Ontario govt. announce free post-secondary tuition for families making under $50k

[sureLoss]

Global News Toronto ‏@globalnewsto
BREAKING: Liberal government announce free tuition for post-secondary education for families making under $50,000

Grants will be available to families making less than $83k.

[polak]

I don't see how you can say that anyone over an imaginary line that has nothing to do with academics gets free post secondary while everyone else has to pay tens of thousands of dollars.

You either subsidize it for everyone or for no one or you base it on other factors like academic performance or something. Not just "you're poor, here you go"...

And I voted for him and like the idea of free tuition.

[FlamesAddiction]

I wish that was the case when I went to university.

I imagine there are going to be stringent academic benchmarks to get that benefit.

[Fuzz]

Holy crap that is gonna cost some money. Expect admissions requirements to get a lot tougher.

[sureLoss]

Apparently this is Ontario only. Not nationwide

[polak]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Apparently this is Ontario only.

Oh so this is the provincial government?

[Fuzz]

Oh, this is for Ontario. That would be a nice detail to include in the headline!

[Coach]

Originally Posted by polak

I don't see how you can say that anyone over an imaginary line gets free post secondary while everyone else has to pay tens of thousands of dollars.

You either subsidize it for everyone or for no one or you base it on other factors like academic performance or something. Not just "you're poor, here you go".

Completely agree. I am 100% for free post-secondary, but it should be so for everyone.

I wonder about people on the in-between. Ex. I am going back to school in the fall. I'm 26 and have been working since out of school. But my dad (who paid for my 1st degree) is well above these income-wise. Do I still count as "family" for these purposes?

EDIT: What in the blue f***!? Only Ontario? What is this BS?

EDIT#2: So it's only the Ontario Liberals, not the National Liberals? I guess that makes sense, since education is a provincial thing.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by polak

I don't see how you can say that anyone over an imaginary line that has nothing to do with academics gets free post secondary while everyone else has to pay tens of thousands of dollars.

You either subsidize it for everyone or for no one or you base it on other factors like academic performance or something. Not just "you're poor, here you go"...

And I voted for him and like the idea of free tuition.

Uhhh universities have their own admissions standards as far as academics go, and the cut off is because certain families don't need the subsidy. I'm curious to see who qualifies for this though. I live on my own and make less than $50k per year, would I count? How does it work for post-graduate studies?

[ken0042]

Define family? If I am 19 and living at home, does my parent's income count? What if I move out? What if I move out just after being accepted?

[takinghits]

I would have preferred if they just gave more grants/scholarships for those with good grades but good on Ontario for making post-secondary more affordable.

[polak]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Uhhh universities have their own admissions standards as far as academics go, and the cut off is because certain families don't need the subsidy. I'm curious to see who qualifies for this though. I live on my own and make less than $50k per year, would I count? How does it work for post-graduate studies?

Yeah I know they have their own admissions standards but I think subsidizing it based purely on income level alone is kinda messed up.

So if you make $55,000 a year you're expected to be able to pay for it all? like either introduce a staggered subsidy with income brackets or do it for everyone or pick another measurement.

[mrkajz44]

Is there a phase out provision, or just a bright line test? $50,200 is too much, but $49,800 is just fine?

Put me in the camp that I don't think post-secondary should be free. In my eyes post-secondary is an investment. You pay upfront to increase your future earnings over your lifetime. Not sure why some people should get a free pass on the upfront "fee" so to speak. This will just encourage more people to go to university for degrees that really don't have much value.

[Fuzz]

I believe someone in the Alberta thread was comparing Alberta's deficit to Ontario. I think Ontario just stepped up to the winner plate!

[Coach]

^^^ Says people under $83K will have available grants.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Completely agree. I am 100% for free post-secondary, but it should be so for everyone.

I wonder about people on the in-between. Ex. I am going back to school in the fall. I'm 26 and have been working since out of school. But my dad (who paid for my 1st degree) is well above these income-wise. Do I still count as "family" for these purposes?

EDIT: What in the blue f***!? Only Ontario? What is this BS?

There's no such thing as free, what you are advocating is I, and other taxpayers, pay for you to go to school.

I'm fine with that if it benefits me, you want to take a degree that the country needs I'm happy to pay for it, you want to take a degree we don't need and won't lead to a job you should pay for your own hobby.

[GGG]

In general I'm against free tuition. But if you were to do it it should be targeted at areas of economic need like the EI retraining programs and not just liberal arts programs.

I much prefer a student loan program. All schooling should increase employability such that it made economic sense to go.

This also completely ignores the fact that someone living at home vs someone who has to leave home to go to school. Student Load forgiveness upon completion based on income would be a much better way to go about this.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by polak

Yeah I know they have their own admissions standards but I think subsidizing it based purely on income level alone is kinda messed up.

So if you make $55,000 a year you're expected to be able to pay for it all? like either introduce a staggered subsidy with income brackets or do it for everyone or pick another measurement.

I think $50k is an incredibly low number to begin with, but I still like the idea of not subsidizing it for everyone. The financial burden on someone making less than $50k is obviously substantially more than someone making over $100k. I still don't know too many families who can afford to send their kids to university even at the $60k level.

[afc wimbledon]

I take it that we still don't care about plumbers or carpenters or sparkies, even though we need those skills way more than university grads.

[110%]

Why is this good exactly? Undergraduate degrees are not prohibitively expensive. Take a year or two off and save for it. Or god forbid, take out a student loan which is probably the most generous loan these people will ever receive in their lives at very low interest rates with interest that can be written down even further on your taxes.