On Wednesday, July 15, minister of advanced education, skills and training Melanie Mark announced new supports for post-secondary students studying in BC at a press conference held from Camosun College’s Interurban campus.
Mark announced an investment of $1.5 million to 20 public post-secondary institutions in BC for supports for students with disabilities; this amounts to $75,000 for each college, including Camosun. This money will go toward supports for students with cognitive or physical disabilities or mental-health struggles.
Mark also announced that 25 new textbooks are available through BC’s open textbook collection; Mark said that this will include free math, trades, business, and design, textbooks, and a book in Cree.
As of this morning, students can apply to StudentAid BC to access to a new, non-repayable BC Access Grant, which was announced in early March. Students who apply for student aid will automatically be assessed for the grant, which will give them up to $4,000 a year, depending on the length of their program. More than 40,000 low- and middle-income students will have access to the grant.
The federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada also recently announced COVID-19 supports for international students.
Key features of the new supports include priority study-permit processing for those who have submitted a complete application online, the ability for students to count time spent taking online classes abroad toward their eligibility for a post-graduation work permit (at least 50 percent of their program has to be completed in Canada), and a temporary two-stage approval process for students taking programs online who are unable to submit necessary documentation for the processing of their applications.
International students generate over $21 billion in economic activity in Canada, according to the federal government.