$24.3-million incentive will help rural Albertans access post secondary education
Red Deer... Beginning this fall, 8,100 post-secondary students from rural Alberta will be eligible to receive $1,000 each in Millennium Alberta Rural Incentive Bursaries as the result of a new three-year joint program between the Government of Alberta and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation.
“This bursary complements the Alberta government’s efforts to support and recognize the value of post secondary students who live in rural communities in our province. Providing greater financial assistance and creating more learning opportunities for rural students were key themes identified during the A Learning Alberta consultation last year,” said Advanced Education Minister Denis Herard. “The future success and prosperity of our province will undoubtedly come from the participation and contribution of rural students. Working in partnership with the Foundation will help us realize this common goal.”
The bursary announced May 17 at Red Deer College will help rural Albertans, who are traditionally under represented in post-secondary education, meet the costs of their studies. First- and second-year students who live outside Edmonton, Calgary, St. Albert and Sherwood Park and who qualify for Alberta student aid can be considered for the bursary.
“Rural Albertans face unique challenges as they embark on their studies at college, university or technical school,” said the Foundation’s executive director and chief executive officer Norman Riddell. “By providing cash grants to assist rural students in overcoming these challenges, this program encourages their participation in post-secondary education, which will help them acquire the knowledge and skills demanded by a rapidly changing economy and society. During the next three years, the Foundation will study how a grant dedicated to these young Canadians affects their capacity to access and complete their post-secondary studies.”
The program will be financed by a $19.8-million grant from the Foundation and up to $4.5 million from the Government of Alberta. Recipients may be asked to participate in follow-up studies designed to improve policy-makers’ understanding of the challenges facing students from family backgrounds traditionally under represented in post-secondary education and the effectiveness of different forms of student financial assistance.
"Our government, through the Foundation, is proud to be investing in students who are met with special challenges in accessing education," said Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada Diane Finley. "This bursary will make a real difference in the lives of rural, Albertan students."
The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation is a private, independent organization created by an act of Parliament in 1998. It encourages Canadian students to strive for excellence and pursue their post-secondary studies. Each year, the Foundation distributes $340 million in the form of bursaries and scholarships throughout Canada. Since its inception, it has awarded 670,000 bursaries, with a total value of approximately $2 billion, to Canadian post-secondary students. In Alberta, more than 60,000 bursaries were distributed over the same period of time at a value of more than $158 million.
The Alberta government will provide more than 42,000 post-secondary students with loans, grants and bursaries this year totalling more than $430 million.
Backgrounder
Millennium Alberta Rural Incentive Bursary
What is the Millennium Alberta Rural Incentive Bursary?
The Millennium Alberta Rural Incentive Bursary will provide rural Albertan students in their first or second year of post-secondary studies with a cash grant of $1,000 each. Available to rural students, the bursary comes in addition to all other forms of financial assistance. Any student who applies and qualifies for student aid under the Alberta Student Assistance Program can be considered for the bursary. The bursary is part of a larger research project conducted by the Foundation.
What is the project’s objective?
The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and the Government of Alberta have created a bursary that will encourage rural students to pursue post-secondary education by increasing their financial resources in the first and/or second year of their studies. Statistics show that less than half of rural Albertans complete some form of post-secondary education. The province has identified this attainment rate to be a matter of concern and an impediment to Alberta’s economic and social development. The project is designed to provide assistance to rural students and measure the impact of bursary funding on a student’s ability to access and complete post-secondary studies.
How many students will receive a bursary?
Based on data from previous years, the Foundation and the province expect approximately 24,300 students will receive bursaries over the next three years. This year, approximately 8,100 students are expected to receive the bursary.
Who is eligible for the bursary?
The bursary is available to students who:
- are in their first or second year of post-secondary studies
- are enrolled full-time in a program of undergraduate studies, of at least two years’ duration, at an approved post-secondary institution in Canada
- are rural Albertans (defined as students who last attended high school in rural Alberta or who, in the 12 months before entering a post-secondary program of study, were residing in the Province of Alberta outside of Calgary, Edmonton, St. Albert and Sherwood Park).
How do students apply?
Students who apply for student financial assistance from Alberta Student Assistance Program will be considered for the bursary after completing the appropriate schedule on their application. Recipients will remain eligible for the existing Millennium Bursary Program and all other forms of financial aid.
How much will the project cost? Who’s paying for it?
The Foundation will contribute $6.6 million per year, while the province will contribute up to $1.5 million. The Foundation will pay for the program’s research component. Since the Foundation’s mandate is set to expire at the end of the 2008-09 academic year, it can only fund the project for three academic years.
What is the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation?
The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation is a private, independent organization created by an act of Parliament in 1998. It encourages Canadian students to strive for excellence and pursue their post-secondary studies. Its Research Program advances the study of barriers to post-secondary education and the impact of policies and programs designed to alleviate them.
The Foundation distributes $340 million in the form of bursaries and scholarships each year throughout Canada. Since its inception, it has awarded more than 670,000 bursaries and scholarships, valued at close to $2 billion, to Canadian post-secondary students. In Alberta, over the same period of time, more than 60,000 bursaries were distributed at a value of more than $158 million.
Why is more money available now?
The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation invested the $2.5 billion endowment it received from the federal government when it was established in 1998. The returns have been greater than anticipated. It has also kept its administrative costs lower than expected. The bursaries come from the interest revenue earned on the initial endowment and from the administrative savings realized.
What is the project’s research component?
The Foundation is interested in measuring the impact of bursaries on students’ access to post-secondary education and their success rate once there. As a result, it will gather qualitative and quantitative information about the impact of the bursary on recipients’ ability to pursue and complete their studies.
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