A rise in tuition prices for the upcoming academic year has multiplied the effort going into Parkland College's student scholarship campaign.
Currently, Parkland College offers about $64,000 worth of scholarships-around 54 awards. Their goal is to raise that number to $100,000.
"There has been a tuition freeze for the past six years that has been lifted this year," said Gwen Machnee, who coordinates student scholarships at the college. Most university and skills training courses will be increasing costs by five per cent as a result.
Machnee explained the average university course runs a student bill of $525. SIAST skills training courses are about $3500. These costs do not include pricey books and course materials.
"I don't think people realize how much books and materials cost," said Machnee. It is common for a single textbook to cost over $100.
Parkland College offers two types of scholarships to help offset high education costs. Entrance scholarships are for students entering their first year of a post secondary program. There is about $35,000 set aside for these new students. The rest is designated for returning students.
"We have some scholarships designated for First Nations students," said Machnee. The college is also working on acquiring scholarships for the fire fighting program, which in the past has not qualified for matching funds since it is shorter than four months.
In order to reach the $100,000 mark in scholarship funding, the college is actively looking for donors to commit $1000 for a five year period. However, Machnee said they will not turn away smaller donations and look for matching funds to complete the scholarship.
Advantages to being a donor include numerous opportunities to be publicized by the college and a charitable tax receipt.
Another way to contribute financial aid for future students is to sponsor or join the Dollars for Scholars golf classic this Friday, June 18th. There are still a few team and sponsor openings.The golf classic at Yorkdale golf course raises about half of the money used for entrance scholarships.
