Last January CAUT joined with six other organizations representing university administrations and students to call for improved federal funding of student aid.

Drastic cuts to federal transfers and provincial government parsimony have caused average student debt loads for those who borrow from the Canada Student Loans Program to escalate from $8,700 in 1990 to an estimated $25,000 in 1998.

The group suggested a package of reforms to include encouragement for savings on the part of parents, various forms of tax relief for parents and students, direct grants for certain disadvantaged groups of students, and possible modalities to ease the repayment crisis.

The federal government responded by introducing some tax relief measures in the last federal budget and by increasing to 36 months the grace period for graduates who are unable to repay their loans.

During the recent federal election campaign the Liberals promised grants for students who were single parents -- single parents make up 13 per cent of the Canada Student Loans Program borrowers.

The provincial governments are now becoming aware of the dimensions of student debt and the issue of student assistance was on the agenda of the first ministers' conference in New Brunswick in August.

Before the conference the group wrote to Premier McKenna -- as the convenor of the conference -- pointing out that student debt load is "...a very serious economic, social and political issue in Canada. Unmanageable levels of student debt will discourage many capable students, particularly lower income youth, from pursuing higher education at a time when employers are demanding a higher level of skills than ever before for entry level positions."

The letter was also sent to the other premiers, the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada and to the ministers responsible for higher education.

The group urged the first ministers to consider its package of reforms, in particular the need for grants for students who are single parents and for low income students in the first and second years of their undergraduate program.

"Research in the United States," they said, "...shows that grants schemes that target first and second year students are particularly effective in terms of increasing the retention rate of students in the system."

They also noted the importance of work study programs and the need for student debt reduction for those graduating.

The group urged the first ministers to work with the federal government and with the stakeholders to reform student aid programs along the lines suggested in its document Renewing Student Assistance in Canada.

Paul Ramsey, the minister responsible for higher education in British Columbia, wrote CAUT in support of the line of action suggested by the group and expressed scepticism that the discussions currently ongoing between Ottawa and Ontario about income contingency repayment schemes would lead to any alleviation of the student debt problem.

The other members of the group are the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, the Canadian Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the Canadian Federation of Students, and the Canadian Graduate Council.

The full text of the letter to Premier McKenna can be found at www.caut.ca.