Category: Student Aid

Why Student Debt Might be About to Rise

One huge misconception about student debt is that it is mostly a function tuition fees, or the cost of living. But that’s only partly true. In fact, borrowing is a function of assessed need (that is, assessed costs minus assessed resources). And, in turn, assessed need is subject to maximums. Governments—at least, governments outside Quebec—don’t simply hand out whatever amount students need. Instead, they put maximums on total aid, which for reasons that defy easy explanation are expressed in weekly

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New Student Debt Numbers

Just a quick one today on student debt and why it hasn’t been increasing. So, under conditions of near-total secrecy, Statistics Canada last month published the results of its National Graduate Survey for the Class of 2020. One of the most awaited numbers in this survey are those relating to student debt. With so many folks always assuming that student debt is “skyrocketing,” it is always a good opportunity for myth correction. For you see: student debt is not skyrocketing.

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Provincial Budgets 2023-24

Morning, all.  It’s time for our annual provincial budget round-up.  University Affairs has done its round-up of budget announcements; I’m here to put the whole set of financial commitments under the lens and give it some long-term context. A couple of caveats before I start. First, PEI is not included, for the simple reason that the government chose not to submit a budget before going to the polls a couple of weeks ago.  But, in the big fiscal picture of

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Two POVs on the Coming Student Grant Changes

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations has started a new campaign, entitled #halfyourCSG.  It rails against the perceived risk of a 50% drop in the maximum value of the Canada Student Grant (CSG) come this fall.  This might be kind of a sleeper issue for PSE over the next few weeks, so it’s worth taking a look at what the issues are and how everything might play out. To recap the policy evolution here: in 2016 the Liberal government raised

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Budget 2023’s Three Key Decisions on Students

There are three student-finance related measures to watch for in the upcoming budget.  One of them concerns graduate research funding and the other two concern student financial aid.  With this Liberal Government, one’d normally think all three decisions would land in favour of “more! more! more!”.  But there are faint signs that this government is starting to grasp that it has a real spending problem, and that makes these three decisions difficult to predict, for whenever the budget actually comes.

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