Students say they’re scrambling to find the funds necessary to continue their education after the province decided to pause OSAP payments for anyone enrolled in private colleges in Ontario. The government announced the change earlier this week in response to a recent investigation by the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. According to Minister Nolan Quinn, it identified “serious concerns about the integrity of the OSAP system” at private post-secondary institutions. “These include common ownership, the involvement of immigration services firms and co-location between private career colleges and immigration recruitment or immigration services firms, inadequate student validation and verification of course enrolment and outcomes, and unusually high concentrations of OSAP applications submitted from the same geographic locations,” the minister said in a statement to CTV News, adding that the matter has been referred to Ontario Provincial Police due to concerns about possible criminal activity. Student reaction The announcement came as a surprise to some. “I understand the investigation and I get that, but I don’t think it’s fair that they’re blanketing all colleges when it started with a few,” said Jo-Dell Brodhagen, a student in the community service worker with mental health program at triOS College in Kitchener. The mother to three teens and an infant is only halfway through her two-year program and, without OSAP, she likely won’t be able to finish. “I’ve got eight certifications that will become essentially useless because I’m not finished my course.” Brodhagen said she still has to pay off her OSAP loan from her first year, so her options are limited. “The choice basically boils down to either try the third-party loans [or] the triOS payment plans, which will continue [while] we’re in school,” she explained. “That’s another financial burden.” Brodhagen said the government is recommending third-party loans to students. “I’m not going to be able to afford that and I won’t qualify. And I know that because I don’t have an income.” Another option is to drop out of her program. Brodhagen said many people attending college are trying to improve their financial circumstances, so pulling OSAP payments is hurting those who need help the most. “We’re already pretty much as low as we can go, and that sounds bad, but we need this funding to continue, and not just for our own futures,” she said. CTV News reached out to triOS College but did not get a response by the deadline.
