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Canadians believe strongly that finances should not be a barrier to post-secondary education (PSE). A spring 2006 public opinion poll conducted for the Canadian Council on Learning revealed an overwhelming majority (92%) feel the cost of higher education should not discourage qualified, motivated students from attending college or university. [1]
The strategic plans of many advanced education ministries across the country recognize the importance of accessible post-secondary education and training, and focus on ensuring that individual and societal demand can be met in a challenging environment of competing fiscal and policy priorities.
On a per-student basis, Canada has one of the highest levels of public investment among OECD countries. The program share of government expenditures devoted to PSE remained constant over the first half of the last decade, then trended upward in the last few years. However, increased funding has been outpaced by significant increases in tuition and other PSE costs over the same period. As a result, the relative share of PSE funding has shifted, with the increased share borne by individual students rising faster than the expenses of government.
Affordability appears to be a growing barrier to PSE access for many Canadians. The rising cost of tuition over the last decade, coupled with increases in the cost of living and other education-related expenses, has led to a doubling of student debt loads over the last 20 years. Today, roughly one in three graduates reports difficulty in repaying student loans. While student financial assistance has been reformed to address these rising costs and loans, debt levels remain a major impediment to PSE access, especially for low-income families and other under-represented groups that are debt averse.
To overcome this obstacle, Canada needs to understand better how and why affordability becomes a barrier to PSE access, and the impact of debt on PSE decisions, particularly by members of under-represented groups. This can be done through continued public opinion polling and surveys, and further analysis of new and existing data, such as up-to-date statistics on student debt from the National Graduate Survey.
Other jurisdictions are also exploring options to ensure their student financial assistance efficiently and effectively supports students who pursue PSE. Related issues often include level of student debt, repayment terms, interest rates for loans and whether loans should be income-contingent upon graduation. While Canada’s expenditures on tertiary education ranked second among OECD members in 2001 as a percentage of GDP, it will be important to monitor international trends and Canada’s future rankings as other countries begin to invest more heavily in PSE.
[1] Pacific Issues Partners (2006). Canadian Attitudes on Post-secondary Education: A Report for the Canadian Council on Learning. Ottawa: Canadian Council on Learning.
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