CANADA: Unmotivated students seem to take more jobs

Financial aid is an important factor in keeping students in university, but attitude may be just as important, according to a recent study that looked at 10,000 low-income first-year students who were receiving government student aid.

The study, initiated by the Measuring the Effectiveness of Student Aid (MESA) Project, examined the connection between financial aid, hours spent in the workforce and a student's level of engagement.

The research showed that while grades suffer when students spend potential study hours doing paid work, the attitude of the student seems also to play a factor. Lead author Ross Finnie, a professor at the University of Ottawa, says students who have low motivation at the outset of their studies tend to work more and study less, resulting in lower grades.

Motivated or not, 42% of all first-year student respondents said they would quit school entirely if government aid was not available to them. Half of them would take more loans if they were available, according to study authors Finnie, Stephen Childs and Andrew Wismer.

Additionally, the study found that first-year university students who spend more hours per week working will spend fewer hours studying, and those receiving lower levels of government aid are more likely to work more hours.

But earning lower grades is not a direct consequence of receiving less financial aid and working more paid hours, says Finnie. "Low grades may have nothing to do with assistance and everything to do with student attitudes. At the same time, that correlation could be pointing to a problem that should be addressed with policy."

Finnie notes that low grades are probably a combination of lack of motivation and problems with financial aid forcing students to work more paid hours. Additionally, students who are not doing well in school or who are more likely to leave post-secondary education for other reasons may take on relatively more work hours in response.

While the study did not directly address how policy could be improved, there was little doubt that financial aid helps - and helps those students who need it most. "It's only logical that aid helps," says Finnie. "Does it do as good a job as it could? That's always the question."

Determining exactly whether increased financial aid would help students take on less paid work and thus spend more time studying is the next step of research, says Finnie.

Comment:
As a Canadian, I would like to object to how this article is titled, and indeed set up for discussion. Perhaps a better title would read: "Lack of Financial Resources Demotivates Aspiring Students".

First off, Canada as a whole has an excellent education system that ranks very highly in most subject areas, and it appears to be successful in terms of graduate rates and qualifications of students. What Canada does not have, and I can attest to this personally, is an adequate system of financial aid, barely covering tuition, and ensuring a steady diet of macaroni and cheese for the more well heeled students, and Ramen noodles for those who choose to live a more frugal existence while attending school.

In the US, students are offered a myriad of ways to finance education, which allow you to estimate better - and in many cases overestimate - the cost of going to school. I think that this in part is why the cost of borrowing money to go to school leaves so many, regardless of borders, in the hole - where so many find themselves at present. I know that my current repayment rate is pretty darned high - like a mortgage, which I don't have, because I can't afford it.

The author notes that low grades are probably a combination of lack of motivation and problems with financial aid forcing students to work more paid hours.

The most qualified and educated answer I can offer is: Duh! or Duh eh? for my Canadian brothers and sisters.

Hey student loan institutions, and government officials...both in the US and Canada, can you take note of this fact? If you lend appropriate amounts to students who have shown aptitude and attitude for studies, there will be greater retention, less ineptitude and more gratitude - probably leading to faster repayment... Go figure...

The financial cost of going to school may be viewed as two sides and the edge of a coin: One side is "Can I afford to go to school? Will I be in repayment status for two decades afterwards?" The other side is "Can I afford not to go to school? Should I go part time, sacrifice my capabilities so I can work part time, appear unmotivated by others when in fact this may not be true, and earn an education over a period of time that is dated upon graduation?"

When the coin lands on its edge, and rarely does it, motivated and capable students will gain their education, at a cost that is not insurmountable (which is why I like President Obama's repayment policy as it does not burden the student in such a way as to cause them to not want to take on a little bit of risk).

Canada's choice for students to repay their loans is "there is no choice - pay back what you owe or else!

When I was going to school up North, I was fortunate to know many students who were well motivated, despite having to work, achieved good grades and graduated with some or a lot of debt. I did not know of any students who did not appreciate what they had achieved. The same can be said for the graduate education I received here in the US. The key is motivation - the student's need to be self-motivating, willing to absorb some risk and willing to work hard. Currently, in Canada the formula is M(R) + T = D, where Motivation times Risk plus Time equals DEBT.

Dr Finnie, the research professor who started down this path - I challenge you to now figure out how to get the current policy rewritten to benefit students who choose to get an education the good old fashioned way ... hard work.

Greg Jensen M.Ed, MBA