Affording Post-Secondary Education During A Global Pandemic
By Lisa Zangerl
The COVID-19 pandemic that the world is currently plagued with has impacted many financially,especially post-secondary school students as they struggle to navigate how to afford expensive tuition costs. With business closures, lay-offs and reduced work hours as a direct result of the pandemic, many students who rely on their parents to finance their studies are now forced to figure out how they intend on paying for their schooling and costs associated with being a student. This section of the archive will emphasize the financial strain that COVID-19 has caused for students, the outcome of this, and evaluate the effectiveness of government support during this stressful time.
Job Loss, Lay-offs, and Business Closures
One of the most damaging outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic was the financial burden that Canadians faced as a result of business closures amid government ordered lockdowns. Restrictions made it difficult to keep small businesses’ doors open and afford to pay their employees, which led to reduced work hours and caused unemployment rates to skyrocket. Over the course of March and April alone, three million jobs were lost and over 2.5 million individuals had their hours cut significantly. To support Canadians during COVID-19, the federal government implemented the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB): a supplementary income of $2,000 a month provided to eligible individuals. CERB certainly offers a sense of relief to those who were impacted financially due to the pandemic, however with rent, mortgages, groceries, bills, and other expenses, many have argued that the aid provided is not enough for families. Parents are struggling to afford day-to-day living costs, let alone the expenses associated with post-secondary education. A survey conducted by LendingTree revealed that 36 per cent of parents have dipped into their child’s college fund to help cover expenses. This pandemic has served to reveal the existing disparities among the low income demographic who have suffered greatly from COVID-19.
How Students Are Managing
The stress associated with managing expenses for post-secondary education has left many students with no other option than to drop out of their program, which can have lifelong implications; studies show that only 30 per cent return to finish their degree after dropping out. Other students have had to find one or multiple jobs, which can have a significant impact on academic performance as well as their mental and physical health. Working students find themselves struggling to maintain a school and work balance, considerably more if they are working over 35 hours per week. Working full-time hours during post-secondary studies leads to a higher risk of dropping out, delayed graduation rates and negative effects on academic performance. Furthermore, maintaining a full-time job as a full-time student results in poor nutrition and less time for physical activity, which can negatively impact their mental well-being. As campuses have closed, students who benefitted from work-study jobs within their institutions are at a loss and the number of remote positions available for students are mere.
Higher Costs for Compromised Education
I feel that the quality of education that post-secondary students receive are lower than that of previous years due to the issues that come up with online learning. With these changes affecting us dramatically, most universities have not lowered cost of tuition and fees. Several institutions have even increased their undergraduate tuition costs for the 2020-21 academic year; Dalhousie University has increased their tuition by three per cent, McGill University by 3.1 per cent and the University of Winnipeg by 3.75 per cent. Tuition surges have disproportionately affected international students; at the University of Guelph, fees have increased between 5 to 10 per cent, depending on the program. This has caused students to petition against the tuition increase, contending that the cost for international students are expensive as it is, and many students come from developing countries that are especially struggling during this pandemic. Aside from tuition, universities also charge students for campus maintenance, athletics and recreation buildings; all of which they are not able to access due to campus closures. This has sparked petitions from students demanding refunds and fee reductions and asking for university administrations to reconsider student charges for services that they are not using. Universities have defended their tuition increases for reason that redesigning courses, establishing new tools and resources actually costs more than prior traditional in-class learning. While this may be accurate, students should not have to face further implications of a global crisis that is beyond their control.
The Government's Response
Canada’s Federal Government has acknowledged the financial burdens that students are currently facing as a result of COVID-19 and have implemented a number of benefits. Using the same framework as CERB, the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) offers financial support to post-secondary students who were unable to find work due to COVID-19. Eligible applicants received $1,250 per month between May and August to help with costs such as tuition, rent and groceries. Additionally, this benefit ensured that students could take advantage of this benefit if their income from part-time work did not surpass $1,000 per month. While CESB relieves students of their financial concerns, there are many shortcomings to this program. CESB offered $750 less than those who qualified for CERB, even though many students still pay for living expenses without the help of their parents. Even with the option of finding part-time work, CESB is still insufficient; the average cost for university students not living at home is $21,110, while the benefit would allow for a maximum income of $9,000. For students who benefit from the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), the provincial government has increased grants for current students and offered a temporary loan payment and interest deferral, which ended in September, despite the second wave approaching. Although the support that the federal and provincial government is offering students amid the COVID-19 pandemic provides some sense of relief to students, there are shortcomings to these approaches and they only offer temporary support.
The COVID-19 pandemic has elicited financial burdens on Canadians, and post-secondary students are among those who have suffered greatly. Students are struggling to afford the costs of attaining a post-secondary education during a time of uncertainty, isolation and loss. Instead of addressing the financial stress that many students are facing, universities have neglected to lower their tuition and fees, and some have even been raised. The support that the government has offered students during this time is a great start, however the options presented are subpar and must address the unpredictable nature of COVID-19.
References
The Canadian Press. “Canada's Unemployment Rate Reaches Record 13.7%,” June 6, 2020. https://globalnews.ca/news/7029601/canada-may-unemployment-rate/.
Giovanetti, Erika. “56% Of Parents With Young Children Are in Debt Due to Coronavirus.” LendingTree, May 18, 2020. https://www.lendingtree.com/personal/parents-in-debt-due-to-coronavirus-....
The Pennsylvania State University. The Effects of Working While in School, n.d. https://sites.psu.edu/workingstudents/background-2/.
Bustamante, Jaleesa. “College Dropout Rate [2020]: by Year + Demographics.” EducationData, November 14, 2020. https://educationdata.org/college-dropout-rates.
Knowledge First Financial. “Future Education Costs,” n.d. https://knowledgefirstfinancial.ca/learn-about-resps/future-education-co....
Draus, Alicia. “University Tuitions on the Rise despite Move to Online Courses amid COVID-19.” Global News, July 25, 2020. https://globalnews.ca/news/7217749/coronavirus-university-tuition-online....
Stacey, Viggo. “International Students Question Tuition Fee Hikes at Canadian HEIs.” The Pie News, August 18, 2020. https://thepienews.com/news/international-students-question-fee-hikes-at....