EA_Infopackageelections

8/3/2019 EA_Infopackageelections

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/eainfopackageelections 1/15

“Politics bores me” “It’s not like my vote is going to change anything”

“It’s the same old song and dance” “It’s an old boys club” “I already voted in may, there’s really no point in voting provincially.” “I don’t know what the provincial government does.”

Most of us have been there at one point or another. Why should we go and spendthose valuable 10 minutes of our day and cast a ballot if it’s not going to changeanything? Voting is one of the most important aspects of our lives as citizens. Oursociety would not be able to function if it weren’t for the political domain. The rulesand regulations in place to govern our lives are a result of government. Now whyare we talking about this? Well, this October 6th, Ontarians are headed to the pollsto vote in the new provincial government. This election is extremely important forpost-secondary students & Canadian Citizens like ourselves.

I just voted in May…Why should I vote again?

Canada is modelled after a federal system. What this means to us is that the powersof government are shared between the federal government and the legislativeassemblies of the provinces. The federal government has authority over the entirecountry, while provincial governments govern specific areas of territory. Thedistribution of power is outlined in a constitution, in Canada’s case the British NorthAmerica Act of 1867 (now Constitution Act , 1867). Each body has their ownresponsibilities, jurisdictions, and interests. In May you voted in the federalelections; October 6th you will be voting in the provincial elections for a whole otherset of interests and priorities.

What does the provincial government do?

Since each province has its own government, they have their own resposibilities asoutlined in the Constitution Act, 1867. Some of what the Ontario legislature isresponsible for include:

• Health Care- hospitals, medical care, OHIP• Education- Elementary/secondary schools, post-secondary education, training

programs/certification• Some social services- welfare, subsidized housing, child-care services• Transportation and infrastructure- drivers’ licences, maintenance and control

over highways• Civil and property rights• Environment and natural resources• Provincial courts

How does funding for post-secondary education work?

While education falls primarily under the provincial government’s banner, it is a joint effort by both the federal and provincial governments under the Canadian



Health & Social Transfer. Funding of post-secondary institutions includes both thefunding of the institutions themselves (ie. Direct investment, Research,Infrastructure.) as well as direct funding of student accessibility through the OSAPloans program and grants. In simpler terms the provincial government distributesthe money transferred over by the Federal Government as well at its own funds.Ontario spends on average $10,222 per post-secondary student,

What do we want? The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) has identified 4 key targetareas/pillars in post-secondary education for the upcoming election (viahttp://www.ousa.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Platform-Chart.pdf ) :

1. Affordability:

Fund a tuition freeze at universities and colleges. Lower the interest rate on Ontario Student Loans.

2. Accessibility:

Increase availability if need-based financial assistance. Support early outreach initiatives in schools and communities.

3. Quality:

Fund a training program for all new instructors. Invest new resources in deferred maintenance and capital

projects.

Improve student support services at colleges and universities.

4. Mobility:

Reduce barriers t credit transfer and expand transfer pathways. Invest in online learning that supports students from all

backgrounds.

ONTARIO LIBERAL PARTY

Tuition

Announcement: Announced with the party platform Forward Together(http://www.ontarioliberal.ca/OurPlan/Platform.aspx) on September 5th

Summary: Reduce tuition fees for most full-time college and universityundergraduate students with a new grant worth 30% of average tuition fees*Average Tuition fees are over 1000 higher than stated

http://www.ousa.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Platform-Chart.pdf

http://www.ontarioliberal.ca/OurPlan/Platform.aspx

http://www.ontarioliberal.ca/OurPlan/Platform.aspx

http://www.ousa.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Platform-Chart.pdf



Who’s eligible? Students are eligible for the new grant if they meet the followingcriteria:• Dependent (out of high school for less than 4 years);• A Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person;• An Ontario resident (student or parent resided in Ontario for 12 consecutivemonths prior to beginning study);

• A full-time student (minimum 60% course load as defined by the institution);• In satisfactory academic standing (can gain grant back if student returns tosatisfactory standing);• Studying toward a college or undergraduate credential, excluding second-entryprofessional programs (medicine, law, dentistry, optometry, etc.);• From a family with a combined parental income before taxes of less than$160,000 (about five out of six students).How much is it worth? The grant will be worth 30% of average tuition fees andwill increase accordingly each yearas tuition rises. For first-entry undergraduate programs, the average is currentlyaround $5,400 – so the grant will be$1,600 for all university students this year (regardless of institution or program). For

college programs, the average iscurrently around $2,400 – so the grant will be worth $730 for all college students.For a four-year undergraduateprogram, the total grant would be worth $6,400. In total, the program is expected tocost $420 million in its first year.When will it start? The party is promising to implement the new grant for January if elected. So each eligible studentwill have half of the grant made available in January 2012 – meaning $800 foruniversity students and $365 forcollege students. The full amount would then be available in September 2012.How will it work? Like many platform announcements, some of the detailsregarding how the tuition grant will be implemented are unclear. What has been

clarified is that the grant will come off of students’ tuition bills automatically withouta separate process. Due to the party’s desire to have this grant be accessible to alleligible students (not just those who apply to OSAP), it will be necessary foruniversities and colleges to know each student’s family income and dependencystatus. It is unclear exactly how this will be implemented, but it is likely that thecurrent university and college application systems would be used. For students whoreceive money from the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), the newtuition grant will not result in a reduction in financial assistance from what studentsare already receiving. Because the $1,600 is a grant, not an outright tuitionreduction (although it functions much the same way) OSAP funding and provincialand federal education tax credits will not be affected. That is no student will havereduced OSAP eligibility or receive fewer tax credits as a result of the new tuitiongrant.Currently, all OSAP assistance above $7,300 is automatically converted to a non-repayable grant through a program called the Ontario Student Opportunities Grant(OSOG). This grant is in place to ensure that students with high assessed need arenot saddled with unreasonable debt. The party has committed to keeping the OSOGcap at $7,300. While some have speculated that that the new tuition grant willsimply replace OSOG funds for the students with the highest need (thereby givingno additional aid to those students), the party has indicated that the grant will be in



addition to any OSOG grant a student receives. That is that the grant will convertthe first part of a student’s loan to a grant, reducing student debt (like otherprovincial grants). For instance, if a student receives the maximum OSAP packageof $12,240, they will only need to pay back $5,700, because beyond the $4,940OSOG grant, an additional $1,600 would be covered by the new tuition grant. Thisexample assumes that the student was not eligiblefor any other grant programs

offered by the province.What will happen with tuition fees? Those students eligible for the new grantwill see a reduction in their fees.Thereafter, tuition fees will continue to increase, asit will for students ineligible for the grant. The Ontario LiberalParty has announcedits intention to continue regulating fee increases to no more than 5% annually as itdoes now, but has not publicly declared the percentage increase that will beallowed.

Accessibility:

To make sure there’s a space for every student who is willing and qualified, they will

create 60,000 more spaces in addition to the 200,000 new spaces we alreadycreated.

Accessibility: To help more students get a great education close to home, they’regoing to build three new, leading-edge undergraduate campuses inBrampton, Milton and Barrie.

Affordability: Continue to provide grants for lower-income Ontario families.

Affordability: They are going to support all middle-class Ontario families with a 30%across-the-board postsecondary undergraduate tuition grant. The grant isthe biggest single chunk of new education spending, costed at $423 million next

year and rising thereafter.

That means – every year – the families of five out of six students willsave $1600 per student in university and $730 per student in college.

They’ll also make sure students are accountable and responsible for thisinvestment in their future by requiring all recipients of this grant to remain in goodstanding in their program. The qualifier is for a family to be earning less than$160,000 a year.

Affordability: Will continue to help cut student debt through their Ontario StudentOpportunities Grant. Will keep the cap on student debt at $7,300 for each yearof undergraduate study

Affordability: Any student who struggles to find work after graduation or has a verylow income will have their loan repayments reduced until their incomeincreases.

Affordability: In cases where students cannot find work, their loan paymentscould be reduced to zero.



Affordability: Students who work in the not-for-profit sector will be eligible foran additional six-month interest-free grace period after graduation. So, if students choose to work for not-for-profit organizations they won’t have to startpaying off their Ontario Student Assistance Program until one full year aftergraduation.

ONTARIO PC PARTY

Tuition

Announcement: Contained within the party platform changebook released on May29th; clarification of proposalannounced on August 22ndSummary: Reduce the parental contribution expectations for Ontario StudentLoans to increase availability of grants and loans, primarily for middle-class familiesWho’s eligible? Students eligible for the Ontario Student Assistance Program(OSAP)

How much is it worth? The impact of the change on each student will depend ontheir individual circumstances and family income. The change will increase theassessed need for most students. For any student currently receiving the maximumOSAP funding ($12,240 for a two-term academic year), the change will not result inany new assistance. However those currently receiving less than the maximumassistance will see an increase in aid. It will also open up OSAP eligibility to morestudents. For example, a student studying in an arts or science undergraduateprogram from a family with an annual income below $60,000 already is typicallyeligible for the maximum provincial assistance and will not see a benefit with thischange. The same student from a family making $85,000 would receive anadditional $2,500 in grants under the proposed changes. If this student’s familymade $100,000, he or she would receive approximately $300 more in loans and

$1,000 more in grants. Finally, the same student from a family earning $120,000would probably receive no additional aid. The party is proposing to pay for thischange in part by eliminating the 75 Ontario Trillium Scholarships for internationalPhD students, which costs the government $2 million and universities $1 millioneach year.When will it start? No date has been specified. The earliest the changes could beimplemented is for the 2012-13 academic year.How will it work? OSAP is comprised of two loans: one from the federalgovernment and one from the Ontario government. Both programs use differentformulas to assess financial need. For students who are considered dependent(single and less than four years out of high school), a portion of your family’sincome is considered in determining how much financial assistance you need. Thecontribution expectation varies based on income, with higher income familiesexpected to contribute more to the cost of education than lower income families.Under thecurrent formulas, the Ontario Student Loans Program expects a higher proportion of parents’ discretionary income to go toward the cost of their child’s education thanthe federal Canada Student Loans Program. The proposal from the Ontario PC Partyis to harmonize Ontario’s parental contribution formula with the federalgovernment’s formula. This will result in lower parental contribution expectations,



which will increase the amount of OSAP loans and grants that middle-incomefamilies receive. The students who will benefit the most are those thatare already received the maximum assistance from the federal Canada StudentLoans Program ($7,140) but are not receiving any aid from the Ontario StudentLoans Program. By harmonizing the parental contributions, these students will beeligible for more provincial aid, most of which will be non-repayable since all aid

above $7,300 is converted to a grant.What will happen with tuition fees? The framework that regulates tuition feeincreases to no more than 5% annually expires at the end of this academic year(2011-12). The Ontario PC Party has not announced its intentions to extend oramend this framework, but have ruled out the idea of a tuition freeze.

Accessibility

Reduce the parental contribution expectations for Ontario Student Loans to increaseavailability of grants and loans, primarily for middle-class families.

• Currently there are many restrictions on the amount that students canborrow based on expected “contributions” from their parents. While thispolicy makes sense from a idealistic standpoint, realistically parents do notalways contribute to their children's education, placing the financial burdenon the students. This financial burden increases when students do not qualifyfor the necessary OSAP loans to pay tuition.

Eliminate Ontario Trillium Scholarships for international PhD students

•

The current government is focusing resources on providing scholarships toforeign PhDs. Due to the already high PhD enrollment of foreign students inOntario, it makes no sense to provide financial giveaways to these studentswhile middle class students in Ontario are struggling to afford university.

Create up to 60,000 new college and university spaces over the next five years

• While many Ontario students have the aptitude and desire to go to university,there is no room for universities to currently expand. The PCs promise tocreate room for up to 60,000 new college and university spaces.

Accessibility

Spend $35 Billion over the next three years on the province’s infrastructure.



• The PCs will continue with current plans to spend 35 billion on expanding theinfrastructure Universities and Colleges across Ontario.

Mobility

Increase cooperation and coordination between universities and colleges, includingmore credit transfer programs

• Students are forced to move to different cities for economical reasons, orsometimes simply reasons out of their control. The current credit transferprograms create difficulty and often increase the amount of time the studentspends in university, ultimately increasing their debt.

Increase transparency in foreign credit recognition

• The system for recognizing foreign credits is currently broken andinconsistent.

Increase residency placements for medical students from Ontario who have pursuedtraining outside Canada

• Ontario currently has a shortage of doctors, being an Ontario resident andreceiving medical training in other countries, notably the United States,

should not be a barrier to securing a residency placement

Other Commitments

• Increase total post-secondary education funding by $600 million over fouryears. Institutions will be asked to compete for these funded spaces and findnew ways to ensure access, affordability and quality.

• Create over 200,000 new apprenticeship spaces over four years and havecolleges carry a greater share of the responsibility for matching apprentices

with employers• Encourage partnerships between government, the private sector and post-

secondary institutions to increase economic development in NorthernOntario.

ONTARIO NDP



Tuition

Announcement: Announced on September 15thSummary: Freeze tuition fees for the next four years and eliminate provincialinterest on Ontario Student Loans.

Who’s eligible? All non-international students will be eligible for the tuition freeze.All OSAP recipients, in addition to anyone currently paying back Ontario StudentLoans, will be eligible for the interest relief.

How much is it worth? Under the current tuition regulation, average tuition feesare allowed to increase by no more than 5% annually. If this regulation hadcontinued, the average undergraduate student would have faced an increase of $330 in 2012-13, while the average college student would have had their feesincrease by $120. As a result of the freeze, that increase will not take place. Overthe course of the four-year freeze, the value of the freeze would be worth $1,430 forthe average undergraduate student and $520 for the average college student.When will it start? The 2012-13 academic year

How will it work? Currently, tuition in Ontario is regulated by a governmentframework that prohibits institutions from raising their overall average tuition feesby more than 5%. Due to the fact that both colleges and universities rely onincreasing tuition revenue to meet rising costs, any freeze is typically met withsome increase to per-student funding from the government. We estimate thatapproximately $150 million in additional funds would need to be provided touniversities and colleges to make up for all lost revenue tuition increases create.Based on the figures that the party has made public, it does not appear theproposal will fully compensate the freeze. OSAP is comprised of two loans: one fromthe federal government and one from the Ontario government. Each carry separateinterest rates on outstanding amounts. The provincial portion (the Ontario StudentLoan) carries an interest rate of prime + 1%. The party is proposing to pay to have

this interest eliminated for all those currently paying loans back. The elimination of interest would only apply to the provincial portion of a student loan, meaning thatstudentswith OSAP would still have to pay interest on the federal loan (approximately 60% of OSAP).

Accessibility

Increasing funding to universities to off-set the loss in revenue caused by aprovince-wide tuition freeze. (Source:http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontario-election/ontario-parties/ont-ndp/ontario-ndp-unveils-platform-includes-corporate-tax-hikes-and-contingency-cushion/article2179420/?service=mobile)

Affordability

• Province-wide freeze on all post-secondary tuition(which means the tuitionwill remain at the current level for a few years)



• Elimination of provincial interest on student loans,

• Expanding of OSAP to needs based part-time students (Source:

http://ontariondp.com/en/new-democrats-can-be-trusted-for-affordable-education-and-job-opportunities)

Other Commitments

Implementing a plan to help students find work after graduation.

GREEN PARTY OF ONTARIO

Tuition

Announcement: Contained within the party platform It’s Time released on May 25thSummary: Fund a tuition freeze for the 2012-13 school year, and index all furtherincreases in tuition to the rate of inflationWho’s eligible? All non-international students will be eligible for the tuition freezeand continued regulationHow much is it worth? Under the current tuition regulation, average tuition feesare allowed to increase by no more than 5% annually. If this regulation hadcontinued, the average undergraduate student would have faced an increase of $330 in 2012-13, while the average college student would have had their fees

increase by $120. As a result of thefreeze, that increase will not take place. Regulation to the rate of inflation thereafterwould likely result in an average of 2% increases annually.When will it start? The 2012-13 academic yearHow will it work? Currently, tuition in Ontario is regulated by a governmentframework that prohibits institutions from raising their overall average tuition feesby more than 5%. Due to the fact that both colleges and universities rely onincreasing tuition revenue to meet rising costs, any freeze is typically met withsome increase to per-student funding from the government. We estimate thatapproximately $150 million in additional funds would need to be provided touniversities and colleges to make up for all lost revenue tuition increases create.

This is what the party means when they promise to “freeze tuition while maintaininguniversity and college budgets.” It is unclear whether the inflationary tuitionincreases past 2012-13 will be accompanied with increased operating funding forinstitutions.

Accessibility

• Additional funding for targeted nonrepayable assistance, academic support,mentorship, and campus exposure programs

http://ontariondp.com/en/new-democrats-can-be-trusted-for-affordable-education-and-job-opportunities






o Focus on low-income, first-generation, and Aboriginal students• Invest in early intervention programs through other government partnerships• Create a federal research program to reduce barriers to post-secondary

education

Affordability

• Additional funding for a needs-based Canadian national student loan andbursary program

o Focus on low-income, first-generation, and Aboriginal students• Allow eligibility for student loans up to the rate of tuition, regardless of

parental income• Decrease the lending rate of student loans to that of the prime rate• Extend the payment grace period of student loans to 2 years after graduation• Move away from tax-based credits and RESPs• Create a student education funding committee to help create a system that

better serves student needs• Create an opportunity grant for graduate students with financial need• Exempt academic materials from the GST

Quality

• Support innovation and increase research capacity• Investment in undergraduate research fellowships through the federal

research councils• Integrate education and co-op programs by restoring the federal student

summer job program

• Increase funding to federal research councils by 15% annually for four years• Establish a set of comparable statistics to measure quality of post-secondary

education across Canada, similar to those of medicare

Other Commitments

• Assign provincial transfers for post-secondary education outside of theCanada Social Transfer fund, a portion of which are long-term and predictable

• Support industry-based job training and apprenticeship programs• Emphasize funding to federal research councils for environmental innovation

and design• Develop a youth community and environment service group that will provide

federal minimum wage employment for 40,000 youth aged 18-25 every yearfor four years

• Guarantee that copyright policy allows students to properly conduct researchin with fair dealing principles



Freedom Party of Ontario

They did not have anything specifically on Post-Secondary Education and a decentchunk of the content was focused on their reforms for the high school system.

Libertarian Party of Ontario

Summary: Privatize all Universities, make schooling up to the student, unregulatetuition fees, cut all government funding.

From their Website: Public education has been provided by governments inOntario for more than 130 years. A long history of government involvement makesit difficult for most to envision an Ontario in which there is no government rolewhatsoever in providing this important service. Nonetheless, the policy of theOntario Libertarian Party is to create conditions in which quality education candevelop by completely ending all government participation and allowing education

to be a matter of individual choice. The inspiration for public education in Ontario was a model taken from the Germanstate of Prussia in the nineteenth century. Its primary purpose was to instilobedience, conformity and, above all, reverence for the Prussian military state.Public education in Ontario continues to be dominated by that regimented learningmodel. Socializing the student remains of paramount importance. New ideas,creativity, originality and dissent from conventional thinking are discouraged.

There are many talented, conscientious educators working within the public system.However, direction by government bureaucrats through the Ministry of Educationwill always limit what can be accomplished. No amount of fiddling with the existingsystem or spending more confiscated money on education will fundamentallychange anything.

Until now, it is only a small minority which has either been able to afford, or hasbeen prepared to make financial sacrifices to receive the benefits seen in privateeducation. The rest have had no alternative but to hope for the best from the publicsystem. Since parents are responsible for raising their children, a libertariangovernment will return to them the responsibility for educating their children whichgovernments have appropriated. It follows that the education of adult students willin all respects be the responsibility of the student.

The mind is the human means of survival which nature has provided. Theacquisition and implementation of knowledge in the pursuit of happiness andprosperity are both natural and necessary. Training the mind should be an exciting,empowering prospect, not an ordeal to be endured. Private education will succeedin this where public education has failed. Excellence will be acknowledged andrewarded. There will be an end to political arguments about academic goals andstandards, teacher credentialing, school accreditation, curriculum, financing, orwhatever else happens to be in dispute at any particular time. Exciting innovationand advances will become the norm instead of the exception.Libertarian ideas must be understood in context. Getting government out of education will eliminate the considerable taxes now levied for that purpose, butmore than that will change. Once libertarian ideas are generally accepted, growth of productivity and higher incomes will make it easier to afford a good education.



Everyone, no matter what their circumstances, will have more opportunities thanwhat is now available. Undoubtedly there are some who will have financial difficultyin caring for their children. That number will be small. Over time it will become evensmaller.It is normal for humans to cooperate with one another to achieve common goalsand, when able, to help others in difficult circumstances. That natural human trait

has been stifled by taxes and other obstacles to prosperity which governments haveimposed as well as the general culture of irresponsibility which they have fostered.It will flourish when libertarian ideas concerning the proper role of governmentprevail and result in the election of libertarian governments. Respect for libertyencourages benevolence and wealth creation. When such conditions exist, there willcertainly be spontaneous voluntary help for needy children.We have experienced great progress and innovation in fields left untouched bygovernments. Most advances have come about in unpredictable ways and very fewwould have occurred if a government ministry had been in charge. We continue tobe held back by present day thinking bestowing legitimacy upon governmentinterference in far too many areas of human activity. A total change in that thinkingis the only way to end stagnation in education.

Communist Party of Canada

Accessible Post Secondary Education

• Eliminate tuition fees• Increase funding for universities and colleges• Stop streaming universities into research or teaching• End corporate incursions

• Adequately fund adult and continuing education•

Strengthen local autonomy and democracy

How much is it worth?Eliminating Tuition represents a 2.4 billion dollar investment. They have alsocommitted to increasing funding of Universities to above the national average,something estiminated to be approximent 1 billion dollars. In total, the investmentin annual funding to both students and the post-secondary education system will beabout 3.4 billion dollars.When Will it start?Immediately after the election.How will it work?

The Communist Party believes that education is a right for all qualified students. They will allow students who qualify for university to go without a cost to them andin order to prevent misapplication of funding, they plan on changing the set up forthe Board of Governors of universities so they subject to democratic oversight. Theyalso plan on hiring more faculty in tenured track with a focus on both lecturing andresearch. They will also end privatization in universities in order to make the schoolsfully accountable to the public. In terms of credit transfers the communist partysupport a fully integrated university credit transfer system where credits attained atone institution will fully transfer over to others. They also put a system in place for



employers and other institutions to recognize foreign credentials so skilledimmigrants will not be forced to study from the beginning.

Transit

• Increase federal-provincial funding for public transit• Create a crown corporation to build public transit systems and rolling stock• Expand GO Transit service and routes; reduce fares• Abolish road tolls; expand light rail transit

Family Coalition

No information on website - Called and left a message with the party office.

Appendix #1 : Primer on Tuition:

Throughout the country, post-secondary education (PSE) has traditionally beenfunded through three main sources: the provincial governments, the federalgovernment, and students. Due to increased institutional operating costs in recentyears, the fairness of this balance has been compromised. As provincial operatinggrants have failed to keep up with the university rate of inflation, students havebeen required to contribute more through tuition fees than ever before. Whilestudents recognize that they should contribute to the costs of higher education asthere are both personal and societal benefits, in practice these contributions havegrown too quickly and by too much.The following graph illustrates the percentage of university operating costs across Canada recovered by tuition. Where Ontario once

had comparable student contributions to other provinces, in 2007 Ontario studentfees covered the second highest percentage of university operating budgets.Additionally, Ontario students are charged the highest tuition fees in actual dollarswhen compared to the rest of Canada, paying an average of $6,307 in 2010-11.From this, it becomes clear that the current cost-sharing model in Ontario isoffloading the increasing cost of education onto students. here is substantialevidence that the current level of tuition in Ontario creates barriers to a college oruniversity education for many individuals. Over the last two decades, averagetuition for undergraduate students has more than tripled in constant dollars. Theaverage student paid $6,307 in 2010, making Ontario the most expensive provincein which to attend university. Average college tuition has increased to $2,300 duringthis timeframe, and textbook and living expenses have risen as well. Students are

by and large struggling to pay these rising costs. The incidence of undergraduatedebt rose from 56% to 64% over the last decade, with the average indebtedgraduate owing over $25,000.

The cost of education and accessibility go hand-in-hand. According to the CanadianMillennium Scholarship Foundation, 40% of college students who exit their programprior to completion do so because of insufficient funds. Underrepresented groups,particularly low-income, Aboriginal, rural and northern students are those affectedthe most by high fees. These students are most likely to go into debt to financetheir post-secondary studies, yet far more likely to be price sensitive and debt



averse. Almost 40% of individuals who never attended higher education listedfinances as a barrier to participation. Several studies have concluded that tuitionincreases have a moderate impact on post-secondary participation in low-incomestudents. The argument that increases in financial assistance has offset risingtuition is undermined by the fact that need-based aid has not kept pace with tuition.In fact, the average need-based aid package has increased by just $650 since 1993,

in the same time that tuition has increased by $3,000.According to a 2011 poll, affordability of higher education came in second to onlyquality of healthcare as the issue that most concerns Ontarians, ranking aboveunemployment and tax reduction. Tuition is obviously an important issue forstudents, but as polls and conversations across the province indicate, progressiveand fair tuition policy is also important to Ontarians as a whole. This is why studentshave been keen to hear how the different parties plan to tackle tuition fees. TheOntario Liberal Party has proposed a significant reduction in tuition for dependentundergraduate students whose annual family income is below $160,000 and alsocommitted to continuing to regulate tuition increases but did not indicate how muchthese increases would be. The Green Party of Ontario has proposed freezing tuitionfor the 2012/13 academic year and subsequently indexing tuition increases to

inflation. Ontario New Democrat Party has proposed a complete tuition freeze forthe next three years. While the PC has not make any promises concerning tuition.

Appendix #2: Primer on Deferred Maintenance:

It is well understood that enrolment is likely to grow substantially in the near future.Colleges and universities face a backlog of approximately $2 billion, and itcontinues to grow. It is of the utmost importance that the learning environmentsoffered to our students are adequate, up-to-date and safe. Investments in newcapital assets are critical, but must also not overshadow the need to take care of Ontario’s learning facilities. McMaster University itself similarly is in dire need of backlog funding by the provincial government. Multiple classrooms all across

campus are in need of infrastructure upgrade & repairs. Furthermore,problematically the current definition of deferred maintenance by the provincialgovernment does not include class room technology and wireless services withinthe “learning environment” it covers.

Some of the figures of approximate funding needs at McMaster include:

• Increased Network Bandwidth across campus: $475K one-time plus $30K • annually• Network Infrastructure upgrades (to support increased bandwidth, risk• mitigation, and replace out-dated equipment): $1.9M• Increased wireless coverage for 9 academic buildings: $270K • Increased wireless coverage for approx. 100 classrooms: $230K

There are significant long term maintenance costs for classroom AV. Bulbs, forexample, can run in the hundreds of dollars each. Technology has become anessential component for university infrastructure in the same way that we'dconsider water, electric and ventilation. Often when new campus buildings are put



up the technology is incorporated into the building plan. However, unlike"traditional infrastructure" (water, electricity, etc) technology is not considered inplanning for long term maintenance. These items must become part of maintenance or we will forever be in a position of having to "find" ongoing money tomaintain it. Similarly A smart board for a modest sized classroom costs 10K. Dataprojectors only last for about three years and cost in excess of 5K (to get sufficient

brightness for large classrooms) and then there are significant installation costs.

None of the political parties have made any specific reference to this issue, however

the issue was briefly discussed during the all candidates debate on campus on 28th

September by the ADFW candidates. Almost all of them at some point or the other

referenced a need for “maintenance”.

EA_Infopackageelections

Documents

Transcript of EA_Infopackageelections