Our Future is Now
‘Our Future is Now’ is a student-issues campaign focused on four main issues affecting students: the skyrocketing rate of tuition, a lack of affordable housing, the need for additional childcare spaces, and First Nations and Aboriginal accessibility to post-secondary education.
During the 2011 Saskatchewan Provincial Election, students at the University of Regina will be working with students across the province through the Vote Education campaign, a provincially focused student issues campaigns encouraging students get out and vote based on political parties’ education related platforms.
Our Future is Now Media Release
The Requests
Vote Education website
Political Party Report Card (conducted by the Canadian Federation of Students)
Requests:
Tuition
Background:
Skyrocketing Tuition Fees
· Tuition fees are one of the largest upfront financial barriers to attending post-secondary education. From 2000-2001 to 2004-2005, average tuition for full-time Saskatchewan undergraduates rose by 38 per cent, following a 137 per cent increase in the 1990s. From 2008-2009 to 2011-2012, tuition has increased another 11 per cent;
· Between 1990 and 2004, tuition costs for Saskatchewan undergraduates rose at an average annual rate of 8.5 per cent, far exceeding the 2.5 per cent for the consumer price index;
· It costs approximately $1,600 less for tuition fees in Manitoba when compared to Saskatchewan;
· Tuition fees at Saskatchewan’s universities are some of the highest in the country.
Benefits of a Tuition Fee Freeze
· Nearly one-third of Saskatchewan students need to take on student loans during their studies;
· The debt load of Saskatchewan students is one of the greatest in Canada. In 2009, the average total debt for those who graduated with some debt was nearly $30,000 – approximately $37,000 when private student debt is considered;
· University education in Saskatchewan became more affordable as a direct result of the four-year tuition freeze implemented in 2004;
· In 2004, a lone-parent family with a child attending university devoted over 20 per cent of its median income to tuition fees. After the four-year tuition fee freeze, that number had dropped to less than 15 per cent.
Request:
1. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting that all provincial political parties commit to implementing a fully-funded tuition fee freeze, should they form government. The fully-funded tuition fee freeze must last at least one year, which would allow time for the government to consult with students about what a long-term ‘tuition management system’ would entail.
Aboriginal Accessibility to Post-Secondary Education
Background:
· The Aboriginal population in Saskatchewan is growing quickly, and is predicted to be 32.5 per cent of the province’s population by 2045;
· By 2010 fewer than 10 per cent of First Nations and Métis adults reported a university degree, less than two-thirds the level for non-First Nations and Métis adults;
· The education gap of university completion between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people is growing every year;
· Currently there is no provincial system of grants targeted at Aboriginal students;
· The Post-secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) is funding less eligible students now than were funded in 1996 due to the arbitrary 2 per cent cap – in 1998-1999 27,000 students were enrolled in the program, but by 2008-2009 it had declined to 21,876;
· Over 10,000 First Nations students cannot attend post-secondary education due to a lack of PSSSP funding, 1,000 of which are in Saskatchewan;
· The First Nations University of Canada currently has no guarantee of long-term and sustainable funding.
Requests:
1. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting all political parties in Saskatchewan commit to working with students in lobbying the federal government to remove the arbitrary 2 per cent cap on the Post-secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP).
2. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting all political parties in Saskatchewan commit to establishing a provincial system of grants for post-secondary education targeted at Aboriginal students;
3. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting all political parties in Saskatchewan commit to guaranteeing long-term and sustainable funding from the province to the First Nations University of Canada.
Affordable Housing
Background:
· Among Canadian provinces, Saskatchewan has the largest proportion of students living distant from universities;
· 45 per cent of University of Regina students must find rental housing during the academic year;
· Since 2006, average rents in Regina have increased 43 per cent;
· The vacancy rate in Regina continues to be at, or below, 1 per cent;
· Price increases for utilities such as electricity (22 per cent) and water (46 per cent) increased more rapidly than the CPI over the last five years;
· In May of 2011, the University of Regina submitted a residence and childcare proposal to the Government of Saskatchewan; the proposal would add 608 residence beds and 180 childcare spaces;
· In August of 2011 the Government of Saskatchewan announced a new housing strategy, however the strategy makes no major provincial commitment to funding affordable housing.
Requests:
1. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting that all provincial political parties commit to immediately approving the funds needed for the University of Regina’s residence and childcare proposal.
2. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting that all provincial political parties commit to increasing the notice period for landlords regarding rent increases from six months to nine months, allowing more stability for students over the course of an academic year;
3. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting that all provincial political parties commit to funding structurally-diverse forms of affordable housing, such as higher-density secondary suites, townhouses, row houses, and apartment buildings.
4. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting that all provincial political parties commit to enacting provincial legislation that would prohibit any condo conversations when the local vacancy rate is below 3 per cent.
5. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting that all provincial political parties commit to introducing more incentives for energy-efficient dwellings.
Childcare
Background:
· Both of Saskatchewan’s universities experience long waiting lists for childcare;
· There are over 400 families on the childcare waiting list for a space at the University of Regina;
· While the provincial government has announced it will be creating additional childcare spots at the University of Saskatchewan, zero additional spots have been dedicated to the University of Regina or the City of Regina;
· Monthly fees at the two day cares on the University of Regina campus range from $440 to $605;
· Subsidies from the provincial government for low-income students do not come close to covering all childcare costs;
· Approximately 10 per cent of students at the University of Regina have young children.
Requests:
1. The University of Regina Students’ Union is requesting that all provincial political parties commit to immediately approving the funds needed for the University of Regina’s residence and childcare proposal.
2. That all provincial political parties commit to increasing the number of subsidized childcare spaces both on the University of Regina campus and generally in the City of Regina.
