The provincial government is providing relief measures for post-secondary students and institutions in Ontario by deferring repayments on student loans, offering digital learning support and doling out $25 million to post-secondary institutions.
Sault Ste. Marie MPP, Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano says the six-month, interest-free deferral of provincial student loan repayment will also include a six-month suspension of loan collections.
Borrowers can still make one-time loan payments via their online accounts or online banking if they want to repay their loans faster. Payments made within the six-month moratorium will go entirely to their loan principal.
“I’m very happy that the federal government took similar action as well - we immediately started moving towards this, because I believe it was imperative to provide that relief to students, or a past or previous student, who would be having some serious challenges financially,” Romano said.
Ontario also struck a deal with eCampusOntario for digital learning supports, available in both English and French, for post-secondary institutions across the province.
Romano says that he needed a guarantee that student privacy and academic integrity concerns would be satisfied by student groups and the post-secondary sector at large.
“That service now guarantees integrity, guarantees privacy and will allow our students to be able to conclude the year, and not compromise their year,” he told SooToday. “To put this into perspective as an institution, if we had not taken this action as a government, as a ministry, the institutions would have been forced to find a way to do it on their own.”
“On an individualized basis, if they were to obtain even the same vendor that we obtained through the province, they would have been looking at spending anywhere from $30 to $50 per student, per hour, for exams.”
The provincial government also announced the $25 million cash infusion of emergency relief funding for Ontario’s post-secondary institutions in order to address concerns surrounding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Algoma University will receive $492,608 from the relief measure, while Sault College will receive $566,203.
“This is a great investment in our students and everything we’re doing to help our students complete their studies,” said Sault College President Dr. Ron Common in a press release issued Tuesday. “Our College has come together during the face of adversity to support our students and ensure they have the tools they need to succeed.”
“We are grateful to the Honourable Ross Romano and our government partner for their commitment to our students, for seeing the importance of supporting the post-secondary sector during this time, and for making an investment to promote continued success.”
The full version of the news release follows:
NEWS RELEASE
MINISTRY OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
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The government of Ontario is easing the financial burden on students and making sure they can complete their studies during the COVID-19 outbreak by temporarily deferring payments for Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) loans and making online learning supports, including year-end exams, available to postsecondary institutions.
“During this unprecedented period, it is important to help students and current borrowers, so students can continue with their studies and borrowers do not have to worry about making loan payments,” said Premier Ford. “Our government is doing everything it can to ensure our college and university students can take their exams and complete their school year while studying remotely.”
To support borrowers during this difficult period, loan repayments will be subject to a six-month interest-free moratorium until September 30, 2020. This means that during this time, borrowers will not be required to make any loan payments and interest will not accrue on their OSAP loans.
Borrowers can still make one-time payments via their online account or online banking if they want to repay their loans faster. Payments during this period will go entirely towards their loan principal.
“Students and their families make great sacrifices to attend postsecondary education and it is incumbent on us to do everything we can to ensure this academic year is not put in jeopardy,” said Minister Romano. “I want to thank our postsecondary institutions for their leadership in adopting alternative ways for students to study and take exams, while ensuring they practice physical distancing and stay safe.”
To ensure students can successfully complete the academic year, Ontario has finalized an agreement with eCampusOntario to make digital learning supports available to postsecondary institutions. These interim digital learning supports, available in both French and English, will provide publicly-assisted colleges and universities with the technology they need to conduct year-end assessments, while preserving student privacy and the integrity of academic assessment.
Ontario will work with other partners who may be interested in offering digital learning, such as Indigenous Institutes and private career colleges. Supports will be accessible on an as-needed basis and limited to those courses and programs where formal exams are required.
The province is also distributing $25 million in additional funding to publicly-assisted colleges, universities and Indigenous Institutes to help address each institution’s most pressing needs in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak such as deep cleaning, purchasing medical supplies or offering mental health supports.
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