How it’ll impact us and what we’re doing
The Students’ Law Society
On January 17th, the Provincial Government announced major policy changes to the Tuition Fee Policy governing Ontario Universities. The proposed policy changes will come into force in September of 2019, remaining in effect for the coming two academic years. Some details of the policy changes are still emerging and it appears that the Provincial Government may still be drafting parts of the proposed ministerial policy or legislation.
Changes to the Tuition Framework will:
- Impact university funding: The policy reduces tuition for all Ontario Universities by 10% and freezes tuition at this level for two years. However, the Province has not increased provincial funding to universities for roughly a decade. With no Provincial funding increase, the 10% drop in tuition fees will mean a reduction in the University’s total funds available for services and programs.
- Changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)
- Changes to the structure of OSAP: Under the old policy, students received substantial sums of money in the form of grants. The new policy requires all OSAP disbursements to include both a loan and a grant component and decreases the overall amount of the grant. The policy also abolishes the low-income free tuition program.
- Removes the Six-Month Grace Period for Interest Compounding on Loans: The old policy gave new graduates a six-month grace period during which loans would not accrue interest. Under the new policy, interest begins to accrue immediately following graduation.
- Raises the number of years a student must wait from high school to be considered independent from four to six. This means that parental income will be deemed for law students who apply to law school directly out of undergraduate or after a one year graduate program/one year work.
- Make the payment of all non-tuition fees optional: This is part of a “Student Choice Initiative” with an exception carved out for health and wellness, walksafe, and counselling programs.
The Students’ Law Society (SLS) is closely tracking Provincial policy developments and will provide updates to students as soon as possible. So far, we have been focused on information gathering, building bridges with similarly impacted organizations, and contingency planning.
1. 10% Tuition Decrease
How it will impact the law school:
The 10% tuition reduction will apply to Canadian residents and remain frozen at this level for two years. The Province has not matched this reduction with access to additional resources for the University. Universities and faculties must find a way to offset costs on their own.
We have real concerns that this dramatic change in funding will have immediate impacts on the financial health of the law school. The law school already runs an annual structural deficit. Careful planning will be necessary to either mitigate or prevent the negative effects of a sudden reduction of tuition on the services and programs offered by the Law School.
What is SLS doing right now?
We have been in close conversation with other student governments at U of T, community groups, and alumni to get a sense of how these changes will impact our school. We are in conversation with the law school about how these changes will affect us. We will continue to advocate for students’ best interests throughout the course of this change and do our best to ensure that this change does not ultimately devalue the student experience at U of T law.
2. Changes to OSAP
How it will impact the law school:
a. Changes to OSAP structure
It is unclear how deep an impact this change will have on the OSAP received by law students. Given the shift from grants to loans, it will mean that a greater number of law students will graduate with a greater amount of debt. Cuts to OSAP may also increase the number of students who take out private loans. We are concerned that this change will increase economic stress for law students.
The changes to OSAP could also impact the law school’s financial aid system. If students receive less OSAP, this will increase the total amount of unmet need.
b. Removal of the Six-Month Grace Period on Loans
Law students will be particularly negatively impacted by the removal of the six-month grace period on loans. Under the new policy, interest will begin to accrue on OSAP loans immediately after graduation, which typically occurs during articling. Since the interest will accrue on students’ entire OSAP amount, the interest will be at its peak. This will have an especially negative impact on law students who are paid a lower salary during articles.
c. Raise in the number of years from 2-4 years
This means that students that apply to law school directly after undergraduate or one year after undergraduate will still be considered dependent students and have their parental income deemed in calculating eligibility for OSAP. This will bar currently eligible law students from OSAP. This will particularly impact students that are ineligible for the law school’s financial aid.
Overall, this will substantially limit the loan resources that students can access. It is unclear if this program will be grandfathered so that current 1Ls and 2Ls will be able to continue accessing OSAP.
What is SLS doing right now?
We are working with other law schools in Ontario to work out the extent of the impact on law students. We are collecting information with other law schools that will help us advocate to the Provincial Government, as well as ensure that students are properly informed about the severity of the impact.
The current OSAP calculator does not yet reflect the province’s changes. We understand that students may have questions about how this policy will impact their personal finances. We are working hard to get accurate figures concerning the impact on OSAP.
3. Optional Fees
How it will impact the law school:
We expect the government’s proposal to make all non-tuition fee payments optional will include student government fees. If this is true, SLS fees will likely become optional. SLS understands that law school is an enormous financial burden and that students may choose to opt out of student fees to save costs.
The SLS budget currently funds student clubs’ events, panel lunches, Halloween, Law Ball, O-Week, and intramurals. These activities are all paid for or subsidized by SLS’s mandatory student fee. Making the SLS fee optional will have real consequences for how SLS and student clubs operate within the law school.
This change will also impact wider services offered at U of T. For instance, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) administers the University-wide health and dental plan, in addition to providing various services that assist clubs at the law school.
What is SLS doing right now?
We are working closely with other student governments to understand the depth and degree of this policy’s expected impact. We will continue to work closely with the law school administration and with U of T Central in order to ensure that the implementation of this policy prioritizes student needs.
We will be discussing these changes in our upcoming meetings. To discuss these points further, we encourage students to attend these meetings, contact us by email, and attend the SLS Student Experience Townhall on Thursday, January 31st at lunchtime in J140.
