How To Find Out What Programs Of Study Are Impacted By The Second Career Tuition Cap Policy

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1 Ontario Association of Career Colleges Second Career Tuition Caps May 2010 Introduction On April 20, 2010, OACC representatives met with Ministry officials in the Employment and Training Division to discuss the issue of the Second Career policy that imposes tuition caps on career college programs. As a result of those discussions, OACC was given an opportunity to recommend program areas where modifications could be made to the policy, similar to the changes made in late 2009 for Trucking, Welding and Heavy Equipment programs. As a result, OACC conducted a survey of its members in late April in an effort to determine what programs of study had been impacted the most by the imposition in November of 2009 of the tuition cap policy of $14.00 per hour on tuition to a maximum of $10,000 for clients applying for financial assistance to attend career college programs. Our members were asked to identify the top 5 programs of study that were impacted at their institution. After gathering their responses, weighting those responses, and categorizing the programs of study into broader program areas, we were able to rank those program areas that were impacted the most since the November changes to Second Career. Naturally, it was not always possible to determine whether the reductions in enrolment in particular programs of study were entirely attributable to the tuition caps or in part to other factors such as the new eligibility criteria or the lengthy delays in clients being approved for financial assistance. We have included below the list of the top program areas along with some very preliminary analysis in respect to program hours, program tuition, program hourly rates, and the impact of the caps on a client s ability to cover the tuition through assistance from Second Career. We also asked our members to provide us with any other comments that they had re the Second Career program. We have compiled those comments into broader categories and have included that compilation in a separate document for the Ministry to consider. Analysis of Program Categories Most Impacted 1. Network Programs Includes 197 programs with 44 program names (see list at end of this document marked with **) Program Hours range from 240 to 2,285 Average hours per program =968 50% of programs have a duration of more than 1,000 hours (only 2 are more than 1,500 )

2 Program Tuition Range is from $3,600 to $33,001 Average program tuition = $12,374 73% of program Tuitions are more than $10,000 (only 1 is greater than $17,750) Per hour rate ranges from $5.98 to $20.00 Average per hour rate = $ % of programs are less than $14.00 per hour Observation -- For the Networking programs, the $14.00 per hour rate is in line with two-thirds of the programs. However when this per hour rate is combined with the $10,000 tuition cap, Second Career is unable to provide clients with full tuition funding for 74% of the Networking programs listed on Service Ontario. 2. Business Programs Includes 192 programs with approximately 25 program names Program Hours range from 463 to 2,220 Average program hours = % of business programs are more than 1,000 hours in duration 33% of business programs are less than 850 hours in duration Program tuitions range from $5,035 to $33,112 Average program tuition = $10,582 45% of business programs have tuitions of more than $10,000 (8 programs have tuitions of more than $17,000) Per hour rate ranges from $3.87 to $25.04 Average per hour rate = $ % of Business programs have hourly rates of more than $14.00 Observation -- For the business programs, the $14.00 hourly rate is in line with the hourly rates charged for most of the programs. However when this per hour rate is combined with the $10,000 tuition cap, Second Career is unable to provide clients with full tuition funding for 74% of the Business programs listed on Service Ontario. 3. Massage Programs Includes 39 programs with 7 program names Program hours range from 2,160 to 2,340

3 Average Massage program hours = 2,245 Program tuition ranges from $13,000 to $22,875 Average Massage program tuition = $18,842 Per hour rate ranges from $5.90 to $9.77 Average hourly rate = $8.20 Observation -- For Massage programs, the $14.00 per hour is quite generous, but the $10,000 cap results in 100% of the Massage programs not having the full tuition covered by Second Career. 4. Medical Lab Programs Includes 19 programs with 3 program names Program hours range from 720 to 1,064 Average number of Medical Lab program Hours = % of Medical Lab programs are 1,000 hours or more Program tuition ranges from $8,900 to $13,500 Average program tuition = $11,975 68% of Medical Lab programs have tuitions of more than $10,000 Per hour rate ranges from $9.53 to $13.50 Average hourly rate = $ % of hourly rates are higher than $12.00 Observation -- For Medical Lab programs, the $14.00 per hour rate is more than is being charged for all 19 programs. However, the $10,000 overall tuition cap results in the 13 programs that have 1,000 hours or more not having the full tuition covered by Second Career. 5. Police Foundations Programs Includes 21 programs Program hours range from 1,060 to 1,440 Average program hours = 1,272 57% of Police Foundations programs are 1,300 hours or longer Program tuition ranges from $9,300 to $13,850 Average program tuition = $11,847

4 81% of Police Foundations program tuitions are more than $10,000 Per hour rate ranges from $6.91 to $11.26 Average hourly rate = $ % of the hourly rates are more than $10.00 Observation -- For Police Foundations programs, the $14.00 per hour rate is ample when compared with what is being charged. However, when combined with the $10,000 tuition cap, all but 4 of the 21 Police Foundations programs (81%) would not have the full tuition covered by Second Career. 6. Medical Office Programs includes 192 programs including medical assistant, administrator, secretary, and reception, etc. Program hours range from 343 to 1250 Average program hours = % of Medical Office programs are 1,000 hours in duration or more Program tuition ranges from $4,200 to $10,990 Average program tuition = $7, % of Medical Office program tuitions are $10,000 or more Hourly tuition rates range from $5.25 to $15.00 Average hourly rate = $10.58 Observation -- For the Medical Office programs, the $14.00 hourly rate is in line with the majority of the programs. However, when combined with the $10,000 overall tuition cap, 15% of the programs do not have the full tuition covered by Second Career. 7. Dental Programs Includes 86 programs and excludes Dental Hygiene programs Program hours range from 160 to 1,200 Average program hours = % of Dental programs have a duration of 1,000 hours or more Program tuitions range from $2,500 to $15,375 Average program tuition = $10, % of Dental program tuitions are more than $10,000 Hourly rate ranges from $5.56 to $16.11

5 Average hourly rate = $ % of hourly rates are more than $12.00 (only 2 are over $14.00) Observation -- For Dental programs the $14.00 is in line with 98% of the programs. However, when the hourly rate cap is combined with the $10,000 tuition cap, 58% of the programs do not have the full tuition covered by Second Career. Conclusion and Recommendation The analysis of the data presented above demonstrates that the caps on the tuition being recognized by Second Career in determining a client s financial entitlement are playing a large role in dissuading individuals from enrolling in career college programs that may be their first choice and may be the best fit for them. Many second career candidates have been out of school for some time. As a result, most prefer smaller class sizes, more hands on opportunity and the stable accelerated schedules offered by Career Colleges. In many cases when a student selects a similar program at a Community College compared to a Career College they are disadvantaged by the $10,000 cap. Although they would prefer to attend a Career College the funding limits are creating financial gaps that most students simply cannot afford under their circumstances. It is clear from the data above that in most cases, increasing the hourly rate cap from the current level of $14.00 will not resolve the problem. This finding is corroborated by the OACC members participating in the survey that reported that their Welding programs continued to be negatively impacted even after the hourly rate was increased late in In fact, Welding programs ranked 2 nd in our survey results behind the Networking programs. The Ontario Qualifications Framework, one of the components to be utilized in providing postsecondary education quality assurance for consumers, references typical hours of duration for programs of study at various credential levels. Under OQF, diplomas are conferred at approximately 1,000 hours of program duration. Utilization of the Second Career caps of $14.00 per hour to a maximum of $10,000 restricts full tuition coverage to clients for only those programs of 714 hours of duration or less. Thus, those clients who would best be served by taking a 1,000 hour or longer diploma level career college program are being disadvantaged by the capping policy that may force them to take their third or fourth best training option. Such action may lead to less than satisfactory outcomes for the individual client who has researched his/her best option. To partially resolve this situation, OACC strongly urges the Ministry to modify the capping policy to allow those clients who choose career college programs to be eligible to continue to access $14.00 per hour of program duration for tuition to a maximum of the 1,200 hours that is the typical length of a two-year community college program. Under this approach, there will still be career college programs with higher hourly rates of tuition and/or longer hours of durations that will not be fully covered by Second Career assistance, but it will be a good

6 compromise that will go a long way to bridging the gap and making the treatment of those best suited for career college programs more equitable by restoring much of their choice. OACC looks forward to resolving this issue and to further discussions with Ministry officials. ** List of 44 Network Program Names mentioned above Applied IT Network Analyst Comp. Service/Network Technician Computer Communication & Networking Computer Network Administrator Computer Network Analyst Computer Network and Internet Security Engineer Computer Network Engineer Computer Network Technician Computer Networking & Security Computer Networking Technology Computer Networks Engineering Technology Computer System and Network Specialist Dip in Network Tech Engineering (DNTE) Enterprise Network Engineering Info. Systems - Network Engineer Inter-Network Specialist MS Cert. Sys. Eng./Network Specialist Network & Database Administration Network & Internet Security Specialist Network & Internet Sys. Spec. Network & Internet Systems Specialist Network & Security Specialist Network Administration Network Administration and Security Network Administrator Network and Database Administration Network Engineer Network Engineer (+Internship) Network Engineering Network Engineering (Post-graduate) Network Engineering Technologist Network Management Technology Diploma Network Security Specialist and Systems Engineer Network Specialist Network Specialist (Multi-OS) Network Specialist/LAN Support Network Supervisor Network Support Specialist Network Support Technician Network Systems Engineer Diploma Network Systems Technology Network Technician Networking Administrator Wireless Networking