Queen’s said it’s putting money behind its pledge to diversify the student body.
A hundred students in the class of ’27 will receive new Major Access Bursaries, totaling $7 million annually, as part of needs-based transformation of Queen’s financial aid.
“If we want our students to be surrounded by other great students, regardless of their financial background, we need to be intentional about how we change [financial aid], and that means significant and sustained funding,” said Ann Tierney, vice-provost and dean (student affairs), in an interview with The Journal.
Three years ago, Tierney among other Queen’s istration, signed a pledge to enhance efforts and initiatives to diversify the student population. The pledge was part of a declaration to act against racism and oppression across campus. Tierney launched the initial Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenization (EDII) review of issions in 2020. A subsequent review of financial aid occurred in 2022. The Major Access Bursaries started as a result.
Funding for the Principal’s Scholarships will be reallocated to create the new bursaries. Until now, incoming students with a 95 per cent average automatically received $4,000 in financial for their first year, totaling 9 million dollars in annual scholarships.
Moving forward only the students with the top five percent of grade averages in each program will receive the Principal’s Scholarship.
“It was a lot of money [that was] not being used strategically to assist students with financial need,” Tierney said.
Through the Major Access Bursaries, students will receive between $10,000 and $18,000, depending on the cost of their program, for every year during their undergraduate degree. Student eligibility will be based on need demonstrated through a separate financial aid application.
Forty-three per cent of Queen’s undergraduate applicants in 2020 came from households whose family incomes were above $125,000 according to Queen’s Student Applicant Census.
“We know there are talented and excellent students spread all over the country that don’t have the same opportunities other students have […] we don’t want the cost to be the barrier,” Tierney said.
Kidus Leul, ArtSci ’23, is the only student who served on the 2022 financial aid review committee which recommended the bursaries.
“For a lot of students coming to Queen’s, that small $4,000 [from the Principal’s Scholarship], doesn’t make a difference to them,” Leul said.
With the funds from the Principal’s Scholarship redistributed, more students with higher financial need will feel the difference. For Luel, making Queen’s a more financially accessible place will make Queen’s a more diverse place.
“This can help build more meaningful relationships across socio-economic lines and I think [student diversity] enhances the whole classroom,” Leul said.
As a result of the 2020 EDII review, Leul and four other students became the first Equity Ambassadors at Queen’s in 2021. The Equity Ambassadors are tasked with connecting with prospective students from “unrepresented backgrounds” to encourage them to attend Queen’s.
“I feel like finances [are] one of the biggest reasons students choose [certain] universities,” Equity Ambassador Peter Haile, Art Sci ’26, said in an interview with The Journal.
Haile is an annual recipient of the Commitment Scholarship, which awarded a total of $1.2 million annually to students who demonstrated leadership in social justice. Queen’s will continue with the Commitment Scholars Award for equity deserving groups.
“For me, coming from an underprivileged community [in Toronto], Queen’s wasn’t an option at all. When I got the money, it opened so many options for me,” Haile said.
“It’s so meaningful to me because I have a purpose now. I’m more than a student. I’m trying to create culture change and thrive in the new environment I’m in.”
Despite making gains, Leul, Haile, and Tierney all agree Queen’s has work to do before the promises made in 2020 are fulfilled.
“We’re known at Queen’s for having a strong community—we want everyone to feel a part of that community,” Tierney said.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].