Government support available for some Laurentian students whose programs were discontinued

Some students who are affected by Laurentian University's recent restructuring are hoping they'll qualify for some financial help from the provincial government, while others are disappointed to find out they aren't eligible.

The school declared itself insolvent on Feb. 1, and cut dozens of programs and hundreds of jobs under creditor protection to begin its plan to return to financial stability.

The one-time financial support from the provincial government is for students whose programs were discontinued, and who had to transfer to another post secondary institution in Ontario or across the country.

Those students who are eligible, will get one-time financial support of up to $4,000. That amount is for domestic students, while international students could get up to $1,075 for help with possible costs involved in transferring. To be eligible the student must be transferring to another publicly assisted post-secondary institution in Canada, because no alternate, related programs are available at Laurentian.

In a statement to CBC News, the Minister of Colleges and Universities (MCU), Jill Dunlop, stated, "Since Laurentian entered CCAA, the Government has been clear that it would take steps to protect the pathways to graduation for impacted students."

"The program will provide additional support for students who have had their programs discontinued at Laurentian University, transfer and continue their studies at another institution. The government continues to monitor the CCAA proceeding closely and looks forward to taking steps in the future that protect and support the long-term sustainability of post secondary education in Sudbury and Northern Ontario," the statement said.

The money can be used to offset relocation costs, or tuition subsidies if tuition is higher at the institution they transferred to. It may also be applied toward renewal of Student Visas.

The discontinued programs, which are eligible for the provincial funding are: Bachelor of Fine Arts - both music and music performance, Midwifery, Radiation Therapy, as well as French language programs for Midwifery and Theatre.

According to Laurentian University, 155 impacted students are unable to continue their education at the school since their programs were discontinued, and there are no alternative related programs available. However, of those 16 graduated this year, so it says 139 are eligible.

Chantal Longobardi is entering the fourth year of the midwifery program. The cancellation of the program at Laurentian caused quite a lot of upheaval in her life.

She is now finishing the program long-distance with Ryerson in Toronto while doing her work placement in Peterborough.

While she has filed a claim for the full amount of $4,000, she doesn't know if she'll get any financial assistance because the criteria for re-location is narrow and may exclude those whose work placements were set before the university declared itself insolvent, as hers was.

"I find it's a little loophole they (MCU) may have put in, I'm not sure," she said. "I'm certain that the younger years, the first years and second years will likely be able to meet this criteria but for the third- and fourth- year students, I think this will exclude us."

She says she has a lot of financial responsibility because her young family remains in Sudbury and she tries to visit as often as she can.

"I have a family, I have a mortgage and I'm paying rent in Peterborough. Gas is not cheap now, and I do a lot of travelling."

Other impacted students feel left out

Another student says she was at first excited when she heard about the financial help available to students from the provincial government, until she realized she wasn't eligible.

Although courses to complete her Psychology major are still available at Laurentian, Morgan Cashmore says the professor who was supposed to be her thesis advisor was let go. Her other major — Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies — at Thorneloe University, once a federated school with Laurentian, was discontinued. 

Cashmore is unable to work this summer because she is taking additional courses to make sure her prerequisites are completed. She has increased her course load to 120 per cent to ensure that happens, and those courses are from different universities.

"As someone who has incurred costs from taking courses at three different post secondary institutions, and three additional courses at Laurentian University, I am thus unable to save for the fall/winter semester," she added.

"It is a real shame that students like myself are going to be left out from grants provided by the provincial government because of the financial situation going on at Laurentian University," she said.