Have you ever been the new kid on the block, knowing that you can play street hockey with the best of them, but you never get picked for the team so don’t have the chance to show your talents? Have you ever applied for a job that will give you exactly the experience you’ve been trained for but get turned down for lack of that very experience? We feel a bit like that with regard to student loans. Here’s the story–and what you can do about it:
We are as accredited as any graduate school in the province or country or even the world. Our professors are top-notch educators AND clinicians, and I don’t think there is a better program for masters-level professional education in psychology. We are pioneers and innovators, with the only Master of Psychology program in Canada. And we do all this without taking a penny from the government.
Our students will eventually be able to get loans from the province through the OSAP program, but in order to qualify, we have to graduate two cohorts of students, which will take two to three years. Now, this is not generally a big problem for our students because most of you have jobs or other ways to qualify for loans or lines of credit from your banks or credit unions, once again not asking for taxpayer support.
However, we have discovered that the banks use the list of government loan-approved schools to determine if our students are enrolled in a legitimate degree-granting institution. This is a national list (www.canlearn.ca), but getting on it happens at the provincial level, which requires experience we can’t get without enrolling and graduating students. That is, the banks don’t want to loan money unless you don’t need it (i.e., unless you can get it at taxpayers’ expense).
BUT ALL IS NOT LOST!
I had a conversation with a very helpful man at the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities. Scott will be in charge of our file when we do apply for OSAP. He wondered why the banks rely on the government loan-approval list, which was developed for different purposes. The crucial determinant of whether we are a legitimate degree-granting institution is not that list, but whether we have a letter of consent from the Minister, as confirmed by the website of the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board www.peqab.ca/completed.html.
If you otherwise qualify for a loan from you bank, here’s what you can do to get the loan you deserve without being subjected to inappropriate restrictions:
1. At least one bank has told us they won’t make a change to their national policy of using the canlearn.ca list, but that individual branches may make exceptions. Refer your branch personnel to the PEQAB website: www.peqab.ca/completed.html to prove that we are legitimate. We can also forward a copy of the Minister’s consent letter to your bank. And we’ll speak with or email your bank on your behalf.
2. Shop around to other banks and credit unions. We are in the process of interviewing potential lending institutions, and we’ll keep you informed of results in this space.
3. Consider a loan with the Travellers Tuition Plan. They’ve already picked us for their team. Contact Raj Nathwani (rnathwani@AdLearn.net or 416 923 4419 ext 224) for information.
Ours is a relatively expensive program, but boy can we score when it comes to professional education–we just have to get in the game!
Linda J. Page, Ph.D.
President
Adler Graduate Professional School
Toronto, Canada
www.adler.ca











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