Page 4 Planet of the Arts

Student Aid

Here is a copy of a letter Alan Barkley wrote to the committee currently re-
viewing student aid in B.C. which will be making a recommendation to the new

Minister at the end of January.

29 December, 1986

Dr. Les Bullen, Chairman

Student Financial Assistance Advisory Committee
818 Broughton Street,

Victoria, British Columbia

~ V8V 1X4

Dear Dr. Bullen:
On behalf of the Emily Carr College of Art and Design, I
wish to take this opportunity to submit for your Commit-

tee’s consideration several recommendations related to its .

review of British Columbia student financial aid programs.
We look forward to your Committee’s recommendations as
they will directly affect the quality and equity of the major
financial aid programs available to our students.

Two factors are of central importance to our College’s
recommentations to the Committee.

1. A study contucted during the 1986 fall semester by our
Financial Aid Officer identified the percentage of our stu-
dents participating in British Columbia student financial as-

sistance programs. This study indicates that Emily Carr .

College students are awarded Provincial financial aid at a
__ rate twice that of students at any other British Columbia col-
lege, institute or university. Provincial student financial
aid policy impacts Emily Carr College students twice as
deeply as students at other British Columbia post-secon-
dary institutions. Approximate participation rates for lower
mainland, four-year public institutions are:

Emily Carr College of Art and'Design 45%
University of British Columbia 25%
Simon Fraser University 20%

2. As members of the Student Financial Aid Advisory
- Committee are aware, several components determine the
amount of a British Columbia Student Assistance Program
(BCSAP) award. The criteria for determining the amount of
BCSAP awards to Emily Carr College students recognize
that the cost of materials for art and desigh students is equi-
valent to the cost of materials for studying dentistry, en-
gineering and medicine.

Examples of Ministry approved annual materials costs
for Emily Carr College students range from $400 — $1,000
per year and include: for photography, a single lens reflex
camera with lenses and filters: for film/video, super-8 film
or portapak video camera, film processing and post-pro-
duction editing; and for Fine Arts (painting, printmaking
and sculpture), basic supplies such as 8 oz. tubes of paint at
$35 per tube.

With recognized materials costs of this magnitude, the
revised BCSAP (loan only) program caused 15% of our
1986 graduates to service a $20,000 debt load. A profile of
the class of 1987 indicates that six months after graduation,
approximately 25% of these graduates will have a debt of
$20,000 or more to service. Emily Carr College graduates
must service a total debt comparable to that of university
graduates in dentistry, engineering and medicine.

Our Colleges projects that under current repayment
schedules, the gross income required to service this debt
(approximately $18,000 — $20,000 per year) is beyond the
reach of the overwhelming majority of art and design
graduates.

It is important to note that art and design graduates re-
quire a longer period of time to establish their careers than
to graduates of professional (e.g. law, medicine) programs.
At the same time, current repayment schedules require art
and design graduates to service debt equal th toat accumu-
lated by ghe graduates of professional schools whose intial
incomes are significantly higher.

The severity of the impending default rate for all CAna-
dian students is supported by analysis of 30 years of com-
parable loans issued in the United States. These studies in-
dicate that even graduates of professional schools, with
higher starting salaries and significantly higher life-time
earnings, have defaulted on their loans at a rate of 40%

In light of these factors, the Emilly Carr College offers
the following recommendations:

Recommendation I:
The Student Financial Assistance Advisory Commit-
tee should reaffirm the founding philosophy of
BCSAP which is to “ensure that residents of British
Columbia are not prevented from reaching their edu-
cational goals because of financial limitations”

Recommendation II:
In light of this BCSAP first principal, the Committee
should establish a balance between grant and loan
components of BCSAP awards to reduce the debt ac-
cumulated by graduates of art and design programs.

Recommendation III:

For the purposes of administering Provincial student
financial assistance programs, the Emily Carr Col-
lege of Art and Design should be recognized as a
four-year institution so that our students and
graduates are treated equally with students and
graduates of the other four year Provincial institu-
tions.

The Scholarship Award Tables published in the
British Columbia Post-Secondary Scholarship Pro-
gram brochure, by not recognizing that Emily Carr
College students study in a four year program,
penalize the top 10% of Emily Carr College students
by $210 per year and the next 20% by $105 per year.

The failure to correctly classify our students as study-
ing i a four year program cost our students in 1986
over $27,000 in lost scholarships.

Recommendation [V:
The Committee should recommend a student finan-
cial aid program which balances merit-based (schol-
arship) and need-based (bursary) awards programs.

Recommendation V:
The BCSAP loan remission program should be struc-
tured so that the rate of remission is increased for stu-
dents who complete their studies and are graduated.

Recommendation VI:
After analyzing the income required to service the
debt load incurred by graduates of four year pro-
grams, the Committee should recommend reasonable
repayment schedules in light of the incomes predicted
for these graduates by the Canadian Employment and
Immigration Commission.

Recommendation VII:
The criteria defining student eligibility for the Work-
Study program should be liberalized to encourage
students to minimize their accumulated BCSAP loan
debt.

I would like to commend the Minister for recognizing the
importance of student aid by establishing as his first priority
the Student Financial Assistance Advisory Committee.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish any
additional information concerning these issues vital to our
students and graduates.

Sincerely yours,

Db Cul |

Alan Barkley, President
Emily Carr College of Art and Design

Helen Pitt Stops Here E

ECCAD _ students David de Montreuil and Virginia
Achtem have received $5,000 grants from the Helen Pitt
Fund for the Fine Arts. Virginia is a third year student in
printmaking and 3-D art and David is in fourth year 3-D art.
The bursaries were established by the late Helen Pitt and ad-
ministered by the Vancouver Foundation.

The United States Department of Education has recog-
nized the College as satisfying the requirements for partici-
pation in the Guaranteed Student Loan Program. The Pro-
gram allows our American students to obtain financial aid
at low interest rates guaranteed by the US Federal govern-
ment.

The College’s application for this program was prepared
byTom Kowall, Director of Student Services, and Sandi
North, the College Financial Aid Officer, in November
1985. Notice of preliminary approval was sent during
spring 1986 with final approval sent this August.

Guaranteed Student Loan Program

Student Gallery Update by Jeremy Bee

A major issue in the last elections for student council
and, in fact, for the last three or four previously, is the prop-
osition to set up an independant student-run gallery. Al-
though this clearly has not yet come about, more progress
has been made in this regard lately than in previous years,
as this report will attempt to explain.

In the first place perhaps a short review of the major ob-
stacle to this effort is required, which is simply finding the _
financial wherewithal to accomplish it. While the student
council budget may seem enormous to some, any serious
attempt at setting up an independant gallery would require a
major portion of available funds. For any student gallery to
be taken seriously, it must operate year round and even the
most inexpensive and run down of spaces multiplied by the
twelve months of the year immediately translates into a
large sum indeed. It is also necessary for legal and financial
reasons that there be at least one full-time paid director of
the gallery to be responsible for the day-to-day running of
gallery affairs. When all this is taken into consideration the
figures enter the realm of perhaps one half to three quarters
of the entire budget.

Because of these facts and the fact that some of the other
projects approved by council had already started to go
ahead, the whole situation was basically on hold. Whilst the
search was still officially on, without a suitable and ex-
tremely inexpensive space there was not much happening.

A break in the clouds occurred in the form of a possibility
of a donation of a space on the island from the Granville Is-
land Trust. In partial response to the parking protest or-
ganized by students at the entrance to Granville Island, the
Trust came to the conclusion that they were guilty of neg-
lecting the Emily Carr student population. They said that
they were interested in finding out what they could do to im-
prove our situation on the island. A meeting was arranged
with members of the G.I. Trust, the Administration,
Pamela Tagle and myself to discuss the possibility.

While the result was positive it was not very helpful. It
seems there will be a student gallery on the island but three
years down the road. According to the Trust there are no
available, suitable spaces on the island of a sufficient size to
incorporate a gallery. At least none that they are willing to
turn over from other uses anyway. What is happening is that
the island is due to be redeveloped in the next few years and
many of the parking warehouses turned over for other uses.
Within this framework space will be made available for a
gallery space of some sort.

In the meantime the only further suggestion that was
made was that the Trust was willing to allow the students to
exhibit their works or use spaces for gallery purposes such
as could be found on the island presently, provided they are
not being used for anything else. It was suggested that an in-
ventory be made of available smaller spaces such as public
hallways, lobbies etc. where student work could be exhi-
bited and organizd into a sort of gallery without walls. It
could be argued that this is of no real use as one of the main
reasons for an independant student gallery is the concept of
an alternative space both for the students to congregate as
well as exhibit, but at least its a start. What they have unwit-
tingly done is tacitly approve of a higher profile of students
and their work on the island and bring forth the possibility
of students using any available space, provided the custom-
ary permissions and courtesies are adhered to.

Whether this future gallery now in the works will really
be a true independant student-run gallery or merely another
corporate arm of the school is another question entirely.
The student council’s mandate runs only for the school year
in which they are elected — how much student input or con-
trol will go into this situation, when the people involved on
the student behalf are changing on a year to year basis, no
one can say right now. Also the G.I. Trust is willing to be in-
volved in this process only if the Administration of the
school is also involved, at least to the extent of financial lia-
bility in terms of insurance. What is to stop the situation de-
veloping to the point where they are also involved in a more
Administrative function as well? It seems to me that this is
likely.

For those of us whose idea of a student-run gallery is a
maverick albeit run-down space manned by idealistic vol-
unteers — forget it, those days are past. In accordance with
our new right-wing, cleaned up, corporate art school
image, we will one day soon have a matching corporate gal-
lery with many useful functions, if perhaps boring exhibi-
tions. It seems that our concept has been swallowed whole
by the Yuppie powers-that-be, and the bold “Independant”
gallery will become just another side-show for tourists.

If this end seems altogether too depressing, take heart in
the fact that this is not necessarily the last word on the stu-
dent gallery question. Even if this year’s money is spent on
the cafeteria renovation and a host of other worthwhile pro-
jects, there is always next year, and the year after that. If
there are people willing to spend the time and the effort to
organize support, both financial and otherwise, almost any-
thing can be done. There are alternatives both to the corpo-

“rate gallery of the future and to the way in which the pow-

ers-that-be would have it set up. Whether we will just sit
back and accept what the school and the government is wil-
ling to give us, or whether there is enough interest to do
anything else, only time will tell.
Pages

Student Rid

Planet ofthe Ants

Here is a copy of a letter Alan Barkley wrote to the committee currently re-
viewing student aid in B.C. which will be making a recommendation to the new

Minister at the end of January.

29 December, 1986

Dr. Les Bullen, Chairman
Student Financial Assistance Advisory Committee
818 Broughton Street,

Victoria, British Columbia

VBV 1X4

Dear Dr. Bullen:

‘On behalf ofthe Emily Carr College of Art and Design, 1
wish to take this opportunity to submit for your Com
{ee's consideration several recommendations related to its
review of British Columbia student financial aid programs.
We look forward to your Committee's recommendations as
they will directly affect the quality and equity ofthe major
financial aid programs available to our students

‘Tuo factors are of central importance to our College’s
ecommentations to the Committee

1. A study contucted during the 1986 fall semester by our
inancial Aid Oficer identified the percentage of our stu:
dents participating in British Columbia student financial as-
sistance programs. This study indicates that Emily Carr
College students are awarded Provincial financial aid at a
rate twice that of students at any other British Columbia col-
lege. institute or university. Provincial student financial
«aid policy impacts Emily Carr College students twice as
deeply as students at other British Columbia post-secon-
dary institutions. Approximate participation rates forlower
inland, four-year public institutions are:

Emily CarrCollegeof ArtandDesign 45%
University of British Columbia 25%
‘Simon Fraser University, 20%

2. As members of the Student Financial Aid Advisory
Committee are aware, several components determine the
amount of a British Columbia Student Assistance Program
(BCSAP) award. The criteria for determining the amount of
BCSAP awards to Emily Carr College students recognize
thal the cost of materials for art and desigh students is equi-
valent t0 the cost of materials for studying dentistry en-
gineering and medicine.

Examples of Ministry approved annual materials cost
for Emily Carr College students range from $400 —$1.000
per year and include: for photography. a single lens reflex
‘camera with lenses and filters: fr film/video, super-8 film
‘oF portapak video camera. film processing and post-pro-
duction editing: and for Fine Arts (painting. printmaking
‘and sculpture). basic supplies such as 8 oz. tubes of paint at
535 per tube

With recognized materials costs of this magnitude, the
revised BCSAP (loan only) program caused 15% of our
1986 graduates fo service a $20,000 debt load. A profile of
the class of 1987 indicates that six months

‘must service a total debt comparable to that of university
‘graduates in dentistry, engineering and medicine.

Our Colleges projects that u
schedules, the gross income required to service this debt
approximately 18,000 — $20,000 per year is beyond the
reach of the overwhelming, majority of art and design
graduates,

tis important to note that art and design graduates re-
4uire a longer period of time to establish their careers than
to graduates of professional (c.g. law, medicine) programs,
At the same time. current repayment schedules require art

‘and design graduates to service debt equal th toat accum
lated by ghe graduates of professional schools whose int
incomes are significantly higher.

“The severity of the impending default rate forall CAna-

dian students is Supported by analysis of 30 years of com-
parable loans issued in the United States. These studies

dicate that even graduates of professional schools, with

her starting salaries and significantly higher life-time
hhave defaulted on their loans at arate of 40%

In light ofthese factors, the Emilly Carr College offers

the following recommendations:

Recommendation I
‘The Student Financial Assistance Advisory Commit:
tee should reaffirm the founding philosophy of
BCSAP which is to “ensure that residents of British
‘Columbia are not prevented from reaching their edu-
cational goals because of financial limitations”

Recommendation I:
In light ofthis BCSAP first principal, the Committee
should establish a balance between grant and loan
components of BCSAP awards to reduce the debt ac-
cumulated by graduates of art and design programs.

Recommendation Il:
For the purposes of administering Provincial student
financial assistance programs, the Emily Carr Col-
lege of Art and Design should be recognized as a
four-year institution so that our students and
‘graduates are treated equally with students and
‘graduates of the other four year Provincial insti
tions.

‘The Scholarship Award Tables published in the
British Columbia Post-Secondary Scholarship Pro:
‘gram brochure, by not recognizing that Emily Carr
College students study in a four year program,
penalize the top 10% of Emily Carr College students
by $210 per year and the next 20% by $105 per year
‘The failure to correctly classify our students as study-
ing in a four year program cost our students in 1986
‘over $27,000 in lost scholarships.

Recommendation IV:
‘The Committee should recommend a student finan-
cial aid program which balances merit-based (schol-
arship) and need-based (bursary) awards programs.

Recommendation V:
‘The BCSAP loan remission program should be struc-
tured so that the rate of remission is increased for stu-
dents who complete thei studies and are graduated.

Recommendation VI:
‘After analyzing the income required to service the
debt load incurred by graduates of four year pro-
‘grams, the Committee should recommend reasonable
repayment schedules in light ofthe incomes predicted
for these graduates by the Canadian Employment and
Immigration Commission,

Recommendation VII:
‘The criteria defining student eligibility forthe Work-
Study program should be liberalized to encourage
‘students to minimize their accumulated BCSAP loan

importance of student aid by establishing as his first priority

the Student Financial Assistance Advisory Committee.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish any

additional information concerning these issues vital to our

students and graduates.

Sincerely yours,

pln Gath

Alan Barkley, President
Emily Carr College of Art and Design

Helen Pitt Stops Here . |

ECCAD students Dayid de Montreuil and Virgini
‘Achtem have received $5,000 grants from the Helen Pitt
Fund for the Fine Arts. Virginia isa third year student in
printmaking and 3-D art and David isin fourth year 3-Dart

‘The bursaries were established by the late Helen Pitt and ad-
‘ministered by the Vancouver Foundation,

Guaranteed Student Loan Program

‘The United States Department of Education has reco;
nized the College as satisfying the requirements fr partici
pation in the Guaranteed Student Loan Program. The Pro-
gram allows our American students to obtain financial aid
at low interest rates guaranteed by the US Federal govern-
‘ment.

The College's application for this program was prepared
byTom Kowall, Director of Student Services, and Sandi
North, the College Financial Aid Officer, in November
1985. ‘Notice of preliminary approval was sent during
spring 1986 with final approval sent this August

Student Gallery Update by Jeremy Bee

‘A major issue in the last elections for student council
and, in fact, forthe last three or fou previously. is the prop-
sition to set up an independant student-run gallery. Al-
though this clearly has not yet come about, more progress
hhas been made inthis regard lately than in previous years,
a this report will attempt to explain.

In the first place pethaps a short review of the major ob-
stacle to this effor is required, which is simply finding the
Financial wherewithal to accomplish it. While the student
council budget may seem enormous to some, any serious
attempt at setting up an independant gallery would require a
‘major portion of available funds, For any student gallery to
be taken seriously it must operate year round and even the
‘most inexpensive and run down of spaces multiplied by the
twelve months of the year immediately translates into a
large sum indeed. Its also necessary for legal and financial
reasons that there be atleast one full-time paid director of
the gallery to be responsible forthe day-to-day running of
gallery affairs. When allthis is taken into consideration the
Figures enter the realm of perhaps one half to three quarters
ofthe entire budget.

Because ofthese facts and the fact that some of the other
projects approved by council had already started to 20
‘head, the whole situation was basically on hold. Whilst the
search was still offically on, without a suitable and ex-
tremely inexpensive space there was not much happening.

‘A breakin the clouds occurred inthe form of a possibility
‘of a donation ofa space on the island from the Granville Is
Jand Trust. In partial response to the parking protest or-
szanized by students atthe entrance to Granville Island, the
‘Trust came to the conclusion that they were guilty of neg-
lecting the Emily Carr student population. They said that
they were interested in finding out what they could dotoim-
prove our situation on the island. A meeting was arranged
With members of the G.l. Trust, the Administration,
Pamela Tagle and myself to discuss the possibility

While the result was postive it was not very helpful. I
seems there will bea student gallery onthe island but three
years down the road. According to the Trust there are no
available, suitable spaces onthe island of a sufficient size to
incorporate a gallery. At least none that they are willing to
turn over from other uses anyway. What is happening isthat
the island is due tobe redeveloped in the next few years and
‘many of the parking warehouses tured over for other uses.
‘Within this framework space will be made available fora
gallery space of some sort.

In the meantime the only further suggestion that was
made was that the Trust was willing t allow the students to
‘exhibit their works oF use spaces for gallery purposes such
as could be found on the island presently. provided they are
not being used for anything else. It was suggested that anin-
ventory be made of available smaller spaces such as public
hallways, lobbies etc. where student work could be exi
bited and organiza into a sort of gallery without wall, It
‘could be argued that this is of no real use as one ofthe mai
reasons for an independant student gallery isthe concept of
an alternative space both forthe students to congregate as
‘well as exhibit, but at leas its start, What they have unwit-
{ingly done is tacitly approve of a higher profile of students
and their work on the island and bring forth the possibility
‘of students using any available space. provided the custom
‘ary permissions and courtesies are adhered to.

‘Whether this future gallery now in the works will really
be a true independant student-run gallery or merely another
‘corporate arm of the school is another question entirely
‘The student council's mandate runs only forthe school year
inwhich they are elected —how much student input orcon-
trol will gointo this situation, when the people involved on
the student behalf are changing on a year to year basis. no
‘one can say right now. Also the G.LTrustis willing tobe in-
volved in this process only if the Administration of the
school i also involved, atleast tothe extent of financial lia-
bility in terms of insurance, What isto stop the situation de-
veloping tothe point where they a
‘Administrative function a well? It seems to me that this fs
Tikely

For those of us whose idea ofa student-run gallery is a
averick albeit run-down space manned by idealistic vol-
unteers — forget it, those days are past, In accordance with
‘our new rightwing, cleaned up, corporate art school
mage, we will one day soon have a matching corporate gal-
lery with many useful functions, if perhaps boring exhibi-
tions, It seems that our concept has been swallowed whol
by the Yuppie powers-that-b, and the bold “Independant
gallery will become just another side-show for tourists

If this end seems altogether too depressing, take heart in
the fact that this is not necessarily the last word on the st-
dent gallery question, Even if his year's money is spent on
the cafeteria renovation and a host of other worthwhile pro-
jects, there is always next year, and the year after that. IF
there are people willing to spend the time and the effort to
‘organize support, both financial and otherwise, almostany-
thing can be done. There are alternatives both tothe corpo-
rate gallery ofthe future and to the way in which the pow-
cers-that-be would have it set up. Whether we will just sit
back and accept what the school and the government is wi
ling to give us, or whether there is enough interest to do
anything else, only time will tl