Aboriginal Youth and Student Financial Assistance

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• Aboriginal Youth and Student Financial
  Assistance
  
• Noel Baldwin and Joseph Berger
• Canada Millennium Scholarship FoundationStudent
  Financial Aid Research Network Conference
  
• June 12, 2008

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Aboriginal Students

• The term Aboriginal is used to denote those
  people in Canada who identify themselves as
  belonging to one of the recognized groups of
  peoples who were indigenous to the territory that
  became Canada prior to European colonization.
• They are known as First Nations or North American
  Indians, Métis or Inuit.
  

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Canadian Population in 1996 and 2006
45 higher than in 1996
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Educational Attainment in Canada
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On-reserve Aboriginal population with less than
high school education, aged 20 to 24 in 2001
Mendelson (2006), Aboriginal Peoples and
Post-Secondary Education in Canada
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Post-Secondary Participation Two Years After High
School
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On-reserve Aboriginal youths reasons for not
pursuing post-secondary
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Aboriginal Share (projected) of the 15- to
24-Year-Old Population in 2006 and 2017
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Proportion of Access Bursary Funds Distributed
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Factors Affecting the Use of SFA by First Nations
Youth

• The goal of this project is to examine the
  factors affecting First Nations use of financial
  assistance for post-secondary education
  
• attitudes of First Nations youth toward student
  financial assistance
  
• any barriers in the financial assistance
  application process
  
• whether financial assistance is sufficient to
  encourage successful completion of PSE.
  
• Forty focus groups in Western Canada in winter
  2007-08
  
• First Nations high school students
• First Nations youth in and not in PSE

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Limitations

• Some limitations of the research should be noted
  
  
• First Nations youth are not a homogeneous group.
• Generalizability of opinions/perspectives of a
  limited number of key informants and youth from
  many different backgrounds and areas of Western
  Canada.

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Influences and Expectations on Life after High
School
A) Youth discussed which individuals had the most
significant influences on their decisions for
life after high school.

• family members
• children
• teachers, counsellors, academic advisors
• friends
• themselves (self-motivation)

B) High school students overwhelmingly expressed
a desire or interest in attending PSE in the
future. But many take a break or expect to
following high school.
I have seen my parents struggle and live in
poverty, and I didnt want that for myself. -
First Nations PSE student
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Perceived Impact of System of Funding on Youth
Aspirations
Key informants were asked to what extent the
current system of student funding for PSE has had
an impact on First Nations high school students
aspirations and expectations around PSE.

• Many noted that the current system has a positive
  effect by providing financial means often
  unavailable to those who want to pursue PSE.
  
• Many noted that the complexity and unfamiliarity
  of student aid can act as a disincentive to First
  Nations youth aspiring to PSE.
  
• Many noted that financial considerations alone
  are often not a significant factor in student
  planning they are intertwined with other
  factors that include family responsibilities,
  academic performance/need for upgrading and
  social/cultural factors.

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 Barriers to Post-Secondary Education
Those who planned to attend PSE or were attending
PSE were asked about barriers they face.

• Financial barriers alone were not those most
  frequently cited. Financial issues were often
  linked with other issues.
  
• Need to care for children (or, less frequently,
  other family members).
  
• Need for more academic preparation including
  lack of prerequisites, grades too low, lack of
  skills.
  
• Relocating and consequent isolation, loneliness,
  loss of community, culture shock.
  
• Among those who had stopped attending PSE before
  completing a degree/diploma, financial barriers
  were noted in returning to college/universitypart
  icularly for those caring for children.

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How First Nations Youth Find Out about Methods of
Paying for PSE

• Family and friends including those who had
  attended college or university themselves.
  
• Lower degree of parental involvement many youth
  are first in their immediate family to plan to
  attend PSE.
  
• Less frequent use of formal methods of getting
  information (such as advisors, counsellors) due
  to lack of confidence or to the distance from
  information centres.
• Far less frequent personal use of Internet,
  particularly in more remote communities.

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Awareness and Usage of Types of Student Financial
Assistance

• A high degree of awareness of band funding
  (federal funds flowing through First Nations
  bands). It was the most commonly used and
  expected form of funding. But, there is a general
  over-expectation that it will be available.
• There was considerably less awareness
  demonstrated about other methods
  
• Student loans are sometimes a top-up combined
  with band funding.
  
• Scholarships for First Nations youth are often
  under-used .
  

As First Nations youth are often attending PSE
after being out of school system for a few years,
it is more difficult for them to obtain
information about student funding and financial
assistance.
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Reasons for Limited Awareness of other Forms of
Funding
Youth often assume that band funding will be
automatically available, and that it, alone, will
be sufficient to cover their costs of attending
PSE. Band funding is a grant, not a loan, so you
th associated with a First Nation have less
interest in other funding vehicles.
I never really took the time to look in to
student loans or scholarships. I thought that
because band funding was my right that the money
would be there. But it wasnt like that. -
First Nations PSE student
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Double-bind for First Nations Youth Living
Off-Reserve and Non-Status First Nations Youth
Some First Nations youth living off-reserve or
who do not have their Status noted a
double-bind

• Often not connected to information on band
  funding or unable to access band funding
  
• Incorrectly assumed to have information on, or
  awareness of, other forms of assistance

On the reserve it is different. Here in the
city it seems they expect you to already know
about certain things. But if you are the first
person in your family to graduate and try to go
to university, where do you know these things
from? - First Nations PSE
student
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Awareness Increases Once Students are in College
or University
While awareness of band funding generally
predates preparing to attend PSE, often awareness
of other forms of assistance does not. Students
become more aware of their funding options once
they become part of the PSE system.
I really didnt know that much when I started
university. I just sort of learned along the
way.
- First Nations PSE student
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Additional Reasons for Limited Awareness of other
Forms of Funding

• Youth living in more rural/remote areas are
  removed from information centres.
  
• Often limited Internet access to explore funding
  options.
  
• Motivational barriers many assume they wont
  qualify for loans or scholarships/bursaries.

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Opinions on Who Should Pay for PSE
The majority of First Nations youth indicated
that they felt the government should pay for
their PSE. Two major reasons given included

• Federal government had a treaty obligation to pay
  for PSE.
  
• It was in the best interest of the government to
  pay for their education investment in the
  future of Canada.
  

A significant minority of youth felt that PSE
should be paid through a combination of funders,
including government, family (if possible),
students themselves and, sometimes, employers.
These tended to be older youth and those not
connected with a First Nation.
It should be a mix depending on the situation.
It should be the responsibility of the
individual, the family, the government and the
employer. - First Nations non-PSE participant
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Perspectives on Borrowing to Pay for PSE
Youth often feel they should not borrow to pay
for PSE

• PSE is a treaty right better to wait for full
  grant funding than borrow
  
• General debt-aversion
• Debt as a foreign/new concept
• Fear of academic failure
• Lack of differentiation between good and bad
  debt
  
• Worry that they may be disqualified from band
  funding, or band funding may be reduced, if they
  apply for other forms of funding

If I get a loan and fail what am I here for?
I need to pay it back plus I dont get a degree
or diploma. - First Nations PSE student
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Differences in Awareness of Student Funding Among
First Nations Youth Compared to Other Youth

• First Nations youth do not have the same sense of
  connection to the system often intimidated to
  find out what they dont know, or assume funding
  is not for them.
• Parents less often involved and/or knowledgeable
  about financial options no precedent for
  seeking out information on PSE funding options.

Non-First Nations youth feel that they are
deserving of these types of awards and successAs
a result they navigate more easily through the
system. - Director of an Aboriginal Research
Centre at a post-secondary institution
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Improving Delivery of Information about Funding
Options
Key informants provided a number of suggestions
for improving the delivery of information on PSE
funding to First Nations youth.

• Enhance level of face-to-face, personal contact
  with youth
  
• Design informational/promotional materials
  specifically for First Nations youth
  
• Provide more/better information/training to high
  school teachers/counsellors and First Nations
  education counsellors
  
• Ensure that First Nations youth are given
  information at an early age as early as grades
  8-10
  
• Use of First Nations role models in delivering
  information
  
• Research demonstrated need to recognize needs of
  different groups of Aboriginal youth
  on-reserve, off-reserve youth associated with a
  First Nations, and off-reserve youth not
  associated with a First Nation.

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Access to Band Funding

• Overall demand for band funding exceeds supply,
  resulting in waiting lists.
  
• (Often as a result) Some band funding is limited
  to specific types of students, or preference is
  given to specific types of students, including
  
• full-time students
• youth just out of high school
• those who have not previously stopped out of
  PSE
  
• Community politics / nepotism are perceived as
  limiting access for some youth both perception
  and reality can affect access.

If you know somebody in the band or if youre
related to somebody, youre going to get where
you want to be. - First Nations youth not
attending PSE
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Access to Other Forms of Funding

• Barriers noted to accessing other forms of
  funding included
  
• Difficult for First Nations youth to fill out
  online applications as many do not have access to
  Internet
  
• Limited face-to-face assistance with application
  process available for First Nations youth in more
  remote communities

First Nations youth dont have internet access
at home and/or on reserve.

- First Nations support worker
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Overall Observations

• Youth often lack a plan B if band funding is
  not available/sufficient.
  
• First Nations youth are generally debt-averse and
  feel they should not have to pay for PSE, but
  older students appear more willing to access
  repayable forms of funding.
• Often perception is that it is better to wait for
  band funding then explore other options.
  
• Many First Nations youth only find out about the
  array of funding vehicles once they are in PSE.
  
• Insufficient support through existing funding
  vehicles to pay for the costs of transportation
  and childcare costs of First Nations students.
  
• Funding options for trades and upgrading appears
  limited.
  

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Cross-cutting Access Issues 

• Limited access for
• Those interested in trades training
• Those interested in upgrading
• Mature students, students with children

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Adequacy of Band Funding

• Band funding is not seen by key informants as
  adequate
  
• Waiting lists demand for PSSP exceeds supply
  (as also noted in other research)
  
• Often students receive less than they need to
  fund their studies and lack alternate
  information on additional funding
  

Adequacy of Student Loans
Some key informants noted that student loans
amounts are not sufficient for the minority of
First Nations students that use them.

• Insufficient to cover transportation costs (to
  and from home communities)
  
• Insufficient for students with more than one
  child.

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Key Informant Suggestions for Improving PSE
Funding System for First Nations Youth
Key informants provided the following suggestions
(in declining order of frequency)

• More human resources and better training for
  staff dedicated to educating First Nations youth
  know about PSE funding.
  
• Courses on career and education planning need to
  be a consistent part of the secondary school
  curriculum.
  
• More funding opportunities need for First Nations
  students.
  
• Involve role models in programs/outreach.
• More funding and support to increase Internet
  access to First Nations communities .
  

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Solutions! Two Pilot Projects

• Making Education Work (MEW)
• In partnership with the Government of Manitoba
  and First Nations
  
• Five-year project that involves 260 students was
  implemented in 6 sites located in Northern
  Manitoba
  
• Two-third of students were randomly assigned to
  the MEW program group while the others were
  assigned to a comparison group
  
• The difference between the outcomes (high school
  graduation, access to a recognized PSE program)
  of the two groups will measure the impact of the
  program
• Offers a comprehensive approach (better
  information, academic support, community
  involvement, Aboriginal curriculum) designed to
  increase PSE participation of First nations
  students

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Solutions! Two Pilot Projects

• The LE,NONET Pilot ProjectPurpose Support for
  Aboriginal students and its impact on retention
  and completion
  
• In partnership with the University of Victoria
• Provides a mix of measures to students tutors
  and mentors, financial incentives, community
  internships, research assistantships, improved
  support services and counseling
• Not all students get the same mix
• Will be evaluated through the use of Retention
  Curves Analysis, comparing current Indigenous
  students at UVic with cohort created from
  historical records (2000-05).

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• 1-877-786-3999
• All our publications are available online
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