Hell hath no fury part DUH!
Dear Editor:
DUH! That's how I feel, still trying to figure out how the tuition rebate being offered by our provincial government makes sense. I'm just a hairstylist with a psychology degree, not a numbers gal. I want to make clear that my original article was not written to elicit pity or sympathy. It was written to be an example of what it is like for a university grad with a three-year degree and no resultant applicable skills to get by in life. Another example of a similar situation was in the London Free Press on January, 11, 2012, citing the comments and similar disappointment held by a Western student. When I started writing, I was writing for change of the criteria regarding the tuition rebate. I feel now that I will be writing for more than that. Ontario's education is not accessible to all who desire it. A higher education is nothing but a dream for a lot of people. Who knew it could turn into such a nightmare. My ultimate dream would be to study for the LSATs and to go to law school, all of course while not having to work and being able to engross myself in my studies. Can't see it happening! There is far more wrong here than the criteria that the tuition rebate has been based upon. Canada's education system needs to be revamped.
I wonder, did the mention of mature students and their needs even come up when the Premier decided that he would endorse this glorious tuition rebate? By setting the criteria cap at $160,000, was he thinking specifically of his voters? The sad part of this situation for taxpayers is that I am determined to have this criteria changed and the government has put themselves in a situation whereby trying to lessen the cap now will not likely fly in the face of those who have already celebrated receipt of the rebate and the cost of this rebate will be higher than estimated. It has been over a week now since I emailed Mr. McGuinty a copy of my first article and have yet to hear anything in response, although his website assures me that "Ontario works best when we work together, so hearing from you is important to me." I wonder, would Mr. McGuinty attend a forum at Fanshawe College in London where he could explain to painfully debtladen mature students why they are excluded from the tuition rebate?
I have given much thought to this predicament and I have to say that this is all looking very much like a drug operation. OSAP is like having a heroin dealer on speed dial. Once you are deemed eligible, the money doesn't really stop coming unless you want it to. Statistics show that there was a higher enrolment of first-year university students last September (2011). This rebate is just to put the taste of something good in the mouth of a student who is going to complete a three-year degree to find that without further education, like a Master's or a Ph.D. or a college diploma, there won't be a job. And so, at the owing amount of around $30,000 if you are an OSAP victim, you will hit speed dial to get more money, accumulate more debt and be convinced that it's the best thing for you to do, since you can't get a job, OR that it's the easiest thing to do. Mature students in this situation are being treated like washed-up junkies by not addressing their needs in the formation of this criteria that acts like a sale on tuition. Come and get it now, while it's cheap! My guess is that, as per usual, tuition costs are going to keep on rising at lightspeed. I recently polled my classmates to find out that, shockingly, 66 per cent of them did not even know about the rebate or whether they were eligible, 16.5 per cent knew that they were and the remaining 16.5 per cent knew that they were not indeed eligible. It was not surprising to me, however, that 83 per cent of those not eligible for the tuition rebate already have a college or university diploma and that 67 per cent of them already have student loan debt.
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to attend university, but I feel that it should not have come at such a high cost. I graduated from The University of Western Ontario in 2003 and have not yet framed and hung my diploma. When I look at it, I have a very small sense of pride and an overwhelming sense of failure and resentment for what it actually did to me. In talking with others in the same situation of seeking out more education since they too could not find lucrative employment in their field, it seems a threeyear degree makes you overqualified, underqualified and/or inexperienced.
As far as my dreams and those of others go, Ontario's education costs outweigh any chance for higher education at an affordable cost. Have we really evolved into a fair and just society where there are equal freedoms for all? NO, we haven't, and we are a long, long way from it. We are still living in the times when only the wealthy or the sure to be in debt for many, many years are ensured a higher education. So, essentially, if you are not well off when you're heading into university, with the intentions of only completing a three-year degree, chances are you are coming out a lot worse off than when you went in, especially if you are heading back later in life.
I am not claiming to have all of the answers to the problems here, but I am trying to be a voice that will elicit change. I think a good place to start is a mandatory counselling session for all prospective students whereby it is established that students understand the prospective outcomes of their chosen program, e.g. job market demand in their chosen area, how many years they will have to be in school to make it work for them, how much debt they will accumulate, how their grades will determine whether they can even get where they want to be. When I first went to university, I expressed wanting to take a four-year program. I was told not to worry about that at the beginning, I would apply for that later. I wasn't told that it was competitive and that my grades would be used to determine my entrance into a fourth year in my program. Guidance was inadequate. Colleges and universities should be under watch for admitting students just to see enrolment numbers rise.
Rest assured, my fellow mature students, I am in this fight for the long run. These articles are not my only agenda. I am working very hard to be heard, acknowledged and for all of us to be treated fairly in the execution of the 30 per cent tuition rebate promised to the new users of higher education.
Cassandra Nadalin
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
DUH! That's how I feel, still trying to figure out how the tuition rebate being offered by our provincial government makes sense. I'm just a hairstylist with a psychology degree, not a numbers gal. I want to make clear that my original article was not written to elicit pity or sympathy. It was written to be an example of what it is like for a university grad with a three-year degree and no resultant applicable skills to get by in life. Another example of a similar situation was in the London Free Press on January, 11, 2012, citing the comments and similar disappointment held by a Western student. When I started writing, I was writing for change of the criteria regarding the tuition rebate. I feel now that I will be writing for more than that. Ontario's education is not accessible to all who desire it. A higher education is nothing but a dream for a lot of people. Who knew it could turn into such a nightmare. My ultimate dream would be to study for the LSATs and to go to law school, all of course while not having to work and being able to engross myself in my studies. Can't see it happening! There is far more wrong here than the criteria that the tuition rebate has been based upon. Canada's education system needs to be revamped.
I wonder, did the mention of mature students and their needs even come up when the Premier decided that he would endorse this glorious tuition rebate? By setting the criteria cap at $160,000, was he thinking specifically of his voters? The sad part of this situation for taxpayers is that I am determined to have this criteria changed and the government has put themselves in a situation whereby trying to lessen the cap now will not likely fly in the face of those who have already celebrated receipt of the rebate and the cost of this rebate will be higher than estimated. It has been over a week now since I emailed Mr. McGuinty a copy of my first article and have yet to hear anything in response, although his website assures me that "Ontario works best when we work together, so hearing from you is important to me." I wonder, would Mr. McGuinty attend a forum at Fanshawe College in London where he could explain to painfully debtladen mature students why they are excluded from the tuition rebate?
I have given much thought to this predicament and I have to say that this is all looking very much like a drug operation. OSAP is like having a heroin dealer on speed dial. Once you are deemed eligible, the money doesn't really stop coming unless you want it to. Statistics show that there was a higher enrolment of first-year university students last September (2011). This rebate is just to put the taste of something good in the mouth of a student who is going to complete a three-year degree to find that without further education, like a Master's or a Ph.D. or a college diploma, there won't be a job. And so, at the owing amount of around $30,000 if you are an OSAP victim, you will hit speed dial to get more money, accumulate more debt and be convinced that it's the best thing for you to do, since you can't get a job, OR that it's the easiest thing to do. Mature students in this situation are being treated like washed-up junkies by not addressing their needs in the formation of this criteria that acts like a sale on tuition. Come and get it now, while it's cheap! My guess is that, as per usual, tuition costs are going to keep on rising at lightspeed. I recently polled my classmates to find out that, shockingly, 66 per cent of them did not even know about the rebate or whether they were eligible, 16.5 per cent knew that they were and the remaining 16.5 per cent knew that they were not indeed eligible. It was not surprising to me, however, that 83 per cent of those not eligible for the tuition rebate already have a college or university diploma and that 67 per cent of them already have student loan debt.
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to attend university, but I feel that it should not have come at such a high cost. I graduated from The University of Western Ontario in 2003 and have not yet framed and hung my diploma. When I look at it, I have a very small sense of pride and an overwhelming sense of failure and resentment for what it actually did to me. In talking with others in the same situation of seeking out more education since they too could not find lucrative employment in their field, it seems a threeyear degree makes you overqualified, underqualified and/or inexperienced.
As far as my dreams and those of others go, Ontario's education costs outweigh any chance for higher education at an affordable cost. Have we really evolved into a fair and just society where there are equal freedoms for all? NO, we haven't, and we are a long, long way from it. We are still living in the times when only the wealthy or the sure to be in debt for many, many years are ensured a higher education. So, essentially, if you are not well off when you're heading into university, with the intentions of only completing a three-year degree, chances are you are coming out a lot worse off than when you went in, especially if you are heading back later in life.
I am not claiming to have all of the answers to the problems here, but I am trying to be a voice that will elicit change. I think a good place to start is a mandatory counselling session for all prospective students whereby it is established that students understand the prospective outcomes of their chosen program, e.g. job market demand in their chosen area, how many years they will have to be in school to make it work for them, how much debt they will accumulate, how their grades will determine whether they can even get where they want to be. When I first went to university, I expressed wanting to take a four-year program. I was told not to worry about that at the beginning, I would apply for that later. I wasn't told that it was competitive and that my grades would be used to determine my entrance into a fourth year in my program. Guidance was inadequate. Colleges and universities should be under watch for admitting students just to see enrolment numbers rise.
Rest assured, my fellow mature students, I am in this fight for the long run. These articles are not my only agenda. I am working very hard to be heard, acknowledged and for all of us to be treated fairly in the execution of the 30 per cent tuition rebate promised to the new users of higher education.
Cassandra Nadalin
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
