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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013
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CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906
VOLUME 107, ISSUE 40
Tuition tax credits don’t work Training TAs can Money doesn’t reach those who need it most
improve teaching Kevin Hurren OPINIONS EDITOR
Logan Ly GAZETTE
CASH IN HAND. A recent study reported that tuition tax credits are ineffective for students because low-income students — those the most in need — can’t take full advantage. Lack of awareness is also an issue.
Richard Raycraft NEWS EDITOR Tax credits tied to post-secondary education don’t do very much to assist low-income families in paying for it, according to a new study. A report released by the C.D. Howe Institute hopes to raise questions regarding the effectiveness of tax credits in lowering the cost of post-secondary education and increasing enrollment, particularly for students from low-income families. Laurier economics professor Christine Neill — a specialist in public economics — authored the report for the non-profit research institute, entitled “What You Don’t Know Can’t Help You: Lessons of Behavioural Economics for TaxBased Student Aid.”
“Postsecondary tax credits cost the federal and provincial governments billions of dollars each year, but are not distributed equitably and may have no proven effect in boosting enrolment,” a press release from the Institute said. “Tuition and education/textbook tax credits, in particular, cost the federal government alone around $1.6 billion in 2012 — a sum greater than the net cost of the Canada Student Loan Program.” Though unknown to many students, the tax credits allow students to receive tax rebates of thousands of dollars. The post-secondary tax credits are non-refundable, however, meaning that one must owe a certain amount in tax to claim them. For this reason the tax credits can be transferred to families. “The question is really about
the timing of it,” Neill explained. “It’s exactly the kids who have the lowest income parents who have to wait the longest to get the cash in hand, which is not equitable or fair, and it’s also bad from an efficiency perspective.” Put simply, the money from the tax credits often reaches students only after they have graduated and have enough taxable income to claim them. “One of the main reasons for the tax credits existing is to try and encourage more people to go into post-secondary education,” Neill said. Neill also explained research is showing an extra couple thousand dollars does not typically make a difference to students from >> see TAX pg.3
Can teaching assistants get the same training as full-time teachers? Probably not, but two new studies have found that even minimal training can greatly improve TA performance. The two studies, one focusing on international TAs and the other on TAs at the University of Windsor and Western, looked at the impact instructional programs had on the effectiveness of teaching assistants. The study concerning Western is to be released online today. Funded by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, the studies conducted a number of short, one-day sessions as part of prolonged training programs meant to equip TAs with organizational methods of teaching undergraduate students. “Both pieces of research have confirmed that participating in teaching development makes a big difference,” said Nanda Dimitrov, associate director at the Teaching Support Centre and co-author of both studies. The Teaching Support Centre, located in D.B. Weldon Library, offers free support to TAs and professors seeking to improve their teaching skills. Even within the one-day sessions, participating TAs were able to absorb concrete teaching techniques for facilitating discussions, marking and asking effective questions to their class. Similarly, the study found that those who elected to take part in several sessions were able to demonstrate greater confidence. But these training sessions, Dimitrov noted, are not only beneficial for the classroom environment. “[TAs] see value in training because they see value in professional development, building their CV and developing other
transferable skills that are valued not only in the university classroom but in other careers as well,” she said. Additionally, Dimitrov explained these continual programs fostered communities within TA groups — regardless of academic background or constituency. “When TAs participate in one of our programs, they go back to their home department and they continue to discuss teaching and share
When TAs participate in one of our programs, they go back to their home department and they continue to discuss teaching, sharing great activities they’ve used in tutorials —Nanda Dimitrov
Associate director at the Teaching Support Centre and co-author of both studies.
great activities they’ve used in tutorials,” she said. “It increases teaching quality, good teaching spreads and they help each other.” In terms of how more attention on TA performance will take shape on campuses, the Lead TA program at Western is just one example. The program, as reported last week in The Gazette, consists of eight experienced TAs placed in various faculties, whose sole responsibility is to train other TAs to become better teachers. Although the studies don’t come to groundbreaking results, concluding that training TAs will lead to better performances, Dimitrov said such findings would be helpful tools when continuing to develop these programs. “We always knew that they work, and now we have the data to support it,” she said.
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