A Windsor student is facing uncertainty after the province paused OSAP funding while investigating possible fraud at private career colleges. Catherine O’Phee started a one-year Oral Dental Assistant program at Anderson College on Sept. 21. The single mother of three says she applied for financial aid well in advance and was pre-approved but has yet to receive the money and doesn’t know when she will. The province announced this week that OSAP payments for all private career college students are being paused while it investigates. The government says it also plans to make online-only programs at private career colleges ineligible for student aid. O’Phee says she understands the need to investigate potential wrongdoing but believes students who followed the rules shouldn’t be caught in the middle. She adds that she was counting on a combination of grants and loans to cover her expenses while she studied. The province has also reduced the maximum share of OSAP funding available as non-repayable grants from 85 per cent to 25 per cent, effective August 1. O’Phee says now it’s just a waiting game. “Me as a single mom of three, going back to school when I’m 40; this is affecting me huge. I quit two jobs to attend school full time and focus on that, and I’m going on week four with zero income. So something needs to change.” She says Anderson College has been helping students access textbooks and other supplies while they wait for answers and funding. “Our school has been really great as far as being very understanding of the fact that none of our tuition’s have been paid and none of us are able to buy the textbooks and all that stuff. They’ve been very supportive being able to help us with all that. So right now it is unclear, which sucks because I like to know what’s happening. I like to make a plan. I like to be prepared.” She says she was prepared to take on debt to improve her career prospects but doesn’t want to be forced to leave school. “Fully prepared to do that... that’s what everyone does when they go back to school. You go into a bit of debt and get a good job, hopefully, and pay it off. Right now we’re not even getting the opportunity to do that. And the last thing I want to do is have to drop out and go back into the workforce. That’s wasn’t part of my turning 40 plan.” O’Phee says students will be sitting in on a large meeting Friday to hear more about next steps with OSAP. She says she’s hopeful to get some answers, as she’s unsure how much longer she can go forward without this funding. Career Colleges Ontario is urging the province to reinstate funding for students who were already approved and are attending in-person classes, arguing that action against suspected fraud should not disrupt the education of students who followed the rules.
