Students are seen on campus at Medicine Hat College in this 2023 file photo. Officials at the college say this year budget will leave post-secondary students struggling finically.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
Officials at Medicine Hat College say this year’s budget doesn’t provide enough relief for university and college students who are facing increased costs in tuition fees and cost of living.
“I believe the 2023 budget, it was $1.2 billion, and this year it’s $1.3 billion for student loans, grants and everything else,” said Michael Doughty, co-ordinator of student financial aid at Medicine Hat College. “Our students are struggling and they need to know that the government is supporting them.”
Doughty says the number of students reaching out for emergency funding continues to increase year over year while the amount they receive for living expenses remains flat.
“I understand that there are lots of projects that need funding,” says Doughty. “But our students represent the future labour force of the province. If we’re not able to support them … they’re going to leave for other opportunities elsewhere.
“Our role at Medicine Hat College as a community college is to produce community members that can support our economy, and if our students are having to leave the province to find employment, that hurts Medicine Hat and southeastern Alberta.”
Doughty’s role with student financial aid allows him to work with a variety of students on campus, and he says he continues to witness students struggling to afford their education.
“It’s frustrating to see that look in their eyes when they come to us and they’re tapped out and they’re accessing the food bank and other community services,” explains Doughty. “We’re seeing some students that are starting a program and then they have to leave because they just can’t afford it.”
The province says this years post-secondary budget aids the development of more STEM programs on campuses to build a high-skilled workforce.
“Demand for skilled trades workers and graduates from STEM programs is projected to increase as our economy continues to grow and diversify,” said Minister of Advanced Education Rajan Sawhney. “That’s why Alberta’s government is making targeted investments in post-secondary institutions to create more opportunities for students in high-demand fields of study.”
However, Doughty says Medicine Hat College and other post-secondary institutions across the province want to see more support for the new students the province is attracting.
“We would have liked to see more in the way of grants or other incentives for students rather than just, ‘here’s more loan money that you have to repay with interest later on,'” says Doughty. “I sit on a group of financial aid people from around the province and these are some of the questions that we are posing in our meetings – when are our students going to see some relief?”
Under the 2024 budget the province is planning $55 million in capital funding to develop STEM programs at the University of Calgary, and $63 million to renovate and expand student space at Olds College.
NAIT will receive $43 million in capital funding over the next three years for a trades and technology learning facility, as well Red Deer Polytechnic will receive $13 million to create a new space to help businesses conduct applied research.
The province is also investing more than $10 million over the next three years to create additional mental health spaces in post-secondary institutions.
