More up-front money on the books for post-secondary students

Morning North8:03Tuition changes in the recent Ontario budget

Johnny Humphrey, the president of the Student General Association at Laurentian University in Sudbury, joined us to talk about the changes in tuition fees announced in the recent Ontario budget. He explained how the changes will benefit students.

The student union president at Laurentian University is applauding a new tuition credit for low income students.

The province says those in households with incomes under $50,000 get to go to college or university, and will not have to pay tuition. It's a move that makes student aid more accessible and should encourage more people to attend post-secondary institutions, said Johnny Humphrey, the head of LU's Student General Association.

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"It seems that the system is a bit more simple so that students will be able to see the grants and funding available to them up front, unlike the old system with the tax credits," he said.

The Finance Minister said the cost of the new Ontario Student Grant is about $1.3 billion, which is about the same as the former system of tax credits, loans and grants.

Humphrey said that change is a more accessible way to distribute student aid than before.

"What was given prior in grant money — that students are able to access through tax relief — is now being given to them up front."

Simplifying funding model

Under the Ontario Student Grant, 90 per cent of college students from low-income families would get more than $2,768 for their education, which the government says is the average college tuition.

Seventy per cent of university students would receive grants in excess of the average university tuition of $6,160, according to the province.

The new system would also make tuition more affordable for students from middle-income families, the Liberals say. More than 50 per cent of students from families grossing $83,000 or less will be eligible for non-repayable grants in excess of the average college or university tuition under the new system.  

The actual size of the grant for a particular student will depend on multiple factors, like whether they are living at home or away and the size of their family.

The government expects to dish out $1.3 billion in grants in 2017, the first year students will be eligible for the money. No student will get less money than they would under the current Ontario Tuition Grant program, the province says.

Ontario Liberal Finance Minister Charles Sousa said the new grant will help students and their families make sense of a system that is currently "very complex and convoluted."

Patrick Brown, leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, said that "while the government boasts they are helping people," it is really just cancelling one program to pay for another.