Vancouver Island University has waived tuition for seven former children-in-care as it becomes the first post-secondary school in B.C. to cover fees for ex-wards of the state.
University president Ralph Nilson said the seven students are enrolled in a variety of programs, including criminology, humanities, social work and health care.
A number of them are in the second or third year of an undergraduate degree. Most are in their late 20s, Nilson said. “That’s, I think, an indication of the challenge they have getting to post-secondary when they don’t have any other kinds of support,” he said.
The recipients of the tuition waivers have been “very, very appreciative” and some have offered to mentor students coming behind them, Nilson said.
“They all have been willing to say, ‘I’ve learned a lot of things and I can help others, so that people don’t have to learn the way I had to learn.’ ”
The university announced the pilot project in August in response to a challenge from Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the province’s representative for children and youth. With the fall semester just a few weeks away, officials concentrated on helping students already enrolled.
“But we’ve got inquiries from people who would like to come in January and [next] September,” said Dan Hurley, executive director of university relations. “That’s where we really want to focus — on all those students who weren’t even thinking about it or were wavering because of the financial aspect.”
Eligible students must be at least 18 or be turning 18 in the 2013-14 school year. They have to be accepted at the university, demonstrate financial need and be recommended by a child and family service agency.
The school is hoping to find partners willing to help with the cost of students’ books, housing and work-study programs.
The University of B.C. recently approved a similar fee waiver, and the University of Victoria is considering one.
Turpel-Lafond said the numbers of students able to take advantage of the program may be limited by the quality of education children in care receive in the K-12 system.
“In fact, in the past four years, not a single child in care enrolled in and completed pre-calculus mathematics 12, which is a requirement for almost any science and technology program in a post-secondary institution in B.C.,” she told a legislative committee.
NDP critic David Eby said the government should roll out a provincewide program.
“It’s inevitable that other schools are going to pick this up, I think, because they want to make a difference, too,” he said. “But it’s going to lead to a wide patchwork of application and verification processes that’ll just be more barriers to these kids being able to access an education.”
Ontario announced this year that it was partnering with all of the province’s universities and a third of the colleges to offer free tuition for former children-in-care to a maximum of $6,000 a year. Former wards between 21 and 24 also qualify for $500 a month in living expenses while attending a post-secondary school
B.C. Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk said he wants to see what happens at VIU before committing to a provincewide program. “They’re going to be our test model in terms of what support systems work, what support systems are needed, and from that I can do a fulsome analysis of what’s needed across the province,” he said.
