Spencer Patterson is a non-binary student at Mount Royal University, in their first year of the social work program. This isn’t their first year as a student.
Patterson began studying in the journalism program, pursuing the degree into the program’s third year. Shortly after, they realized that their skills would be better applied to a social work degree.
However, with a new change made to Alberta Student Aid financial coverage, Patterson and many other Alberta students might be coming up short when paying their tuition.
Patterson’s grandfather financially supported them in those first few years. That stopped when he became unwell. Patterson put the degree on hold to navigate student financial aid and other government assistance, which has been a primary source of income for three years.
Even after receiving two forms of government funding, both AISH and student loans, the money isn’t always enough to make ends meet.
“That covers things like rent and a little bit of my food per month,” said Patterson. “Student aid helps with the rest of rent and the rest of food and essentially [makes] it so that I don’t have to starve and rely solely on the food bank all the time.”
Patterson isn’t unique.
Following changes to Alberta Advanced Education’s financial aid eligibility criteria, many students and student advocates are worried about the potential impacts on their ability to get an education.
“There aren’t very clear guidelines on what those reconsiderations are.”
Tala Abu Hayyaneh
The two most significant changes in eligibility for future funding target students who change from full-time to part-time enrollment, or who only progress their year of study once. For example, if a student begins the fall semester as a second-year student and does not register as a third-year student by the following fall semester, they would be ineligible for future funding.
Additionally, students who drop from full-time enrolment within the first 30 days of a new term must repay all the funding they’ve received to be eligible for further funding.
Alberta Advanced Education Press secretary Varun Chandrasekar said that the changes should be “fairly minor” and wouldn’t have a significant impact on Mount Royal University students
He also explained that many progress policies were waived for students due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Some of these were reinstated for the 2021-2022 loan year, and the outstanding ones have now been reinstated for 2024-2025,” he said. “These policies are intended to ensure students are completing their study program in a timely fashion, and to prevent students from incurring excessive loan debt.”
Additionally, he explained that the Alberta government has increased access to the Repayment Assistance Plan, reduced interest rates on student loans, and increased the interest-free grace period for loan repayment.
Advocates question if it is helpful to prioritize making paying back loans easier when many students are now unsure if they will get that funding in the first place.
Tala Abu Hayyaneh, president of the Student Association of Mount Royal University’s Representation Executive Council, estimates that 40 per cent of the student population receives government assistance to fund their education. She also said the average time for a student in Alberta to complete a four-year post-secondary degree is more than six years.
Hayyaneh also outlined how students would receive a cap on the total amount of funding. She explained that even if students were under that limit, their funding could still be pulled if their study period was longer than five years.
Hayyaneh clarified that students could submit an appeal if their funding had been pulled.
“But then again, there aren’t very clear guidelines on what those reconsiderations are,” said Hayyaneh.
While the need for more money might seem like an issue students can solve on their own, Hayyaneh points out that some students turn to private bank loans, which come with personal financial risks like high interest rates.
“At the end of the day, setting a precedent of ‘go figure it out on your own instead of complaining’ is not a good thing. We have a system that is meant to support people, and if that system is failing at supporting those individuals, then those individuals want to turn to means that are not supporting their financial literacy,” said Hayyaneh.
According to Statistics Canada, Alberta has the second most student loan recipients, with 82,382 students receiving funding throughout the province. Alberta students received $503.3 million for their education in the 2018/2019 school year.
The rising cost of living, caused by the housing crisis and inflation, continues to make it tough for students to afford a post-secondary education, said Hayyaneh.
Despite worrying about money, Patterson said they looked at the situation differently.
“I’m not homeless, I’m still in a very cushy living situation and I go to university. I have a lot of great things, but it’s the little things that I have to worry a lot about and budget and then sometimes, I go a few weeks without any money at all.”