Camosun College gets BC provincial funding for Aboriginal learners

In late June, the BC government announced that they were investing $4.4 million in postsecondary institutions in 2013. The money will go towards programs and other activities that improve Aboriginal students’ experiences at universities and colleges across the province. Eleven institutions received the funding, including Camosun.

The funding will go towards supporting postsecondary institutions’ work with Aboriginal communities, institutes, and organizations, according to a BC government press release. The goal is to develop and deliver culturally relevant courses, programs, and supports to help Aboriginal learners’ education and employment goals.

“Our government is committed to ensuring that Aboriginal learners can succeed in a postsecondary system that is integrated, relevant, and effective,” says BC Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation minister John Rustad. “By facilitating and encouraging access to postsecondary education and training programs, Aboriginal communities and postsecondary institutions will play an important role in meeting BC’s labour market needs, and in supporting the BC Jobs Plan.”

Tony Nelson, Aboriginal education and community connections admissions and enrolment facilitator at Camosun College, says the funding is good news but would like to see an emphasis on long-term instead of short-term.

“That way real work and real plans can be made to truly embark on building a program that can truly reflect the retention and education goals that this college so desperately wants to put forward,” he says.

Nelson says that one-off funding is helpful but has an inherent short-sightedness attached to it when it comes to larger goals for Aboriginal learners.

“Providing one-off funding or in three year blocks just isn’t going to cut it, because nobody can plan beyond three years,” he says. “Why would you want to build up a whole infrastructure for something that could go away in one or two or three years, if that funding is based on the will of the day, so to speak? If governments and institutions really want to be serious about Aboriginal recruitment and retention, then they need to come up with long-term strategies, and the government has to pony up the funds.”

Some feel the funding may be good news, but it doesn’t address larger issues. Simka Marshall, Camosun student and Aboriginal students liaison for the Canadian Federation of Students-BC, says it’s definitely good to see money going into Aboriginal programs, but the government should be focusing on making sure Aboriginal students can get into school in the first place.

“I definitely think it’s good to see money going into these existing programs,” says Marshall, “and it is a big amount of money that’s going into these services that support our Aboriginal learners. That’s really important, because it is really challenging being an Aboriginal student in postsecondary. The one thing about this action the provincial government is taking is that it doesn’t actually address the issue of access to postsecondary education for Aboriginal students, and it doesn’t ensure that students who are already in postsecondary school have continued access to that education.”

Marshall says that removing the two percent annual cap on expenditure increases that the Postsecondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) has would be a big step towards improving access. The program assists First Nation and Inuit students with funding; Marshall says if that cap were gone, it would be a great step to providing access. She says the other thing that would improve access would be lower tuition fees.

“Reducing tuition fees is the only thing that will increase access and remove some of those barriers,” she says.

Shayli Robinson, Camosun College Student Society First Nations director, agrees with Marshall. She says the funding is “progress” and a “small step in the right direction.” But she too feels that more needs to be done, particularly in regards to removing the PSSSP cap, which she feels is “unacceptable” to even have today.

“I can’t speak for all the institutions, but I feel it to be a positive move,” says Robinson about the funding. “However, it is not enough, and I feel the government may be trying to take attention away from the PSSSP.”

Nelson agrees with Marshall that lowering tuition fees is part of the larger picture surrounding issues of access.

“That’s part and parcel with everything,” he says. “If tuition fees are a barrier to coming to school like they are for a lot of people, then some of the most disadvantaged portions of the population, by logical extension, are not going to be able to come to school.”