3 years after OSAP overhaul, many Ontario students still struggling to get funding they need - Action News
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3 years after OSAP overhaul, many Ontario students still struggling to get funding they need

In 2019, the Ontario government overhauled the OSAP funding system, making various changes that affected students. Three years later, with rising costs of food, housing and inflation, many students say the changes are making the financial burden unmanageable.

With inflation and return to in-class learning, students feeling the pinch more than ever

Alexis Da Ponte is set to start a new program at York University and was relying on funding from OSAP. But she learned last month she's not eligible. (Darek Zdzienicki/CBC News)

When Alexis Da Ponte was accepted to her desired program at York University a Bachelorof Fine Arts concurrentwith a Bachelor of Education she was thrilled to begin anew chapter of her life this fall.

"I am the first to go to university Both my parents after high school, went straight to working. So I'll be the first to kind of experience it," said the 17-year-oldwho recentlygraduated fromhigh school.

But the day after her prom,and the day before her graduation,she received a letter sayingshe was not eligible for funding from the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

Da Ponte,who lives with her parents and grandmother in an apartment in Toronto's west end,says her family lives paycheque-to-paycheque and although they've been working to save, they're unable to contribute substantially to her schooling.

"My parents both barely make enough to kind get by It's definitely not enough for me to go through university."

In 2019, the Ford government overhauled the OSAP system with changes that included making dependent students ineligible for OSAP grants if their family earns more than $140,000, increasing expected parental contributions for loans and changing the definition of an independent student.Three years later, with inflation pushing many students' costs upward, and a return to in-person learning driving up housing and travel costs, many say those changes are affectingthemmore than ever.

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Da Ponte says while she'llbe able to cover tuition for her first year with help, she hasno idea how she'll cover the remaining three years.

"I don't truly know if I'm going to be able to continue my educationas steadily as I thought I would be able to with OSAP," said Da Ponte, who says she'll try to apply for a line of credit.

The changes to OSAP have impacted Vivian Miyata, a third year student at McGill from Ontario.

Vivian Miyata is going into her third year at McGill University in Montreal. She says the OSAP cuts have made it increasingly difficult for her to pay for her tuition and living expenses, especially with the rising cost of housing and food. (CBC News)

She has been eligible for OSAP but has watched as more of her grants turned into loans. Even then, that money doesn't cover her tuition, let alone books and living costs. In 2021, those costs went up as she moved to Montreal when in-person classes returned.

"I feel like I'm just trying to keep up and I feel like I'm just chasing ... working multiple jobs to keep up with the rising cost," said the 20 year old.

"I feel like OSAP hasn't really reflected the increased living costs this past year. Obviously, groceries have gotten so expensive, everything in terms of rent. Housing is so difficult to find."

Another change to OSAP is the length of time until a student is considered "independent," which is now six years, versus four years previously. Until then, they are required to submit their parents' income, and that has an impactboth on their eligibility for funding and the amount they receive.

As part of the OSAP changes, students must wait six years after graduating from high school before they're deemed 'independent.' That means they have to wait longer to tap into more OSAP funding. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

"I think that it's kind of another blow," said Tushar Sood, who is moving on to medical school in August at the University of Toronto, where he'll be responsible for tuition that's nearly four times higher.

Sood finished athree-year undergraduate science degree at Hamilton's McMaster University. He relied on OSAP for most of those years, but because he had to declare his parental income, he was eligible for fewerloans and grants. Because of the provincial change, he won't be considered "independent" until his final year of medical school,meaning he'll be eligible for less funding for the bulk of the program.

"I would really call on the federal and provincial counterparts to lower it to two or three years out of high schooland focus more-so on the cost of the degree rather than how long it's been since high school," said Sood.

Changes needed, students say

Student groups say the changes are impacting students now more than ever with rising cost of living, food and with students returning to in-person learning.

From mandating masks in common areas to closing communal spaces all together, Canadian universities have implemented a wide range of measures to keep students and faculty safe as classes resume in the fall. The University of Toronto, pictured on Aug. 18, 2020, is limiting on-campus courses while taking many seminars online as a means to minimize potential exposure to COVID-19.
The University of Toronto, pictured here in on August of 2020 when it was limiting on-campus courses. Many students say the return to in-person learning is now an additional expense for them, either because of transit or housing. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

"One of the biggest struggles that I'm hearing from students is dealing with things like transit, for example, and just having to pay for monthly transit passes because now school is going back in person," said Sarah Abdillahi, national executive representative with the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario, a group that is pushing for more acessibleeducation.

Abdillahi,who relies on OSAP herself,says some students are heavily reliant on food banks and are being forced to make tough decisions.

"Sometimes what ends up happening is that you have to make a decision: do I have enough money to eat today or do I have enough money to get home today?"

Sarah Abdillahi is the national executive representative with the Canadian Federation of Students - Ontario. (Submitted by Sarah Abdillahi)

A group called the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) says it all takes a toll on mental health and academic performance.

"Students are expected to keep up their grades while paying off their tuition and living out all these different components while recovering from a global pandemic. So all of these things have certainly taken a toll on students' mental health," said Jessica Look with the OUSA.

Province reducing tuition, ministry says

In a written statement, the provincial Ministry of Colleges and Universitiestold CBC Newsit continues to work with the federal government to implement more programs and changes to help post-secondary students.

"To help reduce challenges in the repayment process, Ontario reduced tuition at publicly-assisted colleges and universities by 10 per centin 2019-20, applied a tuition freeze in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and will again freeze tuition in the upcoming 2022-23 academic year," the statement reads.

Students from Wilfrid Laurier University are seen here protesting against the province's cuts to OSAP shortly after they were announced in January 2019. (Peggy Lam/CBC)

Opposition MPPs like Laura Mae Lindo, the Ontario NDP's critic for colleges and universities, say they hope OSAP will be part of discussions once Queen's Park returns.

"There are a lot of questions about whether or not when the budget gets tabled in August whether we will actually see any kind of investment in the sector," Lindo told CBC News.