Opting out the only option for some Windsor college students
'It's disappointing. It's a little frustrating.'
Alex Smusiak's family has been living on a tight budget to help him follow his dream of pursuing a college degree and a new career, but the five-week faculty strike has put his hopes on hold.
The father of six has no option but to opt-out of college this year.
"It's disappointing," he said. "It's a little frustrating, but it could be worse. We could still be on strike or completely lose the semester."
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The Ontario government announced Monday students will receive a full tuition refund if they withdraw from college because of the work stoppage.
OSAP and the strike
According to the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, students that withdraw because of the strike will receive a full tuition refund.
For OSAP students, colleges will send the refund amount to the National Student Loan Service Centre for credit against their outstanding loan.
If a student withdraws from college in December their loan will go into repayment as of July 1, 2018. If they are returning to school in September they will have to make payments between July and September.
For Smusiak the lack of communication between the college and the students during the work stoppage was taxing.
"At first it wasn't a problem, but after two or three weeks I started to get a little worried," he said.
His wife was working part-time and said she could have gotten more hours if they knew the timetable of the strike.
"I was barely getting by going to school," said Smusiak.
Last chance to get in
He was part of a financial program that allowed him to pay tuition weekly, so he expects to be refunded about $500 once he officially leaves the college.
"It was my last chance to actually get in," Smusiak said. "I had other bills to pay, so my savings had dried up and I had already been accepted and starting and I couldn't get OSAP, so I went to the school and they helped me out by letting me pay weekly."
He plans to return to college again in September, but worries he'll have to buy part of the kit required for his program again.
Smusiak also worries about some of his classmates with OSAP loans. He said some may get their tuition refunded, but still owe more money back to the program.
College faculty were ordered to return to work Monday, after the Liberal government passed back-to-work legislation. The 12,000 professors, instructors, counsellors and librarians had been on strike since Oct. 15.
On Thursday, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union challenged the legislation in court. OPSEU's president Warren Thomas said the law violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In a statement released Sunday, the government said all outstanding issues are to be negotiated in binding mediation-arbitration.