The Commerce Times

OSAP vs. student

This article was supposed to be about how Student Financial Assistance is helping students. Not so. Research and interviews have turned it into the opposite; financial aid services and OSAP are proving of little service to students strapped for cash.

Fall admissions and enrolment are up, so the good news is more students than ever are part of the Ryerson community. The bad news, only those with cash in their wallets can stay. In theory financial aid services are in place to help students focus on their classes instead of trying to balance jobs, living expenses and added stress in their lives. However, many students who applied have found that the financial aid they qualify for is limited, while others have been turned down.

“I had no choice but to work. And when I did they used it against me! OSAP reduced my funds on the basis that now I had an income,” says Roman Kunin, a third-year finance student. “I don’t even deal with them now; it’s not worth it.”

Kunin’s issues with OSAP began in his first year when he applied for funding while living in close proximity to his mom. He applied for funding as an independent student, as his mom did not have the means to financially support him. But OSAP turned him down. Their basis: he lived too close to home.

“I was independent, but they didn’t recognize me as independent because I lived within 40 km of my mom. They treated me as if I lived with my mom, so I received less funding and had to work,” he says.

Another third-year student, majoring in entrepreneurship, has also been battling with OSAP since first year. The student, who wishes to remain anonymous, was left unsure how to pay the rest of the $5000 owing in tuition fees after OSAP gave them only $750. Two jobs and taking out a loan was their only option.

“I had virtually no financial help in first and second year short of my own,” the student says.

In order to pay their tuition, the student was faced with balancing 35 hours of work a week on top of a six-course load.

“Every second I wasn’t at Ryerson, I was working. My GPA suffered, but what could I do,” the student shrugs.

When the student brought their case to the Student Financial Assistance Center, they explained that they were not receiving enough OSAP funding and were struggling to keep up with work and school. The student was told, too bad, nothing could be done for them; OSAP determines how much money is allotted.

“The purpose is to supplement, not to replace, the financial resources that a student and their family, if applicable, are expected to contribute. It is not the purpose of student financial assistance to supply all the assistance a student may need to meet educational and living costs,” says Carole Scrase, Manager of Student Financial Assistance.

Ouch. For students with cases like Kunin, whose “contribution” is a 40 hour work week, those words equate to a death sentence.

It’s survival of the fittest and the grace of winning scholarships and bursaries that keeps many students alive. The good news is that this fall there are unique opportunities that students losing the battle against OSAP should seize. In August, President Levy announced an allocated $2 million, including $800,000 for student bursaries, to guarantee all endowed bursaries, scholarships, awards, and academic chairs.

“No qualified student should be denied access to a Ryerson education because of economic need,” said Levy.

Although Ryerson has increased the amount of scholarship opportunities, there are a few holes where students are slipping through the system. First, the only way to access this valuable information is online; the Student Financial Aid office directs students to a link to answer questions. Secondly, scholarships aren’t available to everyone, and they still don’t amount to the coverage that OSAP provides. And finally, in order to qualify for a Ryerson bursary, you must not have already qualified for OSAP.

President Levy has great plans for Ryerson, however some students are finding themselves all on their own in the middle of financial no-man’s land. So much for an oasis of aid; it doesn’t exist.