OSAP changes frustrate students

By April Lawrence

Krystal Robinson (right), a community justice service worker student, talks to Financial Aid Advisor Dawn Price about concerns with her Ontario Student Assistance Program loan. Photo by April Lawrence.

Many Loyalist students are worried that they will not receive their Ontario Student Assistance Program loans quick enough to help their financial conditions.

Students are concerned about how things are working, Laura Russell a financial aid advisor at Loyalist College said.

The financial aid office has been giving emergency loans and bookstore vouchers to help with the gap students will have with the delay in receiving their loans. Students have expressed concerns with the uncertainty and indefinite timelines given by the new process.

“It’s been confusing, and it’s frustrating moving from Oshawa to here and trying to sort out all this OSAP stuff,” said Joe Walsh a child and youth worker student.

Other students echoed his concerns with the new process and the time it has taken for them to receive their loans.

The Ontario Student Assistance Program has created a new process called OSAP Express in an attempt to get students their loans faster.

Russell said this new process has been in theworks for years and has just finally come into use. The process requires students to take a master student financial assistance agreement to a designated postal service, before their enrollment can be confirmed and their loan directly deposited into their bank account.

The express process will not require students to stand in line to sign loan agreement papers at the beginning of each semester.  Students now only have to sign a loan agreement once in their entire post-secondary studies.

In an attempt to make the process move more smoothly, Loyalist College worked to have their electronic connection with the Ontario Student Assistance Program office in Thunder Bay, but the system is not working said Russell. Due to the electronic system not functioning properly, the financial aid staff at Loyalist has to manually confirm each student’s enrollment and send it to Thunder Bay. The enrollment confirmation then has to go through the main office in Thunder Bay, making the process of receiving loans take longer than was expected.

“We’re still trying to get it all worked out. It will hopefully be quicker in January but I can make no guarantees,” said Russell.

In an academic year a student can receive up to $12, 240 from the Ontario Student Assistance Program. A student’s debt is capped at $7, 300 for a two term academic year. Loans are interest free during the school year and the first six months after study is finished.