough ($) to send your (maybe) children to school when the time comes?
References
Godmere, E. (March 31, 2012). Students largely left out of federal budget: despite focus on research and innovation, no new student aid initiatives announced in budget 2012. The Sheaf. Retrieved December 3, 2012 from http://thesheaf.com/2012/03/31/students-largely-left-out-of-federal-budget-despite-focus-on-research-and-innovation-no-new-student-aid-initiatives-announced-in-budget-2012/
The Cost of Post-secondary Education. Knowledge First Financial. Retrieved December 4, 2012 from http://knowledgefirstfinancial.ca/Public/csp/resource.aspx?pageID=106&versionID=5565&fileName=CostGuide_EN.pdf
Average undergraduate tuition fees for Canadian full-time students, by province. Statistics Canada. Retrieved December 3, 2012, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/120912/t120912a001-eng.htm
Fortin, N. (May 2004). Rising Tuition and Supply Constraints: Explaining Canada-U.S Differences in University Enrolment Rates (Working Paper 66). Berkeley, CA: Center for Labor Economics. Retrieved December 10, 2012 from http://cle.berkeley.edu/wp/wp66.pdf
Giguere, B & Lalonde, R. (November 2, 2012). Why Do Students Strike? Direct and Indirect Determinants of Collective Action Participation. Political Psychology. Retrieved December 14, 2012, from http://spresearch.ca/bgiguere/sites/default/files/Giguere_Lalonde2010.pdf
~ Valerie
Hey Valerie,
ReplyDeleteI love you blog, this is actually something I have been thinking about for the past few weeks now. Is education and going to University, racking up debt, the stress that is associated with good grades, is it all worth it? And I agree 100% with you, you don’t really know, a lot of people have been successful without taking any university courses. I just recently watch a video on YouTube that also questions the educational system. I think it’s ridiculous the amount of money it cost students to take University programs, cost of living is enough as is, now add incredible large amounts for tuition, it’s a hard call to make. I feel like it should not be this expensive, we are losing out of professionals because some cannot afford the programs, is that fair? Something must be done about the constant increase in tuition through Canada.
Christine- NRC
P.S. Here is the link to the video if you’re interested http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ZmM7zPLyI
You are so right! I mean now a days society thinks you have to go to school to be smart or successful. But do you need to go to school to be educated? Do you need to pay 10 thousand dollars a year to be successful? Or do you just need to educate yourself in life?
ReplyDeleteThanks for this!
- Elysha
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs a mom of two kids, this is something I think of all the time. My kids are 5 and 3 and already each have an RESP that we put money into every year. Reading your blog though I fear, will it be enough? How much money should we be spending on education compared to food, housing, clothes on our backs? Growing up in a lower income family, my parents couldn't afford for me to go to college, so I didn't. I got a job and worked till I was 22 and had first daughter. Now 27 and two kids I decided to go back to school. Is it worth the money? I don't know. All I know is it is something I wanted to do for me and that I want my kids to have that option when they graduate in a gazillion years from now =-). I will for sure be one of those crazy mom's that makes her teenager get a small job in high school and take away part of their paycheck to put into their education funds, with prices like that, we have to!
ReplyDeleteAngele
I love this blog, I often wonder every day if it is worth it. The amount of money we pay each year just on tuition alone is over rated, and then when you add in text books, cost of living and transportation it's even more expensive. I believe that on average a student who goes away for school and lives on residence pays about 14,000 a year. That money could buy you a car !
ReplyDeleteI know as a student it is extremely difficult at times to balance school with the stress of how I am going to pay for it. I feel that tuition should not be this costly, we are only trying to better ourselves so we can get a decent job and support ourselves but instead we are putting ourselves into debt first.
Angele,
My parents made me put some of my paycheck away into my university savings and I am so grateful that they did, it allowed me to pay for my first year in full and taught me a sense of responsibility and taught me how to manage my money better as well.
Karlie
Hi Valerie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog, I found myself laughing about the inner gold digging fantasy we all share, but all jokes aside it scary to think about the amount of debt that we will accumulate over the next couple of years to gain a degree that might not even be the key to paying it back.
Midway through the semester one of my classmates had to drop due to financial reason, she was a mother, wife and part time employee but could not afford to stay in school. I am thankful for the loans that we can apply for but sometimes they are very unfair in their policies for who is eligible. They wont give out loans to anyone who makes a certain amount even though they may just barely be making end meets.
It is scary to think about this and how we may be effected as future parents of students and what types of policies would be in place then.
Hoda