Woes of a Student

FINALLYYYyyyy

2006-05-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

So I made it. I graduated with honours like I wanted, but it cost me. I was staying up all night some nights and not eating properly because I didn't have time to cook, so I ended up with pneumonia right before our final portfolio show... I also had to pack and move from Toronto to London with pnemonia -- great fun! I honestly believe that if there hadn't been a strike, my immune system wouldn't have gotten so worn down and I wouldn't have gotten pneumonia. It started out as a throat cold, but my body couldn't handle it.

But enough about that -- I'm FREEEEEEeee!!! I'm working full-time now for Pictures in Motion and I couldn't love it more! Next week I'm actually going to a National Trade Show in Quebec City... so yeah, I made it!

I guess that's it for this blog because I'm no longer a student. Should anyone wanna contact me, my email is amymahon@rogers.com

Peace out!
:)

I love how as soon as the strike's over, nobody reads this anymore.

2006-04-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well if they read it, they certainly don't comment / email / offer support anymore :(. Did you think my worries were gone because the strike was over?

So the students, who didn't decrease the quality of education, who didn't vote for a strike, who didn't agree to raise tuition, who PAID for three weeks of missed class are now paying for it again, big-time... In some of my classes, none of the curriculum was taken out. We have to meet our "learning objectives" so they crammed 7 weeks into 4. I had a project worth 50% of my mark assigned 6 days before it was due.

School is no longer a positive place. Every time I'm there, all I can think of is finishing and moving out of stupid Toronto. I used to love the program I'm in, but it's gotten too stressful. I feel like I can't finish all my assignments to the best of my ability because I don't have time.

My boyfriend, on why school is not a happy place for him:
When I had to come here [Fanshawe] in the summer 2 years ago we had 7 weeks, then a one week break, and then 7 more weeks. So we had different teachers for the second half of the classes so that the teachers could get an 8 week vacation on top of spring break, Christmas, etc.

I had an A in [class] with [teacher] and a B in [class] with [teacher]. Then for the second half, this guy [name taken out] took over both those classes and I ended up with two Ds. He basically ruined everyone's Fanshawe experience.

When I did my co-op, I learned [program] in like 3 days, even though like 12 out of 20 people failed the class we had on it. I learned more at co-op than I have in 3 years of school, and that's why I hate it.

Midterms - 85% average

2006-04-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

AVIS 308 Digital Video - 73%
AVIS 325 Digital Compositing - 100%
AVIS 400 Work Experience Fieldwork - 95%
AVIS 410 Streaming Media Technologies - 80%
AVIS 450 Portfolio Development - 86%
SOCI 036 Issues In Crime - 78%

You might think I have nothing to worry about for finals, but I can't help it. I feel like all my marks are going to slip for finals because I don't have adequate time to complete projects assigned.

I have 2 huge projects for AVIS 410 that I haven't even been assigned yet!!! One of them is now worth 50% of my mark and due on the 17th, 6 days from now. I am almost in tears about another project that I need help with... I have an essay to write and a portfolio show to prepare for. I'm moving in 18 days. I don't need this stress!!! I bet you any money I won't make honour roll.

Sent to me by a peer

2006-04-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Dear [teacher],

As your e-mail implies, there are due dates in which we must comply that occur this week or very early of next week. However, there are a few things that should be considered.

As you know, there was a strike which took 3 weeks out of school time. Three weeks which parted the students from their teachers and for any help needed on a project, assignment, or for general information, we were not allowed to use. Teachers were not allowed to participate in any communication between students regarding homework or projects that have been assigned before the strike.

Teachers, through those 3 weeks, were told they are not allowed to work. However, as e-mails continued going around, a phrase that stuck in my mind states: "It is for your best interest if you continue to work on assignments and projects which have been assigned." I'm sorry, but did I miss something? I thought teachers were on a strike and didn't have to work. They were not allowed to communicate with their students who may of had a question or concern they wanted an answer to. If teachers were not allowed to work, why should the students? Where is the justice behind that?

As you see, and I know I'm not the only student thinking this, the thought going through many heads is as follows:

If teachers do not have to work during those 3 weeks of striking, why should the students? Teachers should not be allowed to assign due dates on the first week back. Seeing as it is already Wednesday at the time of this e-mail, Friday, being just around the corner, is 2 days away. Two days for groups to film their Continuity project. This is NOT enough time for a group to put together a decent video of which they can be proud of.

The excuse, "You should have worked on it during the strike period" does not suffice in any concern brought up. This excuse, and may I be honest here, is childish. One which is the only thing teachers try to use, but there are always countercomments the students could use. One like the one mentioned above about teachers not working, so students don't have to either.

Students were screwed in this situation whether they liked it or not. It's something we're going to have to accept, and work around. However, it is unjust and unfair for teachers to assign a due date for projects in the first week or at the very earliest, a few days into the next week. The difference would be quite noticeable between any group that took the time to do it and decided to film the project before against those who now only have 2 days to complete.

I hope that the thoughts portrayed in this e-mail are evident. To my understanding, Management would dislike it if students were to appeal any mark they receive because of the strike, which students have the right to do.

Students are just as concerned about their marks and the rest of the school year just as much as the teachers say they are, so is it justified to assign due dates within the same week that school returns? So far, a few teachers have said it shouldn't be done because of what the students "could do".

I wholeheartedly agree with this student. Since being back to class, I started and finished a midterm project and an essay, been assigned 2 projects (one worth 50% of my final mark), and been expected to have one project completed (over the strike break).

Students don't even know our midterm marks yet, and we won't until next week. There is so much pressure on us right now... I can't even believe it!

Shorter Semester by 3 weeks = STRESS

2006-03-31T07:20:00.000-08:00

I know that this time is stressful for both students and teachers alike, but not cutting any of the curriculum and instead concentrating the material doesn't help any either. I know I paid for a quality education and it's important to finish out my learning outcomes for each course, but you have NO IDEA how much work this means.

I recieved an email today from a teacher saying:

It would appear that even though there was plenty of opportunity to [complete] the project and to think and plan towards the final project over the strike, a number of you elected not to do so.

It's a good thing that I worked on my final project for the class, but I was unsure about the smaller project because I didn't know how long the strike would be and if any of the projects would be scaled down.

Basically the email said that even though teachers were on strike and therefore not-working, I was expected to work and complete projects as per original due dates even though I recieved no emails prior to or during the strike confirming that. I have a billion things due next week and I'm pretty sure that I'll be as stressed as I am now until the end of the semester.

Not only that, but I have to pack and move, too. Finding an apartment was a time investment in itself, but now I have to paint over the lime-green walls and get all my crap out of my parents house and into there over the next 4 weeks.

I just don't know how everything I have to do is going to be physically possible. I see a lot of sleepless nights ahead.

McGuinty's got some dough to spend! $7 billion for social programmes

2006-03-24T12:48:00.000-08:00

Some good news: Federal government is picking up McGuinty's slack...

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2006/23/c5406.html
Students were shocked today to learn that the McGuinty government has received a written guarantee from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to flow nearly $7 billion in federal transfer payments to Ontario over the next six years to fund social programmes like housing and post-secondary education, in addition to the $2.25 billion surplus the government realised in the current fiscal year.

"According to the Budget documents, at least $750 million in federal funding is allocated to higher education between 2007-2009," said Jesse Greener, Ontario Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "This is more than enough money to reduce tuition fees, hire more staff and faculty and begin to address building maintenance and repairs."

"Despite the cash injection from the federal government, the financial plan set out in last year's Ontario Budget and reiterated this year hasn't increased by even one cent," said Greener. "In effect, the federal government is picking up the tab for the first two years of Premier McGuinty's Reaching Higher Plan and students are paying for their own student aid programme
through tuition fee hikes."

And I also like the Toronto Sun Editorial today:

http://torontosun.com/Comment/Commentary/2006/03/24/1502879.html
Yesterday's Ontario budget revealed the Liberals this year raked in $3 billion more than anticipated in higher tax revenues and lower debt charges. But instead of using this windfall to cut taxes or eliminate the deficit, the premier is shovelling much of it out the door for pie-in-the-sky infrastructure projects.

What I'd like to know is, did they have any idea that there was $2.25 billion, and if so, it's really unfortunate that I have had three weeks off when the government could have easily paid for the hiring of some teachers...

In Response to:

2006-03-24T07:42:00.000-08:00

Before you complain about education costs in Canada, look up what a similar program to ours would cost at an American college and univeristy.

Dude, I already know that Humber international students have to pay close to double the tuition that I do and the only way I would ever, ever go to an American college would be if it was on full scholarship. Point is, I'm NOT going to school in the states-- I'm going to school here, and there is no denying that the quality of education has diminished while the cost has gone up. THAT's why I'm frustrated and that's why I'm writing this blog.

How would you like it if you were 2 months away from graduating, moving out of your parents' house and starting your full-time job but you got caught in the middle of a labour dispute. All the living expenses you're paying and tuition you've paid in exchange for sitting around the house hoping that the two parties will at least meet and try to come to a resolution. It was a day short of two weeks before they even hit the table... Two weeks! And now I'm sitting in limbo wondering if the semester is going to be pushed into summer or not, because if it is I'll have no place to live.

After having previously saved $15,000 for school, I'm already $10,000 in debt. I have car repair and maintenance, gas, insurance, food, first & last for a new apt, tuition, a boyfriend, sports, and a social life to balance. My parents have always been the type of parents who say, "You want something? You earn it yourself." I have been working since I was of legal age to, and as I said before I have no problem paying more for tuition if it means a better quality of education. On the other hand, I have a huge problem paying more for tuition because of years of government neglect.

In Response to:

2006-03-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

Squirrels are an important part of the eco-system. And are needed for keeping forest bio-diversity and forest health.
Very short-sighted.

Yes, the squirrel bit is short-sighted, but what college students do you know that aren't egotistic, especially in a situation like this? If you read the squirrel article, the date is March 19, 2006. I haven't heard a peep about McGuinty's response to the College Students' demands to bring funding up to the National Average or for that matter anything regarding the strike, so naturally it infuriates me to see $150,000 for a squirrel study.

A blog I read about in the Toronto Sun:

Anyway, another study has apparently been funded to investigate why people pay attention to emotionally expressive faces and how negative faces hold attention more than positive ones. That one will cost us $100,000. Seems like a bargain.

Let me tell you something, Dalton. I can save you a lot of money and give you the answer to that last one right now. Negative faces hold attention more than positive ones because when people see an angry face, for example, they have to decide whether to run or fight. Just have a look at the taxpayers in Ontario, Dalton, and you will have an excellent case study to draw from. I would suggest you run far away.

And the Star article pretty much summed up how I feel:

"Academic freedom is great and people can study whatever they wish, but we don't have to support all of that kind of work with research grants ...when we don't have enough money for nurses or to build highways or fund a lot of other things."

(cough, education, cough)

In search of some answers

2006-03-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

OK, so let's put together what we know:

full-time enrollment up 52% in the last 15 years
full-time teachers down 13% in the last 15 years
class sizes are up and there are more part-time teachers
part time teachers are not allowed to unionize in Ontario
partial load teachers don't get paid for prep or marking time, only in-class hours

This would imply that colleges are saving money, right? They don't have to pay a salary, just hourly wages.

15 years ago, Ontario minimum wage was $5.40. Today, Ontario minimum wage is $7.75.

(correct me if I'm wrong... haven't worked for min wage in a long time!!)

15 years ago, gas prices were under 45 cents/litre and heating costs were a fraction of what they are now
Tuition made up almost 11% of college system revenue in 1988-89 and more-than-doubled to 25% of revenue in 2001-2002.

I'm sure it's more than 25% now.

Ontario college per-student funding lowest in all of Canada

lower than National average by $2100

Government grants per full-time student down 40% from 1988-89
the average salary increase for college presidents over the past four years is 37.8%
Tuition has tripled in the last 15 years to compensate for lack of funding

The above sent me in search of where funding has gone. Why the decline? What's more important than my education?

Premier Dalton McGuinty's personal ministry is spending $150,000 to study the sex lives of northern flying squirrels.

WHO THE !@#$ CARES ABOUT THE SEX LIVES OF SQUIRRELS??!!! This isn't even the only stupid study that he has funded.

That's MY tax money.
Oh "Education Premier," get in the freaking game. Geez.

What management has been up to...

2006-03-23T06:22:00.000-08:00

When asked about the strategies, Rick Miner (who by the way made $224,515.89 in 2004), president of Seneca College and chief spokesperson for all 24 college presidents, told the National Post last week that “what we’re really trying to do here is buy time.”

BUY TIME?! I'm pretty sure MY bought time has been STOLEN, thank you very much. The "Semester Completion Strategy" is a joke, as far as I'm concerned. You can't possibly promise that I can still get the quality education I paid an arm and a leg for before summer. And having management come teach my courses would be comical also. I am paying wayyyyy too much to live in this house as it is, and I'm not being compensated for living expenses during the strike. There is absolutely no way I'm staying past May 1st.

What I've been up to

2006-03-21T23:07:00.000-08:00

I worked on an essay and re-designed my website. A first-year challenged me to do a "grunge" website, so I took him up on it. It was actually really fun, you know, good to be challenged and learn new things again! Sorry for that bit of sarcasm; it's 2:14 am (but I can sleep in tomorrow!).

So anyways, check out the "grunge" site if you wish: http://www.amymahon.ca

PUBLISHED!!!!!!!!

2006-03-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

I am in Toronto, so I don't have the actual paper in front of me, but I looked on the website of the London Free Press and called my mom to double-check. I did it!!! Yyyyyeeeeesssssssss!! What a morning! Going to roll-up-the-rim and see if I get lucky.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Opinion/Letters/

My favourite parts of the "Pawn" speech

2006-03-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

Next, we are calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty, “the Education Premier”, to immediately raise funding per college student from the current provincial level of approximately $7,300 to the national average level of approximately $9,600.	Yep, those stats also infuriated me (in a previous blog somewhere). I’ve been wanting McGuinty to get in the game for a while too! Too many letters sent and seemingly ignored... Why did he disappear except to lift the tuition freeze?
Ontario college students remain the lowest funded in Canada on a per student basis. This Ontario government funds each college student at a rate of approximately $5,493 per student. This is $2,586 less than a high school student and $2100 less than a university student. This is unacceptable!	This is exactly what I’ve been repeating since this strike started! College students are getting bottom-of-the-barrel.Are colleges generally more hands-on than universities?
These Union demands would cost, at the very least, an estimated additional $160 million per year of system wide funding. Students can not afford the increase in tuition fees required to pay for these demands, which are estimated at over $1,000 per student, per year. Students are already being crushed by debt.	THANK YOU! So many students are crushed by debt, and I am one of them! I didn’t get OSAP because my dad got “packaged off” from work and had a higher income spread over 2 years as a result. We attached a letter that explained why it was so high, but they still declined me. My plan B was a student line-of-credit, but it’s definitely not “interest free till you’re done school” like OSAP. My dad is growing a business and not taking income from it yet.
Next, if the decision is made to cut the semester short, we are demanding that the colleges provide all students affected by the strike with tuition and ancillary fee rebates.	I could have that money spent already.
This College Student Bill of Rights must contain explicit, concrete measures to protect students in the event of a future strike.	Good idea for sure. University students are protected; this should be the same for all post-secondary students.

Another Letter to Editor... maybe one day I'll get published

2006-03-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

(I know you know this already, but nevertheless...)

Teachers are not lazy!

I don’t know how many times I have picked up my London Free Press and read letters to the editor calling teachers “lazy” and saying they should “get back to work” or that they “could have picked a better time to strike.”

First of all, the decline in quality of education over the last 15 years is undeniable, and blaming the teachers for the strike is absurd! In the last 15 years, Ontario colleges serve 52% more students, but employ 13% less full-time teachers. College operating grants per student dropped by 14% on the surface, but they have actually decreased by 40% when you factor in inflation. So what happens? Tuition has already tripled and with the newly lifted tuition freeze, colleges will compensate for reduced operating grants by increasing tuition yet again (thanks, Dalton!).

Teachers are at the table fighting for quality, so obviously they had to strike while we were in class in hopes that management, students, parents, and maybe Dalton would actually notice.

I am disgusted that most of my peers share the uninformed “teachers are lazy” response to this strike. Those who share this view of teachers are actually the lazy ones for not educating themselves on the real issues.

Amy Mahon
2nd year Multimedia Design Student
Humber College, Toronto

Random Thoughts

2006-03-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

First of all, I wanted to say thanks for the notes/comments from Teachers. You've got my back, so I have yours!

This strike has discouraged me from wanting to continue the semester. If I still have to finish all the curriculum in the shortened length of time, I will be stressed to no extent. Yes, I did get some work done over the break, but I was hesitant because I don't know A) how long the strike will be and B) if I'll actually have to do all the components of each project once we're back in class.

Here are contributing factors to my stress:

I'm trying to find a new apartment for May 1st and co-ordinating my move. This is more stressful than it sounds, because I'm going to have to interrogate the landlord-to-be so that I don't end up in a situation similar to the one I'm in now. I also need to pack, rent a uhaul (only I'm not 25 so I can't), and actually move.
I have to argue once again with current landlords for the interest on my last month's deposit which I know I'm entitled to, but my landlords apparently don't. This is kind of like when our washer and dryer were broken but they refused to fix them until I actually called the Tribunal and started filling out the form I was going to send in.
I work for "Pictures in Motion" and I have tons of projects on the go. This is a company my dad started in hopes of one day passing it to me, so I have a lot of pressure from him to put the extra work in now, so I can take more of a leadership role in the near future. That and it's difficult working with immediate family.
I have a boyfriend, and although many would argue that this doesn't belong on the list, he does require time, effort and money. Two years of long-distance has been especially trying, so thank God I'm almost done school.
I'm trying to make sure I see everyone and enjoy every moment while I'm still in Toronto, because I'll never ever live here again. Mark those words!
I think either the battery or the alternator is slowly going on my car. I really don't have any more money to spend on this hunk of metal.
I dislike most of my current dirty-dish-leaving, non-phone-getting, slobby roommates

I have enough to worry about without the strike, and I'm sure there are many students who feel the same way. I don't think I will physically be able to finish out the rest of the semester's worth of work without freaking out somehow. Sigh.

http://www.opseu.org/caat/caat_ac/2006bargaining/caatactionmar17a.htm

Friday, March 17, 2006

Talks resume Monday at 9:30 a.m.

Contract talks between OPSEU and Ontario’s colleges are set to resume on Monday, March 20 at 9:30 a.m.

The news comes after management and the union met this morning (in separate meetings) with Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.

“We hope that management got the message from the rallies [on March 16], both our rally and the students’ rally,” said OPSEU bargaining team chair Ted Montgomery. “We hope that they got the message from the minister, and we remain optimistic that they’ll put a serious and reasonable offer on the table.”

The union was prepared to resume talks today, but management proposed Monday, Montgomery said.

“We’re willing to meet all week if negotiations are progressing,” he said. “If there’s no new offer, then obviously they haven’t got the message yet, and even greater government involvement will have to be brought to bear.”

Referring to management’s “semester completion strategy” to save students’ semester, Montgomery said, “We say there is a semester completion strategy: settle. And that’s done by dealing with the quality issues.”

For the Record

2006-03-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

In response to: http://thepicket.blogspot.com/2006/03/comments-from-colleagues-perspective.html

"I suspect that wonderful blog written by the Humber student came about partially at least by the fact that she may have been exposed to more “open” professors prior to the strike who shared their union concerns."

In class, little was said about the strike and all my teachers seemed to dance around the REAL issues when I brought them up (I think because they were told not to get into it?), so I took it upon myself to get educated and informed.

My opinions on the matter were not hatched in the classroom.

My "Letter to the Editor"

2006-03-16T06:02:00.000-08:00

His Letter:

Student defends rise in tuition charges

As an undergraduate student at the University of Western Ontario, I am embarassed that my peers are up in arms with outrage over the expected tuition hikes.

As post-secondary students, they should be the first ones to know the value of education. The simple fact is that education costs money.

Those who teach at universities spent a lot of money to gain their credentials and deserve to be compensated for their hard work.

The Ontario government will not allow raises exceeding five per cent. One year of undergraduate study at UWO costs close to $5,000. Five percent of five thousand dollars is $250. While that is not a small amount of money, I highly doubt that it will break the bank.

So please stop complaining that your institution is charging a little more for its highly valuable resources. Work hard and graduate, and you, too, will be compensated for your hard work one day.

Mark Mitchell

London

My Letter:
This letter is in response to Mark Mitchell's Letter to the Editor, in which he rags on peers for being outraged over tuition hikes. Maybe being a college student as opposed to a university student gives me a different perspective, but regardless, I am a person of numbers, and there is no denying that Ontario college students are victims of highway robbery.

The common misconception among students is that the current college strike is a result of high salary demands by faculty, when in fact this is not the case. The college management union throws around the number $94,277 to make us think strikers are rich and unreasonable, when in fact it takes at least 10 or more years to hit this rung on the ladder. They also do this to hide their exploitation of part-time faculty.

Tuition rates in 1988-89 were $650. Since then, tuition rates have tripled while Ontario colleges serve 52% more students and employ 13% less full-time teachers. As a result, class sizes are up and workload has increased.

McGuinty pledged $6.2 billion over 5 years, called it "The Quality Improvement Fund" and "By quality, we mean more faculty at colleges and universities, to accommodate higher enrolments and help students succeed, more faculty time for students..." In a speech in May of last year, McGuinty also said, “We’re freezing tuition for a second straight year. And we are starting work with students, colleges, and universities, immediately, on a new tuition framework for September, 2006.” With the freeze now lifted, we all know that didn’t happen.

Even with the $6.2 billion, Ontario’s college funding per student remains the lowest in Canada - we receive about 70% of the national average revenue per student (operating grants plus tuition). When you factor in heating and fuel prices as well as equipment and maintenance upgrades, McGuinty’s funding will barely cover the rate of inflation. College operating grants per student have already dropped 40% in the last 15 years, when adjusted for inflation.

Mark Mitchell, THIS is why tuition is being hiked.

As a student, I have no problem paying for a quality education. But as a citizen of Ontario, home of our Nation’s capital, I have a huge problem paying more tuition to compensate for inadequate funding from the government.

The strike is not about salaries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-03-16T05:08:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I wish every student would read this.
If I hear "Lazy Teachers" one more time, I'm gonna flip out!!! Why is it that students can't educate themselves?! Just because teachers aren't around doesn't mean learning has to stop.

http://www.opseu.org/caat/caat_ac/2006bargaining/caatactionmar15.htm
By Paddy Musson and Phil Cunnington

The strike by Ontario college faculty is not about salaries.

When talks broke off March 6, the two sides were not far apart on wage costs. Management was offering wage hikes of three per cent a year, more or less. The union was seeking four per cent a year, more or less.

When the strike ends, salaries will rise by three or four per cent a year, more or less.

The real sticking point in these talks is quality. The union wants smaller classes, more faculty, and more faculty time for each student. It’s what the Rae Commission recommended. It’s what Premier McGuinty insisted on when he promised $6.2 billion in new money for post-secondary education.

Nonetheless, college management can only talk about one thing. The colleges say, ad nauseam, that their offer will bring salaries to $94,277 by 2009.

They keep repeating this number to make it look like the strikers are rich and unreasonable. If only!

Right now, the starting salary for a college instructor is $32,077 a year (Yes, you read that right). Getting from the bottom to the top rate of $54,459 takes 10 years.

The starting salary for professors, counselors, and librarians is $44,285 a year. (Yes, you read that right). Getting from the bottom to the top rate takes 18 years.

The top step on the salary grid for professors pays $82,299. However, just 27 per cent of faculty are actually at this level. Most teachers, counsellors, and librarians are nowhere near it.

College management uses the $94,277 number to imply that hiring new faculty costs too much. In fact, new faculty start at or near the bottom of the grid. Sadly, college hiring practices over the last decade mean only about 14 per cent of faculty are in the bottom half of the pay grid. As senior faculty retire, a steady influx of new hires would actually bring average salary costs down.

A realistic estimate of the cost of a new hire is $70,000 a year, including benefits. For $70,000, students and taxpayers get the services of a well-schooled professional who can help turn Ontario’s young people into skilled, effective participants in today’s knowledge economy. It’s good value for money.

Besides trashing the strikers, management’s fixation on full-time salaries serves another purpose: to hide their exploitation of part-time faculty.

About 2,000 of the 9,100 striking faculty members are “partial-load” faculty, teaching seven to 12 hours a week. They are paid by the hour, and only for the hours they teach. They don’t get paid for course preparation. They don’t get paid for course evaluation. They don’t get paid to talk to students outside of class.

Partial-load faculty are far from well off. A typical partial load professor with 10 years service, teaching nine hours a week, 32 weeks a year, would earn just over $23,000 annually.

“Part-time” faculty are even worse off. About 6,000 part-timers are teaching one or two courses at our colleges.

Part-timers are not on strike. Because of an inexplicable oddity of Ontario law, they can’t unionize. As a result, their pay rates are unregulated and vary widely. Many students are surprised to learn that the prof who prepares their course, answers their e-mails, meets them after class, gives feedback on assignments, and decides their mark is earning the princely sum of $120 a week – for a credit course on their transcript.

Another 800 or so “sessional” professors are also paid by the hour, for in-class time only. They may actually teach full-time, but sessionals are barred from unionizing, too. They’re underpaid and overworked as a result.

The demand by faculty that college management hire more faculty can only help part-timers and students. A full-timer with reasonable class sizes who is paid for all of the 44 hours a week he or she works has more time for preparation, evaluation, and student feedback. That means a better learning experience, and a better education, for each and every college student.

Which, by the way, is what the strike is really about.

Well amen to that! I read this article and thought of most of my teachers. I have a teacher that teaches Flash (seriously TONS of prep-work) whom I'm pretty sure is part-time. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure there have been only about 3 or 4 teachers over the last two years who are full-time.

Go to this

2006-03-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

No place to live as of May 1

2006-03-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

My landlords won't extend my contract. They're selling the house or something, so too bad I won't have a place to stay if the strike ruins my school year!

Yeah, right...

2006-03-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

"Lazy teachers should get back to work"

2006-03-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

--is my least favourite line to hear from fellow classmates regarding the current strike. I am blown away that some students haven't even educated themselves about something that affects their present and their future in such a big way.

And I know with the tuition hike, I'm going to hear all kinds of flack from kids about how "the union approved of the fee hikes as a means to settle the strike," when such is not the case. If anything, the union is pushing for a BETTER QUALITY education for us. Smaller class sizes = more 1 on 1 feedback... heck, maybe all our teachers would know us by name!

More faculty and more faculty time is not an outrageous demand by the union, because if you factor in inflation, our colleges are spending 20% less on each student than they were 15 years ago. [source]

20%! Think about how big this number is!

Of course, if health care quality decreased by the same amount, people would be friggin rioting.

I wish I could stand out on the road with signs showcasing MY opinion on this whole thing. This is something that affects me so much, yet it feels like students have no say.

Who predicted it?

2006-03-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

Article from opseu: "The McGuinty government’s move today to allow tuition fees to rise for college and university students."

THE NERVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE, the students, get to pay MORE money because the government is denying us a quality education by providing inadequate funding. This is RIDICULOUS.

Of course, it is the easy way out, so I kinda expected that the McGuinty's homies would stoop this low. Still, why are the students getting the short end of the stick??

I will NOT pay an extra month's rent if our school year gets pushed into the summer. I don't care how many letters I have to write or who I have to talk to.

I wish I ran the country...

STRIKE!

2006-03-07T06:34:00.000-08:00

This is how I understand it.

On a per student basis, colleges are still funded at a lower level than in 1990. Even with McGuinty's 6.2 billion over then next 5 years to "improve quality" of learning at colleges, it's not enough. Class sizes are still huge, and I know firsthand that many of my full-time teachers are doing a ton of work. Especially with the course I'm in, teachers have to be available online after school hours to field questions from the 90-some students in my program.

So right now there's a freeze on tuition, meaning that colleges legally can't jack the prices. Having said that, if the freeze comes off, GUESS who is going to have to make up for the inadequate government funding? ME.

"As the Premier often says, the key to success in a highly competitive global economy is having the most highly-skilled and educated workforce," says this site. It just seems like Premier McGuinty is contradicting himself by allowing 9000 faculty members to walk off the job. I don't get reimbursed for tuition lost. My "quality education" is being soiled by this strike.

Talks broke off after union negotiators tried without success to bargain changes to the collective agreement that would reverse the decline in education quality in the colleges, providing for smaller classes and more faculty so every college student would get more time, more attention, and more feedback.

I found a website that says exactly how I feel:
Broken down further, the funding increase for colleges in 2005-06 is approximately $100 million, representing a 4.5 per cent increase in the colleges’ total operating budget. And the government has not committed to specific amounts for colleges in the subsequent years.

While new investments are welcome, Ontario’s college funding per student remains the lowest in Canada. Once you factor in the pressures from increased heating and fuel prices, and much-needed equipment and maintenance upgrades, it becomes clear that the additional funding to Ontario colleges is modest and will barely cover the rate of inflation.

(FTE = Full Time Equivalent)

	2003 – 2004		2005-2006
Province	Grant/FTE	Tuition/FTE	Grant/FTE	Tuition/FTE	Total
ON	4777	1820			6597
ON (05-06)			5605	1820	7425
PQ	8441	-			8441
PE	8219	3250			8469
AB	5943	2840			8783
NL	7355	1452			8807
National Average	7162	2092			9254
NS	7129	2250			9379
MB	8556	1292			9848
BC	7249	2720			9969
NB	7598	2400			9998
SK	9359	2893			12252

So, as you can see for yourself, Ontario college students drew the short straw. To imagine that I get $7425 towards my education while those in Saskatchewan get $4827 MORE... Why couldn't I have gone there for school? Where is our QUALITY IMPROVEMENT? You'll have to do better than that.

Here are some FUN FACTS:

Revenues

Compared with 15 years ago, Ontario colleges are educating students for approximately 70 cents on the dollar (Operating grants and tuition per student have dropped 28 per cent since 1988-89, adjusted for inflation).
Ontario’s colleges serve 52 per cent more students than 15 years ago, but receive 40 per cent less funding per student in constant dollars. On the surface, college operating grants per student dropped by 14 per cent, but they have actually decreased by 40 per cent when adjusted for inflation.
In order to compensate for reduced operating grants, colleges have had to increase tuition. Since 1988-89, regulated college tuition fees have almost tripled, from $650 per student to $1,820 per student in 2003-04.
Ontario colleges receive about 70 per cent of the national average revenue per student (operating grants plus tuition), the lowest of all the Canadian provinces.

Expenditures

Overall, colleges are spending 20 per cent less on each student they educate (after accounting for inflation) versus 15 years ago.
From 1987-88 to 2001-02, Ontario’s colleges saw one of the greatest percentage decreases in their budgets compared with four other public sectors (public schools, health, universities and adult offenders).

Deferred Maintenance

In the 2005/06, deferred maintenance in Ontario’s colleges will top $600 million. Without new funding, deferred maintenance will continue to increase by over $100 million per year.

Human Resources

Over the past 15 years, total full-time staff decreased by more than 13 per cent while Full time enrolment has increased by 52 per cent.

Student Financial Aid

Over 36 per cent of college students in Ontario had OSAP loans in 2003/04.
The 2003 OSAP loan default rate for college students increased slightly to 16.4 per cent, from 16 per cent in 2002.

--read more about this--

I think that's enough ranting for one day.

Potential Faculty Strike - 80% yes

2006-02-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

collegestrike.com

Full-time college faculty voted 80.4% in favour of a strike mandate and has said they will be out of the classroom and off the job as of March 7 if a new agreement is not reached. They have been bargaining since January 2005... The parties met on February 15 & 16 to move closer to a resolution, but no agreement was reached. Both parties are back to the table on March 2 in a final effort to reach a new collective agreement before the faculty union's strike date on the 7th.

To date, no students have ever lost their school year as the result of a college strike in Ontario, but there IS a first time for everything. I am concerned, as my courseload is pretty heavy these days and, in the event of a strike, that just means that I will be stressing over the make-up work after it.

Premier McGuinty said in May of 2005 that the 6.2 billion funding over 5 years is called "The Quality Improvement Fund" and "By quality, we mean more faculty at colleges and universities, to accommodate higher enrolments and help students succeed, more faculty time for students..."

Even with your 6.2 billion, Ontario colleges on a per student basis are still funded at a level lower than in 1990. You wanna help me succeed, McGuinty? You're costing ME more money if tuition hikes and you're costing ME valuable classroom time (which I might add I PAID FOR!) if there is a strike. Geez, for a government that claims to care about students and post-secondary education, ...what about ME!?!?! The broke students are getting the butt-end of all this if a strike pans out, all because you won't budge.

Instead of "budget" they should call it a "won't budge-it."

Tuition Hike?

2006-02-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

After nearly a decade of government under funding to Ontario’s colleges, the McGuinty government pledged $6.2 billion in the 2005 Ontario Budget to boost funding to Ontario’s postsecondary institutions. Even with this new funding, colleges on a per student basis are still funded at a level lower than in 1990. The CSA fears that like during the 1990’s, students could be asked to make up this lost funding through sharp increases to tuition fees once the freeze is lifted. Even with the recent tuition freeze, Ontario college students have seen their tuitions increase by at least 145 per cent since 1990.

data taken from Statistics Canada

Ontario Minimum Wage Rate	Jan 1995	Feb 2004	Oct 2005
General	$6.85/hr	$7.15/hr	$7.45/hr
Student (under 18)	$6.40/hr	$6.70/hr	$6.95/hr

Ontario Avg Gas Prices	Jan 1995	Feb 2004	Oct 2005
cents per litre	50.2	69.9	97.4

With Ontario minimum wage increasing 55-60 cents over the last 10 years and gasoline prices nearly doubling, how are students who drive (including myself) expected to manage an additional tuition hike?

The Nickel-Coke

2006-02-27T07:40:00.000-08:00

Today as I walked through the student cafeteria and over to the vending machine for a coke, I thought about cost vs. retail, particularly in my school. Given the environment, I wasn't too shocked when the vending machine displayed a whopping $1.25 for a 355mL (12 oz) can of Coca-Cola.

I bet most people don't consider this robbery, but I do. How is it that between 1886 and 1959, a bottle of coke cost a mere 5 cents? Keeping in mind that the 70-year time period spans over both World Wars and the Great Depression, five freaking cents for a 195mL (6.5 oz) bottle of ice-cold coke is a treasure. A can of coke (2006 serving-size) would go for something like 10 cents.

So why is it that now I'm paying 12.5 times what coke used to cost when I could go to the local Wal-Mart and grab a 50 cent can coke from the vending machine? Or, better yet, I could go inside and buy an entire case of 24 for about 8 bucks (about $.33/can)!

On the Coca-Cola website, this is the mumbo-jumbo I get:
The prices you pay while shopping are ultimately determined by the retailers. The retailers purchase product produced and distributed by our independent bottlers. The added costs for each bottler and each retailer are reflected in that price.

Given that the prices are ultimately determined by the retailers, WHY is Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning screwing students out of money? Because they can? Because the company that stocks our vending machines has some sort of monopoly and they can?

Coke was the easiest example, but it's not just soft-drinks! Pizza-Pizza has monopoly in our cafeteria and charges a whopping $5 for a dinky personal pizza and crappy medium fountain pop. I could walk into a different Pizza-Pizza franchise and buy a slice (which is BIGGER than the personal pizzas) and a pop for significantly less.

When I lived in Humber College Residence last year, a dinner meal came to roughly $7 +tax. Here's the catch: the dinner meals came with a drink included, so you pretty much had to get a fountain drink or bottle of water, even if you didn't want one. At the end of the year, I had a near $700 left on my meal card, but recieved a cheque for $280 after the processing fees and taxes came off. Those students who had nothing left on their card didn't pay CRAP ALL. Go figure.

As if students don't have ENOUGH to worry about!?!?

College students still get treated like high-school kids. I could go on for hours... stay tuned