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Up-Front Grants Support Increased Access To Postsecondary Education
TORONTO, Aug. 16 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government and the Canada
Millennium Scholarship Foundation will provide about 16,000 first-year college
and university students from low-income Ontario families with grants of up to
$3,000 toward their education, Chris Bentley, the Ontario Minister of
Training, Colleges and Universities, and Norman Riddell, executive director
and chief executive officer of the foundation, announced today.
"This new grant is part of the package of improvements to financial aid
for students included in Reaching Higher - the McGuinty Government Plan for
Postsecondary Education," Bentley told students at the University of Toronto.
"This program is a significant part of our plan to make it easier for 135,000
low- and middle-income students to get a postsecondary education. We are
pleased the foundation is helping us achieve our goal."
Starting this year, up to 16,000 students entering their first year of
college or university will benefit from the Millennium-Ontario Access Grant.
This is a $100-million, joint initiative by the Ontario government and the
foundation, marking a shift in student financial aid by delivering more
resources to students with the lowest family income. It will provide eligible
students up to half the cost of their tuition to a maximum of $3,000. When
combined with the Canada Access Grant - the federal government's new
low-income grant - these students can receive up to $6,000, or the full cost
of their first year of tuition.
"Our organization has been looking at ways to improve access of students
from low-income families to postsecondary education," said Riddell. "Over the
four-year course of this project, we will be testing whether providing
low-income students with more non-repayable grants improves their presence in
postsecondary education."
The foundation will provide $76 million over four years to support the
Millennium-Ontario Access Grant, with the remainder paid by the province. The
new grant is in addition to the $108 million in Millennium bursaries the
foundation has been distributing annually to Ontario students since 2000.
"Future graduates will play an important role in Canadian society, both
socially and economically," said Belinda Stronach, Minister of Human Resources
and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal. "The
Government of Canada is proud to partner with the Canada Millennium
Scholarship Foundation and the Government of Ontario to help students reach
their full potential and acquire the skills they need to meet their career
objectives."
The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation is a private, independent
organization created by an Act of Parliament in 1998. Since its inception, the
foundation has awarded more than $1.7 billion in the form of more than 550,000
bursaries to Canadian postsecondary students. In Ontario, more than 210,000
bursaries were distributed over the same period at a value of more than
$638 million.
Disponible en français
www.edu.gov.on.ca
www.resultsontario.gov.on.ca
Backgrounder
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MAKING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION MORE AFFORDABLE
Starting this year, the Ontario government will provide Millennium-
Ontario Access Grants in partnership with the Canada Millennium Scholarship
Foundation. The new grant will provide about 16,000 first-year college and
university students from low-income families with up to half the cost of their
tuition, to a maximum of $3,000.
When combined with the Canada Access Grant - the federal government's new
low-income grant - these students can receive up to $6,000, or the full cost
of tuition. First-year students from low-income families will be automatically
considered for the new grants when they apply for aid through the Ontario
Student Assistance Program (OSAP).
For second-year students, the Ontario government is funding the new
Ontario Access Grant (OAG). Like the Millennium-Ontario grant, the OAG will
provide up to $3,000 for students from low-income families.
Students can find out more information about OSAP by visiting
http://osap.gov.on.ca or through the financial aid office of the postsecondary
institution they plan to attend.
Data from Statistics Canada's Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, 2000,
shows that among Ontario families with 18- to 24-year olds, participation in
postsecondary education increases steadily as parental income increases. This
increase is driven mostly by university participation - 18- to 24-year olds
from the highest income quartile are more than twice as likely to attend
university as those from the lowest quartile.
In order to increase the participation rates of those from low-income
families, the new Millennium-Ontario Access Grant represents a shift in the
way student financial aid is delivered by providing resources on the basis of
the level of income of the student's family. Recipients will be asked to
participate in follow-up studies designed to improve the understanding of the
challenges facing low-income students and the effectiveness of different forms
of student aid.
The new grant is also part of the package of improvements to financial
aid for students included in Reaching Higher: The McGuinty Government Plan for
Postsecondary Education, which was unveiled in the 2005 Budget.
Through the plan, the government will invest $6.2 billion more in
Ontario's postsecondary system over the next five years - the largest
multi-year investment in 40 years. This includes $1.5 billion more for student
aid, which will be used to:
- Join with the federal government to expand eligibility for student
loans and increase Ontario weekly loan amounts from $110 to $140 for
single students starting this year
- Reduce how much money middle-income parents are expected to
contribute to their children's education, expand interest relief and
recognize computer costs in student loan needs assessment
- Provide $50 million annually to match funds raised by colleges and
universities to establish endowments for student financial
assistance
- Continue to work with the federal government to broaden and expand
student aid in 2006-07 and beyond.
With these improvements, and the new Millennium-Ontario Access Grant and
the Ontario Access Grant, about 135,000 low- and middle-income students will
benefit starting this year. The changes also represent the most significant
improvements to student aid since the Ontario Student Assistance Program was
first set up more than 25 years ago.
Disponible en français
www.edu.gov.on.ca
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For further information: Peter Fitzpatrick, Minister's Office, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, (416) 326-1628; Joseph Berger, Communications Department, Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, (514) 284-7246; Stéphanie Leblanc, Press Secretary, Office of Minister Belinda Stronach, (819) 994-2482; Tanya Cholakov, Communications Branch, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, (416) 325-2746; Public Inquiries: (416) 325-2929 or 1-800-387-5514, TTY: 1-800-263-2892
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