The true cost of post-secondary education
Skyrocketing tuition leaves students struggling, writes George A. Davison.
B.C. is recognized throughout Canada for its quality of life. In fact, B.C. is in the top 20 per cent on most of the well-being indicators in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Better Life Index.
Without a doubt, some of that success is because our country’s education system supports an individual’s desire to have choices. As educators in B.C.’s colleges and universities, my colleagues and I facilitate people in developing skills, acquiring knowledge and expanding their horizons, whether they opt for plumbing, philosophy or physiotherapy. We support students, and we also support diversity and choice in programming because education helps communities and it improves society — it’s not a coincidence that Canada has the highest rate of adults who have post-secondary training among OECD countries at 55 per cent.
But we have a problem. We’re not taking care of our education system in B.C. There is rust and there are cracks. I genuinely wish the mentality of ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps,’ ‘keep your head down and work hard’ were enough, but they’re not. Here’s why: Tuition has skyrocketed, many students hold multiple jobs but can’t make ends meet and the average student debt is $35,000.
The toll is steep, and it’s more than financial: 65 per cent of students have felt overwhelming anxiety; and 44 per cent have felt so depressed that they’ve had difficulty functioning, according to a 2016 report by the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services.
Students are struggling, and we need to be talking about it. These are the people who will propel our province’s economy. Study after study shows that education and income are correlated. Education is a path to jobs. It follows that public policy should support education, because if more people are employed and earning higher wages, they’ll contribute more. But our province has been chronically underfunding education, using a lens that is shortsighted and biased.
Sadly, the B.C. government is failing students and families.
Today, the province collects 400 per cent more tuition revenue than it did in 2002, and funding has been reduced by 20 per cent due to inflation and downloaded costs. How is this public policy benefiting families in B.C.?
Access has also got harder, especially for students who need to upgrade classes to qualify for entry. In 2014, the B.C. government removed the tuition-free mandate for high school upgrading (adult basic education). As a result, public institutions are charging up to $1,600 per term, and the number of students enrolled has dropped by 10 to 35 per cent. Adult basic education is a recognized pathway to postsecondary education, and the province acknowledges that post-secondary training is required for nearly 80 per cent of future jobs. How does this public policy help people get a foot in the door and work toward earning a living wage?
The struggle of postsecondary students in B.C. may be somewhat under the radar, but I can assure you it’s real and important. As a society, it’s our responsibility to keep post-secondary education affordable, but to do that we need a province with a plan to ensure students can access the classes they need close to home, and cost is contained — and that can be done. There’s no tuition in Scandinavian countries, Germany, Scotland or in community colleges in San Francisco. Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and New Brunswick have recently introduced policies to encourage participation in post-secondary education.
To sum up, good public policy prioritizes education; it ensures doors are open to post-secondary training. It focuses on reducing barriers so people can succeed in today’s economy — with the tools, training and knowledge they’re looking for. Unfortunately, the B.C. government has been closing doors to post-secondary education, and failing students for too many years.
Elections are about choices and about visions for how we want to make our province better for the people who live here. On May 9, we need to elect a government that will invest in people.
The struggle of post-secondary students in B.C. may be somewhat under the radar, but I can assure you it’s real and important. George A. Davison, Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of B.C.