What works for rich students discourages poor ones

By Chris Martin. Postsecondary education has never been more essential to an individual’s success in the labour market, a fact increasingly recognized by students and their families. Recently, Statistics Canada reported that postsecondary enrollment increased 2.7 per cent nationally between 2010 and 2011. In many ways, heavy government investment in student financial assistance has made this increase possible, giving students access to loans and grants to meet high educational costs.
However, for such an important investment, financial assistance is rarely thoroughly evaluated and researched. The question of whether it really is equalizing access to postsecondary education is still the source of much debate, with relatively little analysis informing the debate.
It is for this reason that student groups like the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance and the College Student Alliance conduct regular surveys on financial assistance use. For instance, the latest Ontario Post-Secondary Student Survey polled 7,298 students, about 8 per cent of full-time undergraduates at participating universities. The survey asks students a series of questions on financial assistance use, as well as parental income and family education. Read more...