Some Albertans receiving provincial student loans who want to attend private career colleges outside the province will be out of luck starting this year, officials announced Thursday.
Beginning in August, Alberta Student Aid will not provide provincial funding to students attending private career colleges outside of Alberta. Students attending those programs may still be eligible for federal student loans or grants.
Exemptions will be granted for students in the final year of a program and private career college programs supporting sectors with high labour demand, such as dental hygienist training in Ontario.
Rajan Sawhney, Alberta’s minister of advanced education, said in a news release that the move aligns Alberta with other provinces, including B.C. and Ontario, in not funding students attending out-of-province private career colleges.
“Alberta’s government is committed to funding post-secondary education in a responsible way that respects taxpayer dollars, provides students with the most value for their investment and ensures we continue to produce a skilled workforce,” she said.
In a statement to Global News, Ministry of Advanced Education press secretary Mackenzie Blyth said 8,637 Alberta students attend out-of-province private career colleges.
Blyth said Thursday’s announcement takes action to “stabilize the increasing costs of student aid and strengthen protections for Alberta students attending private career colleges.”
“Private Career Colleges are licensed in their home jurisdiction, which means that the Government of Alberta has no oversight over the quality of programs at Private Career Colleges based outside our province,” she said.
Officials said Alberta’s private career college market has experienced “significant growth” in the last five years, with the number of colleges increasing from 155 institutions in 2015 to 222 in 2022.
“Student complaints have also increased, especially against newer private career colleges,” the province said.
“Recent audits of some newer schools have shown a lack of administrative competency in such things as record keeping and admissions testing.”
In June, Alberta expanded its compliance work to include onsite inspections to ensure protections, such as proper administrative processes, are in place and students are being provided accurate information about training.
The province said the improved oversight is expected to safeguard students from false or misleading practices and help ensure private career colleges are delivering quality programs.
In a press release, Francis Boakye, executive director of the Calgary-based multicultural advocacy organization ActionDignity, said the group supports the province’s move. “The proposed changes will go a long way to ensuring customer protection and high-quality education for some of the most vulnerable students enrolled in private career colleges.”
Students attending full-time private career college programs delivered exclusively online may be eligible for federal loans and grants.
Starting in August, they may also be eligible for provincial funding to cover tuition and books, if costs aren’t already covered by federal funding.
The provincial government also plans to increase living allowances to calculate eligibility for student aid funding, bringing Alberta in line with the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program.
Officials said the standard monthly living allowance is intended to help cover costs for food, clothing, personal needs, transportation, housing and utilities.
Budget 2024 set aside more than $1.4 billion for Alberta student aid.