Bachelor of Commerce (Digital Marketing) - Postsecondary ...

A. Government Issues
A.1 Government Issues (cont’d)
For the past many years, Ontario colleges have experienced steady growth in enrolment.
Demographers caution however that with the recent onset of a smaller birth cohort moving
through post-secondary, enrolment will begin to flatten around 2013. After 2013, the Ontario
College Application Service (OCAS) forecast predicts enrolment will consistently decline in
Northern and Eastern regions of the province, decline and then largely stabilize (flatten again) in
Southwestern Ontario, and have some likelihood of growing in the GTA area. Once the age
structure is taken into account (and participation rates are held constant) Statistics Canada
predicts a decline in post-secondary enrolment in Canada lasting from 2016 - 2031. Across
Canada during this same period for instance, the enrolment level for all 17 - 29 year olds is
expected to decline by over 90,000, with over 60,000 of this decline coming from the 20 - 24
age group. Given these challenges, colleges intent on growing enrolment will need to sharpen
recruitment and retention processes, capitalize on new market opportunities, and constantly
align program offerings to student demand and labour market change.
Access to Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training
The proposed Ontario Budget, introduced to the Ontario Legislature on March 27, 2012,
followed on the completion of the College Budget. Once an Ontario Budget is passed, and its
impacts upon the College are more fully understood, amendments to the College Budget may
be required.
The Ontario Budget 2012 proposed the introduction of the Ontario Tuition Grant (OTG) which
affords part- and full-time students (who have been out of secondary school for less than four
years and whose parents earn $160,000 or less) 30 percent off of their tuition. College students
in a degree program can receive a tuition grant of $1,600 a year, while those in a certificate or
diploma program can receive $730 per year. The OTG does not however advantage non-direct
students who have been out of secondary school for more than four years. These students,
many of whom are more mature, have dependent responsibilities, and already carry significant
debt, do not qualify. This very group is disproportionately represented in the Fanshawe
catchment relative to the rest of the college system.
To fund the OTG, beginning in 2012/13, funding for the Ontario Textbook and Technology Grant
and Ontario Trust for Student Support will be eliminated. In addition, the Queen Elizabeth II
Aiming for the Top Scholarship will be phased-out over three years so that the current students
will not lose funding. No new Queen Elizabeth II scholarships will be awarded in 2012/13.
Additional student financial assistance changes in the proposed Budget include The Ontario
Special Bursary Program and the Ontario Work Study Program. Colleges and universities are
expected to finance these programs from the savings that will be achieved in the Tuition Set
Aside Fund as a result of the OTG reducing the unmet financial needs of students.
In its proposed Budget, the Provincial Government committed to continue to promote
apprenticeship completion to increase Ontario’s supply of skilled workers. New apprenticeship
measures will include: introducing technical literacy and numeracy support and expanding
examination supports; re-designing the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) and Pre-
Apprenticeship Program to enhance effectiveness; addressing barriers to entry to programs by
key groups (aboriginal peoples, youth and women); and reviewing the effectiveness of the
Ontario Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit. The Government would also maintain funding of
$251 million in 2012/13 to serve 12,000 participants in the Second Career program.
- 3 -