Surprise in store for Nova Scotia's students?

The results from the public review of the Nova Scotia Student Assistance Program are in and opinion is clear: the program is not assisting students; it is acting as a burden and a worry and something must change.

A public review of the Nova Scotia Student Assistance Program found that more needs to be done to ease the burden placed on borrowers, make applying for loans less complicated, lower or remove parental contributions from student loan applications, use broader considerations for cost when calculating student need, and provide more education about the program's operations and tools.

In light of the report, education minister Karen Casey has been hinting to the media and student leaders that there will be a "surprise" for students in the upcoming provincial budget. One hopes that the surprise will be that the government will listen to the opinions expressed during the public review of the student assistance program. The opinions expressed by respondents during the review provide the government with a blueprint for rebuilding the assistance program and creating an effective institution that truly meets the needs of students.

If the government is willing to provide front-end grants for those with the greatest level of need, they will be able to ease the burden of those that need it the most. By making the process more open and transparent, there will be fewer mistakes made and less time spent processing applications so students can get the money they need with less of a wait. By eliminating the weight placed on parental contributions, the program will take into consideration the fact that parents have numerous other expenses, that there is no way to make parents contribute even though their income must be stated and that (unfortunately) some parents just do not care to pay for their child's education. By increasing the considerations that go into measuring a students' costs associated with their education a more accurate picture of student needs will be created and more people will be able to have access to education as a result.

The suggestions put forth from the panel are a wonderful way to create a progressive, fair and helpful institution. However, the student assistance program is only one problem facing the post-secondary education system right now.

According to John Harker, CBU President, "dark clouds" are on the horizon because of the new funding formula used by the province. Eventually, the province will allocate funds to universities based on the number of student enrolled at the institution. Given the demographics of the surrounding area and the expected impacts on universities throughout the province such a funding formula will force the university into offering early retirement packages and making staffing and programming cuts to make up for the shortfall.

Such a funding formula results in much leaner institutions that will have a harder time increasing student enrollment because they will offer fewer programs and, therefore, will find themselves locked into a cyclical problem of minimal funding-minimal enrollment. The new funding formula places universities that are centrally located in the province at a natural advantage and will further add to the brain drain faced by communities located at the province's periphery.

There are many problems facing the post-secondary education system in Nova Scotia and while changes to the student assistance program are a step in the right direction, they will not be a PSE silver bullet. Whatever "surprises" are in store in the next budget, I hope they are the first step of many. If the provincial government is too busy patting itself on the back over the first necessary step of many, the rest may take too long to materialize.