The Open the Doors Campaign is back! The Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE) sponsored campaign has Faculty Association locals across British Columbia working to increase awareness regarding funding issues in post-secondary education in advance of the provincial election on May 9th, 2017. Three major themes have been identified:
- Affordability and student debt
- Cuts to provincial funding
- Post-secondary as an investment in BC’s economy
Here at TRU, TRUFA’s Communications Committee is hosting events on campus leading up to the election. Our first event on January 31st in Old Main was a great success! We asked students to fill out a survey regarding their concerns about debt, finances and working while at school. We received 150 responses! Finances, it seems, are indeed a concern for students at TRU and funding cuts have only exacerbated their financial woes. We’ll have the results of that survey available for our campus community soon. Prizes ($25 gift card to Scratch Cafe and $50 to TRU Bookstore) were awarded to students who participated in the survey.
Upcoming events include: Another survey on funding cuts, a student voices video about financial worries TRU students face and more tabling events on March 21st and April 3rd in Old Main! Join us in encouraging students and community members to ask their potential MLAs to commit to properly funding post-secondary education in British Columbia.