Social Work 2510 	Assignment #2

	Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get out of high school and decided to further your education by going to a post secondary school but yet not worry about Student loan debt, this is only a dream for most of us!  But there are people out there who have parents that can afford to send their children to Memorial or the College of The North Atlantic without getting a student loan. But like most of us we rely on Student Loans.  So When deciding to go to school where ever it maybe, we go and get a student loan and find out that we can not get a full one because our parents income. There are family’s across the country that have the same problem as most families that they really can’t afford to support themselves as well as support there child to go to school. Also there are some families out there that have a couple of children that are attending post secondary school so how are they supposed to support themselves and their children? Yet if you are a mature student over 22 years doesn’t affect your loan at all. When you have spent 5 – 10 years in school then you have the major problem of having to pay that loan back. Most people who have major loans live in poverty until they gets their student loans paid off. There are some ways though that the governments have put in place so that students don’t have to worry about trying to survive like they were doing when they where attending school. So in this paper I will be looking at many issues such as Historical background of the student loan program in Canada, some of the values of the student loan program though its students, if there are any possible solutions to these programs and feasibility, and the recommendations that can be made to the student loan program.
	Most people don’t realize that the Canadian Student Loan Program has been 

around  for quite a while. It was put into place for students who could not afford to bay

the high cost to go to a post secondary institution. So the federal government put in a 

program that would give students the opportunity to pursue a degree program .

“The CSLP was created in 1964. Since its inception, the Program has supplemented the financial resources available to eligible students from other sources to assist in their pursuit of post-secondary education. Between 1964 and 1995, loans were provided by financial institutions to post-secondary students who were approved to receive financial assistance. The financial institutions also administered the loan repayment process. In return, the Government of Canada guaranteed each Canada Student Loan that was issued, by reimbursing the financial institution the full amount of loans that went into default”(Government of Canada, Human Resource Skills Development Canada . Oct. 2003. Retrieved from April 2005. <http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/gateway.asp?hr=en/hip/cslp/
About/01_ab_MissionPprogram.shtml&hs=cxp>).  	

Even though this was very good the government then decided to change that program 

giving the institution  would assume responsibility for any risk of defaulted loans. Then 

after only 5 years the government decided that the would end the  risk- shared agreements

with the schools and the CSLP was soon become responsibility for  the National Student 

Loan Service Centre. 

“In 1995, several important changes were made to the CSLP, reflecting the changing needs of the parties involved in the loan process. The Government of Canada developed a formalized "risk-shared" agreement with several financial institutions, whereby the institution would assume responsibility for the possible 
risk of defaulted loans in return for a fixed payment from the Government. During this period, the weekly federal loan amount was increased to a maximum of $165.On July 31, 2000, the risk-shared arrangement between the Government of Canada and participating financial institutions came to an end. The Government of Canada now directly finances all new loans issued on or after August 1, 2000. The administration of Canada Student Loans has become the responsibility of the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC). There are two divisions of the NSLSC, one to manage loans for students attending public institutions and the other to administer loans for students attending private institutions” (Government of Canada, Human Resource Skills Development Canada . Oct. 2003. Retrieved from April 2005. http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/gateway.asp?hr=en/hip/cslp/
About/01_ab_MissionPprogram.shtml&hs=cxp).  

           As a student we have many things to worry about while we are attending school, such as getting good grades, living away from our parents, having enough money to have an apartment and being able to eat as well as buy books. Students have enough trouble dealing with the school stress and they should have to deal with the Student Loan stress. When you apply for a student loan the money you receive is based on what amount of money that your parents are after making. I really don’t believe that should be based on what your parents makes because your parents can not always be able to afford to help you especially if you have another brother or sister they can’t live themselves if they have to pay big bucks to you to go to school. Once again this not only put stress on the student but also puts stress on the parents. Most parents what to do what they can for their children to make sure they are able to get the best possible education that they can get so they will actually do with out just to make sure they gets an education.  Finally there are students who are speaking up against this, there are students though out the country rallying to get student loans base on the student’s income and leave the parents income out of the situation all together.  One such push is in Calgary where an Alberta student’s organization is asking the government to disregard family wealth when calculating student loans.
	“Students have to put parental income on loan applications. Parents are supposed 	to contribute a certain amount and the loan is meant to supplement it. The head of 	the Alberta College and Technical Institute Student Executive Council says some 	parents aren't paying. If parents aren't helping that's where students are getting 	into the poverty levels and they're barely making it through, says David Brooks, 	ACTISEC's provincial director” (CBC. Nov. 2001 Students want loans 	disconnected from parental finances. Retrieved March 2005 from 	http://calgary.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=studloanca011128).

Most students try very hard to be independent on their own by getting summer jobs to make some money to go back to school. Yet the amount of money that students make over the summer at minimum wage is not very much. Take for an example a student who works on a federal grant for the summer. Usually these grants are around 30 - 40 hours a week, up to 8 weeks. So now lets try to add this up, 40 hours a week for 8 weeks equals 1920 dollars. Which may seem a lot but when you have to pay tuition, which is around 1500 dollars, you have to buy books, pay rent, bills etc, and you haven’t eaten yet? So the few dollars that students makes over the summer does not add up to what they will be loosing due to what their parent’s incomes are. 
What I found very strange is that if you are over the age of 22 in this province then you are considered a mature student you are at a big advantage. You don’t have to depend on your parents even though you have still been living with them. Being a mature student takes a bit of stress off you and your 	parents. For one you don’t have to rely on them for any money, so they don’t have to worry about having to put themselves in finical risk from having to give you money to attend school. With most students that little extra money will go a long way by you will not have to worry about buying books, food, and other items. The Student Financial Services Division of Newfoundland defines a Mature student as “ students who are 22 years of age or older and are applying for student loans for the first time” (Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador. Integrated Student Loans Program. 2004/2005 Application form and Information Guide.2004 pg.2).	Students are the next generation that will be our doctors, nurses, lawyers, social workers and so on, so why would we want to out them in a situation where people may not be able to attend school? We should give them all the advantages so they will want pursue a career with out having to worry about being feed. Right now in our province there is an out cry of doctors, nurses, etc, so shouldn’t this give us the hint that if we don’t soon do something it means that there will be many out ports that will have to go with out a doctor and that they are going to have to travel far distances to seek medical attention. 
	I believe that even if they do try to change the student loan program that the only 

changes that thy needs to make is to make it equal to all students not matter how old you 

are Also some people think that we should have a system in place where you can go to 

school for free like that did in the 1960s when we  had free Tuition. The Government of 

Newfoundland and Labrador are a major leading when it comes to listening to students 

when they speak out about tuition . The government of Newfoundland and Labrador has 

also made offering to post-secondary students on extra relief on their tuition debt. 

	 Even though the parents of many students may have a good income it shouldn’t 

affect the child to the point if he/she will make a decision  to go to school or not  . They 

student loan programs should make sure that all students are treated equally not matter 

how much the parents are making. I can remember my grand parents talking about when 

they where getting ready to go to university they said they went on “Joey“ , this was 

when  the government paid for your education and there was no worry about having to 

pay back 10s of thousands of dollars compared to when there was free tuition.  The 

government over the last could of years has been very good when it comes to tuition 

because since 2000. Mr. Hedderson, Minister of Education announced this year that they 

will be keeping the tuition free for the remained of the Williams government term. 

“In the Blueprint, we made a commitment to our post-secondary students and today we have reaffirmed that commitment," said Premier Williams. "We must ensure that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have access to high quality programming at an affordable cost to enhance the employment prospects of graduates and ensure that we are able to get the greatest benefit from our economic opportunities. In today’s global community, education is vital for success and our government is committed to accessibility and affordability, so that our students have the tools they require to be the leaders of tomorrow."(Government Of Newfoundland & Labrador. New Release. 2005.Retreived March 20.2005 from http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/
2005/exec/0315n03.htm).

So it’s not like the government in this province in not trying to help us gain an education. 

they have also out in place programs to help students who have to got major loans that 

they don’t have to pay back. They are help with programs such as, Canada Study Grants 

(CSG's) which is a program that unlike interest free loans does not have to be repaid.

“Canada Millennium Bursaries is organization established by an Act of Parliament in 1998 with an endowment of $2.5 billion to help Canadians meet the challenges of a rapidly changing economy and society by creating opportunities for them to pursue their post-secondary education”(Millennium Scholarships. 2004. Retrived April 2 2005 from http://www.millenniumscholarships.ca/
en/main.html).

Also we have the Debt Reduction Grants, which as replaced by the loan remission in 

August of 2001 where if you receive up to the full amount of the provincial student loan

it may be converted into a non-repayable grant;

“There is no application process – students will be contacted directly; debt education grants are earned on a semester basis, and students will be notified annually, and; special provisions to accommodate students who have extenuating circumstances”(Government Of Newfoundland & Labrador. Education/Grants. 2004. Retrieved March 25 2005 from   http://www.edu.gov.nf.ca/studentaid/grants.htm#dependents).

Most people find it really hard to pay back their loans with they get them due to the fact 

that it is so high. There are ways to help people just can not afford to pay the 300 a month 

loans. This program that I am talking about is the revision of terms on your student loan.

	“ If you can not afford your monthly payment amount, or you don’t qualify for 	Interest Relief, you may be able to revise the term of your loan. In this program 	you can decrease you monthly amount, either for a short term or long term period. 	This may mean you extend your term over a longer period, meaning you will pay 	back you loan over a longer time, but this may be just what you need so you can 	afford to start paying back you debt. The sooner you start, sooner you’ll be done. 	And remember if in the future you can afford to pay more each month, there are 	not penalties for increasing your payments again to start to pay it off faster” (A 	Guide to Borrowing Student Loans In Canada. EDULINX. 1999.pg 12). 

What people have to realize that it is very hard for us students to get a student loan and be willing to stay here to work? If when I finish school my amount of money I will have borrowed will be in the ranged of some think like 75 thousand dollars. If I decide to stay here in the province I will have to get another full time job just to pay back my loan.
	“Repayment problems are becoming more severe as students have greater difficulty finding employment and total amounts of indebtedness rise” (Armitage A.2003.Social Welfare in Canada: Forth Edition. Don Mills, Ont. Oxford University Press).
 	This is one reason why most people when they finish school and they have these outrageous amounts of money; they have to leave because they have no other choice but to. Most people go place such as Baffin Island where they can go up for 2 years and come home and live and have their student loans just about paid off and that’s in 2 years. If you decide to stay here then it would take something like 12 years. So what we have to realize is that governments should realize that if students are willing to get the money to go to school, willing to study there butts off then in turn for these people to stay here they should really offer the students some kind of freebie for them to stay. Do you think that I’m being to selfish? I don’t think that is very much to ask for. Here in Newfoundland we have a rep of being student people but I believe that we are the smartest people cause we have to deal with some many things it’s not that funny. Students are our future why don’t we do something now to show them that we want you to stay and in the words of Danny Williams (2005) “ We will some become a have province and not a have not province ”.