The start of the new fall semester at B.C.'s universities and colleges also means the return of financial worries for students and parents with housing among the driving factors.
A new survey from TD Bank Group finds that 70 per cent of B.C. students define themselves as "financially unstable," some five points higher than the national average, Meanwhile, 44 per cent are unable to adequately cover basic needs such as food and housing.
The survey also found that 93 per cent of parents say they are helping pay for their children's post-secondary studies with 67 per cent of parents saying they provide significant financial support.
That financial support is also impacting the ability of parents to look after their own needs. About seven out of 10 per cent of BC parents admit that supporting their children is impacting their own ability to meet basic financial needs or afford activities such as family vacations while roughly half say they wish their children would rely on the Bank of Mom and Dad less.
Meranda Hamilton, senior manager of youth and student banking at TD Bank, said a lot of economic factors are lining up against both parents and students.
"You have got the rising cost of housing, you have got the price and cost of tuition and food," Hamilton said.
While it is hard to pick out the most important factor driving costs, housing definitely plays a role, Hamilton said, noting that B.C.'s major universities are located in Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna — all communities with rising housing costs.
"We know that housing is the highest it's ever been and it's comparable to big cities like Toronto."
According to the survey, seven out of 10 students in B.C. work to help pay for their education. But available figures suggest that might not be enough.
Looming over these figures is the question of responsibility.
The TD survey suggests students might be able to help themselves more through better financial literacy. According to the survey, six out of students don't have a budget to track monthly expenses. Among those with a budget, less than a third (30 per cent) say they're able to follow it regularly. About two out of three (64 per cent) said they wish knew more about budgeting and financial planning methods. Almost half (48 per cent) shared a desire to learn about investment vehicles like RRSP, GICs and the benefits of building good credit.
Hamilton encourages both students and parents to talk to each about their financial needs and reach out for professional advice. Hamilton also pointed to a variety of online tools students can use to better budget.
The survey also caught the attention of the B.C. Federation of Students, which represents 170,000 post-secondary students at 14 post-secondary institutions.
Chairperson Jessie Niikoi said in a statement to Black Press Media that the survey underscores what the organization is hearing from its members. While financial literacy is important; it doesn’t solve the affordability issues students are facing, or students not having the financial means to access post-secondary, Niikoi said.
"The financial stress Canadians are facing is compounded for students who also have to pay the high costs of tuition and for their textbooks and materials," Niikoi said. "Sadly, many students report working multiple jobs, skipping meals, or not having adequate, safe places to live due to the costs of attending post-secondary and not all students have the privilege of having family support if it is needed."
Niikoi said the federation believes the only solution is to make post-secondary education more affordable for British Columbians. It is calling on government to prioritize adequate funding for post-secondary institutions.
"We said this during the government’s public post-secondary funding review consultations in 2022 and we will reiterate this today," Niikoi said.
Speaking before the B.C. Federation statement, Premier David Eby pointed to various grants and programs designed to make post-secondary education more affordable and accessible to help fill a provincial skills-gap.
Government has also limited annual tuition and mandatory institutional and program fee increases to two per cent, and touted investments in student housing.
Speaking in Vancouver earlier month during the unveiling of 1,500 new student housing units at UBC, Eby said generally cheaper on-campus housing not only provides housing for students, but also helps to lower housing costs for communities at large.
Eby, however, also acknowledged that more needs to be done to increase the supply of housing on and off-campus.
