<strong>Co-op students now eligible for tuition grant in fifth year</strong>
The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), launched the “30 per cent off tuition” program in 2012, but students were only eligible for this discount for four years.
Starting this year, co-operative education students in five-year programs are eligible for the 30-off Ontario Tuition Grant (OTG) for their entire program.
Adam Garcia, VP of administration for Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) and VP education for Feds, is very positive about the difference one additional year of discount can make.
“[The] Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance is pleased with this eligibility extension as it will enable co-op students to access additional non-repayable financial assistance in their final year of study, and makes post-secondary education more affordable as students near their transition to the labour force,” said Garcia in an OUSA press release Jan. 20.
Students who receive OSAP are automatically considered for the rebate. However, students who aren’t covered by OSAP can also apply so long as they are full-time students of satisfactory academic standing; a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person; been out of high school for four years or less; and have parents who have a combined income of $160,000 or less.
A complete list of criteria is available on the OSAP website.
<strong>STEP initiative brings new scheduling program to UW</strong>
Geoff McBoyle, vice-president academic and provost, announced via email that the Scheduling, Timetabling and Examination Project (STEP) has finished testing and will be going into production. STEP will introduce Infosilem, a Canadian scheduling software which integrates with Quest, to replace the former paper-based system.
The software is expected to reduce the number of scheduling conflicts, help ensure students get enrolled in the courses they need, and minimize space shortages. After three simulations, it will be going into circulation at UW in response to student demand.
Students will still be able to pre-select courses their courses, and the Registrar’s Office will be continuously collecting feedback and communicating with the Federation of Students to make updates to the system.
A university timetabling committee will also be created to maintain STEP over time, and will work in conjunction with the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Timetabling (PACT), which provides recommendations for policies related to scheduling classroom times and creating student timetables to the provost, to keep an eye on the project during the academic year.
