2000-2001 Annual Report

History and Purpose

A Memorandum (1992), between the Six Nations Council and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada provides for the local administration of the Post Secondary Student Support Program. 

The Post Secondary Board is mandated to direct the operation of the Grand River Post Secondary Education Office. Post Secondary Board policy states that,
 “The Grand River Post Secondary Education Organization exists to empower Onkwehon:we through higher education, within available resources.”

In achieving this purpose, the Grand River Post Secondary Education Organization places a high value on organizational integrity and efficiency.

• The GRPSEO strives to operate in an accountable and consistent manner.
• The GRPSEO consults the moral ownership of the organization, on a regular basis, to ensure that the organization is on the right track when it comes to community expectations about results and the values that guide the organization. 
• The GRPSEO then reports issues and outcomes on a regular basis.

This report is an example of the GRPSEO’s accountability processes. As such, the Annual Report is issued to the Six Nations Confederacy Council and the Six Nations Elected Council at least once per year. As part of this reporting, the annual audit for the Grand River Post Secondary Education Office (GRPSEO) is completed through KPMG Chartered Accountants, the auditing firm for the Six Nations Council. The GRPSEO further provides an annual enrolment report to INAC as per the 1992 MOU mentioned above. 

In the past year, the GRPSEO also contracted KPMG to do an internal audit as an additional accountability measure to ensure that appropriate policies and procedures were being followed in respect of the handling of “community monies”.

The GRPSEO continues to function within the realities of limited resources and increasing demands.  In this report you will therefore find:

• A summary of on-going issues and trends impacting our post secondary students, and
• Highlights of outcomes and accomplishments as they relate to the GRPSEO mandate.

As always, your comments and input are welcomed. Please feel free to contact us if you wish to comment on this report, have questions or wish to make a contribution toward post secondary education for Six Nations students.

Significant Trends Affecting Post Secondary Education
For Six Nations Students

The GRPSEO is guided by our collective responsibilities to make decisions that will not harm our future generations nor diminish their opportunities to thrive.

This means that personal responsibility and accountability is expected of all who participate in the GRPSEO (board, staff and students).

In terms of post secondary governance and management, it is our responsibility to make prudent and ethical decisions in an accountable way, and to implement appropriate plans to address trends and factors that will affect future post secondary students.

The following outlines several key trends impacting post secondary education for Six Nations students and the steps that the GRPSEO has taken.

Post Secondary Funding out of step with increased education costs

Six Nations of the Grand River is the largest populated First Nation in Canada and has administered the post secondary education program locally since mid-1992.

Six Nations consistently has a greater demand for post secondary assistance than there are funds available.   This increasing demand is the result of two trends: (1) increased tuition costs and (2) increasing numbers of eligible applicants for education assistance.

These trends combined with inadequate budget increases to post secondary education assistance have resulted in a chronic funding shortage for post secondary assistance for eligible students.

Each year, eligible students do not receive funding and more disturbingly, for the past two years, fewer students were funded due to increased education costs.  

Fewer Students are Funded - Student Debt Increases

Increasing costs mean that the cost per student increases each year.

When post secondary funding does not increase at the same rate as the costs of education then two things happen.

1. Fewer students get funded.
2. Students pay a higher portion of their education costs  - usually by taking out student loans.

        Declining Number of Students Funded Through the GRPSEO

Fewer students can be funded
yet the number of applications increase each year.

NOTE: The number of applications for 2001/2002 continue to grow.
The number shown above is as of August 31st.

What is done locally?

 Student success is rewarded:

The GRPSEO applies a priority system to all student applications. This system is designed to provide fair and equitable access to limited funds as students pursue their goal of graduation and employment.

• Successful continuing students are rewarded with top priority for on-going funding.

• Students must pay back the tuition for failed courses. So once again, success is rewarded.

Before any changes are made to how students are assisted we need to take into consideration these facts.

• Student already pay a portion of their education costs.

• There are and will be shortages in all professions in Six Nations communities and in this country.

• We, and other Aboriginal peoples continue to be under represented in many important fields such as medicine, science and engineering.  Our students and graduates are only now beginning to get their start in graduate level research so that we, as a people, can impact global knowledge while preserving our own knowledge and values.

• As we strive to build our economies and improve our community systems, our graduates can help to shape and sustain our future.

Fund raising continues:

The GRPSEO continues to fund raise by seeking out private scholarship and bursary donors and by holding fund raising events such as the annual Golf for Grads Tournament. Although the donor trend is encouraging, escalating costs continue to out run our best efforts.

What is required?

Based on current GRPSEO rates of assistance, our records show that well over
ONE MILLION dollars was needed each year for the last six years to fund all eligible applications.

We have serious cause for concern when we add to the already documented need these facts:

1. the number of applications continues to increase each year,  and
2. the increase in applications will be much higher when the double cohort of high school students attempt to enter post secondary education in two years.

Based on 1999 statistics, it is reasonable to project that the demand rate for post secondary funding will increase by 3% over each of the next five years then remain fairly constant for the next 15 years.

Given the demonstrated annual funding short fall and taking into account:

• Six Nations average annual population growth of 3%,
• The % of Six Nations population in the post secondary age range (48%),
• Tuition and mandatory program increases at an average rate of 12% ,
• The impacts of regional tuition disparities i.e. tuition in Ontario is increasingly deregulated, and
• increases required to cover residence/student housing costs,

it is reasonable to consider a minimum increase of 25% to post secondary funding for Six Nations. This would increase the annual budget to $6,665,125 followed by annual increases of 5% thereafter.

Our students succeed, if given the opportunity.

Graduates are needed.

If student success and graduation are considered critical indicators then it is unreasonable for Six Nations people to continue to be denied access to post secondary education.

Clearly, additional post secondary funding for Six Nations is required to address this situation.

Will there be post secondary funding for your children and grandchildren?

Access to Post Secondary Programs of Choice

Although lack of funding is the key factor that impacts our student, access to programs of choice is a close second.

Many of our students do not get accepted into the programs that they really want to get into – why?

• Many of our high school graduates are not graduating with the required courses for their programs of choice at college or university.

• Many of our high school graduates do not have the marks to compete at the entry level set by some programs. For example, a university calendar may state that admission is an OSSD with 75% when in fact the cut off is really 95%.

• Many of our high school grads do not have the volunteer or community service required to be considered for admission into some programs. For example, when a student applies to get into teaching or into medicine it isn’t just marks that are considered. A student must be successful in an interview and be able to demonstrate past success when interacting with target groups such as young children.

With secondary school reform in Ontario, it is very clear that secondary students cannot afford to leave their planning for post secondary to the last minute. They must begin to map paths to the future even before high school.  The GRPSEO strongly recommends that students keep a broad mix of courses and maintain good marks.  Only in this way will students keep their options open.

To assist our new high school graduates in obtaining essential survival skills for post secondary study, the GRPSEO continues to provide new high school graduates with an option of deferring their post secondary education for one year in favour of obtaining work experience.

Although the work experience route is not appropriate for all new high school graduates, it has proven extremely beneficial for most students who took advantage of the option. They return to school with more personal self-confidence, a stronger work ethic and a stronger sense of commitment to a program of studies than they had the year before.

Economic Changes and the Aging Population

The baby boomers will retire and who will take their place?

Colleges and universities are already looking for professors! News reports state that the hunt is on for 15,000 professors and that the shortage is expected to last over the next decade.

It is not only the colleges and universities that are going to be searching for trained and talented people. Anyone who follows headlines knows that we have a severe shortage of doctors, nurses and other health professionals in our area, the province and the country.

When considering the job prospects in the next four years, consider these key points stated in a recently updated federal Labour Department’s manual.

• Some form of training will be required for 72 per cent of the 1.3 million new jobs expected to be created in the Canadian economy between last year and 2003. This is up from 60 per cent of existing jobs in 1998.

• The share of jobs requiring a university degree will rise to 23.4 per cent by 2003 from 16.7 per cent in 1998.

• Only 5.8 per cent of all new job openings will be available for people who don’t finish high school.

What does this mean for Six Nations?

Now is the time to be proactive about ensuring that our students receive the best elementary and secondary education possible. Now is the time to be proactive about getting our students into post secondary programs and institutions of choice.
 
As most of our students attend college or university in Ontario, a province noted for having the second highest average university tuition in Canada, we also have to find ways to address the rising costs of post secondary education so that opportunities for our students to become professors, doctors, and nurses are not taken away.

Outcomes/Accomplishments:

The Grand River Post Secondary Board oversees the operation of the GRPSEO.

Board policy states that the Board’s main role is to link with Onkwehon:we with Grand River lineage so that the board can determine and demand appropriate organizational performance and also ensure public accountability of the board. The Board and staff take this unique trust obligation seriously.

Organizational expectations are clearly stated in Board policy. These include limitations placed on operations through Board policy.  

The Board continually reviews Board policy to see if it is in line with the expectations of Onkwehon:we with Grand River lineage and monitors the operations for compliance with this policy.  In this past year, the Board set out more detailed expectations for the organization and then conducted a campaign to “check with” the moral ownership of the organization to make sure that the policy was on track.

To do this, the Board published board policy that states what the purpose of the organization is and asked for feedback to the following questions.

1. Do you believe this policy statement reflects the key purpose of the GRPSEO?  Please explain.
2. Has the GRPSEO missed any areas of key results that the organization should be working toward accomplishing?
3. Are there any outcomes listed that you feel are outside of the mandate of the GRPSEO?
4. Do you believe these outcome statements accurately reflect the needs of our community? Please explain.

The Board was pleased to receive much positive feedback and continues to welcome input and guidance.

In this document, we are therefore reporting on outcomes as they relate to expectations affirmed to date with the Onkwehon:we with Grand River lineage.

Post Secondary Graduation

Six Nations post secondary students continue with high rates of success!  The chart entitled, “Multi-Year Student Status Comparison” shows the outcomes for Six Nations students who received funding through the Post Secondary Office over the past five years. Note especially the high number of graduates and students who complete their year successfully.

• The GRPSEO is pleased to facilitate on-going recognition of Six Nations post secondary student accomplishments.

Recognition of student accomplishments is an on-going part of our interaction with students.

Student accomplishments are also highlighted in public ways as much as possible.

Special recognition is given to graduates at the Annual Student Recognition in October of each year. The event format changed in 2001 to accommodate more students and family members.

In recognition of our graduates’ accomplishments,
the GRPSEO has included in this report a complete list
of graduates since 1992.  

• We also continue to:
  • publish grad photos in local papers during Community Awareness Week in May.
  • attend events on campus whenever possible in support of our students e.g. orientations, convocations, awards nights.
  • maintain a history of student accomplishments (pictures and video tapes) at the office.
  • include messages of encouragement or congratulations from Six Nations agencies, business and families in the newsletter to students published three times per year.
  • feature a good news story about a student or grad in each Board newsletter that is distributed in the community.

This year the GRPSEO was most pleased to feature our Grads accomplishments on the CD-Rom, Six Nations Grads…Paths Into The Millennium.  The CD was launched at Chiefswood Park on June 21st, National Aboriginal Day.

The CD-ROM details the career and life paths of 146 of our students who graduated from Post Secondary programs over the years.  Graduates representing all vocations and careers are featured and share not only their own skills and talents but the support and guidance they received from their families, their community and their Onkwehon:we values.  The CD ROM will be used as a vocational and motivational tool for present and future generations and will be shared with other First Nations and Indigenous people worldwide.

This project was made possible through the sponsorship of the Millennium Bureau of Canada, Grand River Employment and Training, and the Grand River Post Secondary Education Office.  We are proud to say that all of the research and production necessary to develop the CD-ROM was undertaken by Six Nations’ Professionals.

• Within available resources, the GRPSEO contributes to positive learning environments for Six Nations post secondary students.  The Board and staff support good access, equal opportunity, respect, and support systems. For example, Board members are involved in Aboriginal Education Councils at various post secondary institutes where a high number of our students are enrolled. These Councils advise college and university presidents regarding programming, student support needs, and also help to sensitize college and university staff regarding Onkwehon:we culture, language and history. The GRPSEO is active in Councils at Mohawk College, Niagara College, Fanshawe College and the following universities: Western and Brock. The Board also supports more Onkwehon:we taking  positions on college and university Boards of Governors.
  
  

Qualified Work Force

The GRPSEO supports students enrolling in their choice of program and encourage students to consider a wide variety of programs so that broader skill sets with more qualified Onkwehon:we people will be available for employment.

When Six Nations is equipped with a broad spectrum of skill sets then we have the knowledge, skills and confidence required to meet current and future needs for a qualified work force. This will be a factor in enhancing the socio-economic status of the Onkwehon:we.

Our counselling and community awareness campaigns over the past years are showing some results. Student enrolments are less concentrated in the social sciences and becoming more diversified but we are still under-represented in some fields.

The charts on the next two pages entitled Student Program Selections demonstrate this gradual shift.

Resources & Resource Raising

• Financial assistance is provided to eligible Six Nations students within available resources. Financial assistance can include assistance for: tuition, books, direct costs associated with attending full time (allowance), and tutorial assistance.

As the need is constantly greater than available funds, the GRPSEO increases available resources by targeting scholarships and bursaries through creative fund-raising strategies.

• Scholarship and bursary recipients continue to increase. Recipients are recognized at the annual Student Recognition event held each year in October.

• Student success and need along with operational accountability continue to attract new award donors. A very special welcome and thank you to the:
  
  
  • Two Rivers Development Centre for a new business scholarship, and to
  • Grand River Employment and Training for the new award established this year.

As a result of direct fundraising by the GRPSEO, twenty-one scholarships of $500 have been issued to students at the annual Student Recognition event, October 6, 2001. The money for these scholarships come from the proceeds of the Annual Golf for Grads Tournament, sales of the CD-Rom Six Nations Grads…Paths Into The Millennium, sales of our customized student data base as well as from donations from board and staff members. Thank you to all who contributed to the tournament and related fundraising efforts. A special thank you to our major donors: the Bank of Montreal, and Six Nations Polytechnic.

Six Nations Specific Awards Continue to Grow….

• Each year, all student funds are assigned to students but then some of the funds do not get issued because students withdraw or cannot continue for some reason. Depending on the timing, some of these funds cannot be issued to another student before the end of the fiscal year (March 31st of each year).

Our accounting firm, KPMG, allows us to set these funds into special categories in our accounting so that the funds can be issued after March 31st . These funds have to be issued in a different way from on-going post secondary funding. It may help to think of these funds as one time only funding that is available only if money gets “freed” up.

In the past, these funds were issued as incentives to students who were also single parents with dependent children.  These incentives were issued as a transition from the old allowance format to the flat rate allowance that has been in effect since 1996.

In 2001, the “freed” up funds will be issued for incentives as well as scholarships. These are outlined below.

• Incentives: In recognition of rising costs for books and supplies, and the limited assistance available for books and supplies through the GRPSEO, the GRPSEO will issue one time only incentives to full time students approved for funding through the GRPSEO for the fall 2001 semester.  The money for these incentives comes from student funds that were decommitted and could not be reassigned during the last fiscal year
• Academic Scholarships: Open to students enrolled full time for the fall and winter 2001/2002 academic semesters in either level 1 (college) or level 2 (undergraduate) study. Students must be in a program that is eligible for funding through the GRPSEO and have achieved a grade average of B or higher in their program of studies at the end of the 2000/2001 academic year to be eligible for consideration. Students must apply to be considered.

Meaningful Information

The GRPSEO makes every effort to provide accurate and timely information to students, families and the community regarding future employment trends, education opportunities and the resources available to support post secondary education.

• Current post secondary institution and program information is maintained at the office. This includes information from across Canada and the USA as our students attend many different institutions. A variety of other resource material is also available to students e.g. college and university applications, OSAP applications, LSAT sample tests.

• Counselling is provided to active post secondary students. Counselling takes place through student visits to the office, telephone contacts and on campus where possible. Given the increasing number of applications received each year, counsellor case loads will be reviewed over the next few months for the purpose of improving education counsellor availability to students. See the caseload for each Education Counsellor in the staff directory.

The following charts provide a clear picture of the volume of contacts handled by staff on an annual basis.

• Students continue to access fax, photocopy, computer, and Internet equipment at the GRPSEO.  The Internet station is especially popular with students seeking information about institutions, programs, scholarships and bursaries.  Students are increasingly required to apply for admission on-line so the demand for these services continue to grow. In December 2000, the GRPSEO expanded its office to accommodate the increasing number of student files and work stations required to conduct all our activities.

• In support of informed student choice, the GRPSEO continues to publish its newsletter, The Talking Tree, three times per year. A Student Guide to Post Secondary Education Assistance is also available to all students. A Directory of Six Nations Post Secondary Students is also published to facilitate student contacts.

• Students access education assistance application forms and up to date policy information twenty-four hours per day via our web site at www.grpseo.org.  A special thanks to Virginia Martin for keeping the website up to date.

• The GRPSEO hosts an Annual Post Secondary Information day each year at Six Nations. Reps from many college and universities are on hand to answer student and parents questions about program and services. Last year’s Info Day was held November 8th – the 6th Annual Post Secondary information Day will be held November 2, 2001 at the Six Nations Community Hall in Ohsweken.

• Three OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) information sessions were hosted at the GRPSEO this past spring. Our continued thanks to Coline MacEachern from Mohawk College for assisting in this information service.

• To keep informed about programs, admission standards, professional standards, etc., GRPSEO Education Counsellors attend the various forums throughout the year such as Dialogue 2001 (Ontario universities’ information forum) as well as Red Carpet Day (the annual college information forum).

• GRPSEO Education Counsellors continue with the “Smart Student Strategy” to encourage “responsible decisions by informed students”.  The GRPSEO continues to provide access to relevant information for students and stresses with students their responsibility to be informed and to think through the implications of their options before making a decision.  Given our limited resources, our education counsellors are limited to two information sessions with secondary students and one with elementary students.

• GRPSEO staff continue to supervise exams for students enrolled in distance education courses and to provide letters of recommendation/support for students applying for admission to professional programs or for scholarships and bursaries.

• Scholarships & bursaries are compiled on an on-going basis.  Current information is available to students in the student work area as well as on disk. Net “Hot Spots” are also book marked for student convenience.
  
  
• Board and staff identify local, regional, national and international trends and policies with the potential to impact our students.

Academic Leadership

If we expect Onkwehon:we to take academic leadership positions then we require more teachers at the secondary and post secondary levels.

Toward this end, GRPSEO policy provides for management of the post secondary funding that continues to support students enrolled in teacher education at all levels including the Bachelor of Adult Education currently being offered in partnership between Six Nations Polytechnic and Brock University. We are pleased to report that more of our teacher education grads are pursuing the second teachable subject so that they can teach at  the secondary school level, and we continue to have students enrolled at the Masters and PhD levels. These levels are required to teach at colleges and universities.

Community Development

Community awareness of our purpose and the accomplishments of our students are essential to the GRPSEO playing a significant role in community development. The GRPSEO’s communication strategy continues to include community and client communications via newspapers, electronic messaging, and our daily radio “spots”. 

The Post Secondary Board and staff work to stay “in the loop” when it comes to knowing our community needs. The GRPSEO then promotes education in strategic areas for community development and links with community agencies to identify emerging needs and collaborative strategies to better address these community development needs. 

• Toward this end, the GRPSEO issues Board & Staff Scholarships in strategic need areas. In 2000, the scholarships were issued to students enrolled in business and technology. In 2001, the scholarships will be issued to students enrolled in health and natural sciences.
  
  
• More Six Nations students are now enrolled in Health Science prep and other access type programs that will facilitate their admission into health professions and other fields where we are under represented. The GRPSEO continues to work on access strategies with post secondary institutions.

The GRPSEO takes every opportunity to encourage students at all levels to think about their future and to experience hands-on learning. This year our summer students created a “career colouring book” suitable for pre-schoolers. We continue to host elementary level co-op students throughout the year and will be accepting a post secondary student for program placement in the coming year.  New high school grads can defer their post secondary enrolment for one year in favour of work experience. A special thanks to GREAT for the role it plays in making this option more realistic for a growing number of high school grads.

Summary

The Grand River Post Secondary Education Organization continues to function with clearly stated policy outlining organizational purpose as well as Board and staff functions. The organization continues to link with its ownership to ensure that it is “on track”.

Board and staff training, education, planning and activities are consistent with our organizations purpose and mindful of resource constraints.

Expenditures are consistent with the established purposes of organization.

The organization remains focused on continuous improvement in efficiency/effectiveness of management, administration and student support services.

• Annual staff planning is completed and critical paths are followed for all significant activities related to student support services.
• Annual staff in-service, training and performance reviews continue to ensure that the required combinations of knowledge, skill and ability are on hand. This past year, the focus was on software training.
• We continue to maximize on-campus linkages to enhance support services for our students and the efficiency of our financial administration.
• We continue to rely on technology to improve efficiency related to student and institutional communications.

The Grand River Post Secondary Education Organization hereby reports compliance with all legal and policy requirements related to its mandate.

GRPSEO STAFF DIRECTORY
All GRPSEO staff have direct lines that you can call if you have a specific question for them.  All staff has voice mail so you can leave a detailed message and your call will be returned. 

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