tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post150018534884343563..comments2024-02-07T16:22:39.625-05:00Comments on Jeff Jedras: We need more need-based student assistanceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-76526366706640839102008-10-24T10:26:00.000-04:002008-10-24T10:26:00.000-04:00alw, there's a third component when it comes to al...alw, there's a third component when it comes to allocations that you overlooked: general programs (like wide tax breaks) that are neither need or merit based, but benefit all, including those that don't need the help.<BR/><BR/>On tuition caps, with the exception of BC in the 90s I'm not aware of many real tuition caps. That is to say, increased may be capped, but not very tightly. I went to uni on Mike Harris Ontario, and my tuition nearly doubled over 4 years, each increase the max "cap" allowed by the province.<BR/><BR/>While I don't agree with you on letting tuition float at market rates, I do think there's common ground around better allocating existing resources. There needs to be a balance between need and merit-based assistance. Right now with the broad-based tax initiatives around education the last Harper government brought in, we are subsidizing those mediocre affluent students you talked about more than we need to. Divert those resources to assistance both need and merit, and let them pay the regular, already subsidized anyway (through direct uni funding) tuition rate.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14971310821484459106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-3355690506174730002008-10-22T16:36:00.000-04:002008-10-22T16:36:00.000-04:00This is a question of allocating scarce resources,...This is a question of allocating scarce resources, and if it’s between merit-based and needs-based awards, who gets what. The bigger question is: why do we support a system that caps tuition rates, effectively subsidizing the wealthy who could afford to pay far more? If tuition was allowed to float at market rates, universities could charge mediocre affluent students what the market would bear, and turn around and use those surplus funds to beef up student aid for those with merit but no means.<BR/><BR/>Everyone always carries on about how pricey exclusive US schools are, but the sticker shock down there is largely mythical - no student is going to get turned away from Yale or Harvard because of an inability to pay, because those schools have massive pools of student aid available precisely because they charge the rich the full amount to go to school!<BR/><BR/>I realize much of this is ideological differences of opinion, i.e. education a right versus a privilege, the role of public institutions versus private ones. But we should at least acknowledge that the reason there isn’t enough money to help poor students is because we’re spending part of the subsidy they’d otherwise have on people who don’t need it!ALWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00875223933170574566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-16919903765903996032008-10-22T16:16:00.000-04:002008-10-22T16:16:00.000-04:00I agree completely with your assessment here. The ...I agree completely with your assessment here. The confluence of higher tuition fees, higher living expenses, and public policies that do not provide sufficient help low-income students is increasingly barring deserving students from accessing a post-secondary education.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-45979264242508113282008-10-22T15:09:00.000-04:002008-10-22T15:09:00.000-04:00More needs based funding for post-secondary educat...More needs based funding for post-secondary education has been the mantra among student groups in Nova Scotia for more than a decade. Meanwhile, the province continues to provide little while the federal government continues to provide funding based on the number of students attending university FROM a particular province rather than on the number of students attending university IN a particular province.<BR/><BR/>...and King's College in Halifax recently appointed John Hamm, who sat idly by as tuition fees in the province more than doubled and became (by far) the highest in Canada, to a cushy well-paid position on its Board of Directors (despite vociferous opposition from students). That's accountability...Devin Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03673654244173141798noreply@blogger.com