Provincial average is $34,000, compared to national average of $24,000

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BY NICK MOORE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

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For four years, Julie Middleton has been one of the lucky ones.

Middleton, from Allison, near Salisbury, is a fourth-year student at St. Thomas University in Fredericton who isn't carrying any debt from her post-secondary education -- thus far. But that could soon change.

When she finishes her undergrad degree she plans to complete an education program. Weighing all her options, and her goal of becoming self-sufficient from her parents, she knows continuing on her educational journey will include needing to get a loan of some kind.

"I don't make enough during the summer to pay for it on my own so I'm going to have to do something else to pay for tuition," she said.

Middleton said she expects her loan needs to tally about $12,000, covering tuition, books and other living expenses. The 21-year-old student said she's worried about borrowing after hearing stories from friends who already carry thousands of dollars' worth of debt after four years.

"I definitely don't want that because one day I want the money I have to be mine and not debt."

While debt may be an inevitable part of her future plans, Middleton favours completing her education degree in New Brunswick, which would put her in an even more compromised position, according to Duncan Gallant.

"New Brunswick has the highest debt load after a four-year program," said Gallant, president of the New Brunswick Student Alliance. "$34,000 is the student debt load in New Brunswick compared to the national average of $24,000."

Gallant said students in the province have larger debts in part because the government hasn't been doing enough to lessen the burden compared to other jurisdictions. Instead, Gallant said the province is offering programs and initiatives that keep debt from rising, making them stay consistent.

For Gallant, that should just be the beginning of the battle.

"The status-quo is really the worst thing New Brunswick could be maintaining at this point," he said. "There's no long-term planning, we would argue, for how students could afford going to post-secondary education."

One thing the Alliance is pushing the government to do is enact an $6,000-per-year debt cap on student loans, with any additional money paid out to be considered a non-repayable grant. Gallant said this would bring the provincial debt load closer to the national average and also give a guarantee on how high a student's debt load could go.

"That's a great warranty for the province to tell students, that we will guarantee you to have a manageable student loan that's much more manageable than it is now," said Gallant.

Sheri Strickland, spokeswoman for the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, said the government is listening to several recommendations from student groups.

"A debt cap is one of many issues for students and the department is open to hearing student's concerns," she said. "The department has been meeting with student representatives who have clearly articulated their concerns. In fact, one of the minister's first tasks on his first day in office was to personally contact student leaders across the province to show support for student concerns and to build an important relationship with the student community."

Dalhousie-Restigouche East MLA Donald Arseneault was appointed minister of post-secondary education this week.

"Currently, any measures with financial implications will have to be looked at in the context of the next budget year," said Strickland.

She said the government has several initiatives in place addressing student debt, including a tuition freeze at all New Brunswick universities and community colleges for the 2008-09 academic year; the continuation of the $2,000 benefit for first-time university students in 2008-09; the removal of parental and spousal income from assessments for provincial student loan funding; and a commitment to develop a new program to provide $2,500 each year (totalling $10,000 for four years) to students in under-represented groups.

Gallant said he didn't want to put these initiatives down, but maintained that they do little to alleviate students' heavy debt burden.

"It's sort of a prescription for stopping things from getting worse," he said. "It's not sustainable for New Brunswick to keep this program in place."

Strickland said the government has made a commitment to look at other ways to limit student debt for the 2009-10 academic year and beyond.