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"Levels of student debt are a significant issue for my family. Between my partner and I, we have $40,000 in student debt. Our monthly student loan payments total $600. Additionally, we have credit card debt, much of which is a result of our student loans and employment income not meeting our moderate standard of living costs during undergraduate studies. If we were not carrying such high debt, my partner would be enrolled in law school this September. Instead, we are both working to reduce this debt before taking more on, rather than moving forward with our academic careers. And, our private debt is taking a particularly long time to recover from as a result of the high interest rates. We know we are not alone in this situation". Jackie Chuckrey, Part-time student Mount Royal College Chairperson, Alberta College & Technical Institute Student Executive Council	"The government needs to recognize that it all starts here. The healthcare profession, politics, and even the oil and gas industry would be nothing without post-secondary education." Ashley-Rae Snape, Part-time student Southern Alberta Institute of Technology "The fact is that the vision of 'A Learning Alberta' cannot be achieved without a major re-investment of public funds in the system and a continuing commitment on the part of government to provide adequate resources to meet future challenges." David Milner, Instructor Grant MacEwan College President, Alberta Colleges and Institutes Faculties Association
"I am a farmer. When people learn that I am enrolled in post-secondary education for farming, they generally wonder why. I find that an education is the only way to be successful - even in my industry. And if that is true for my industry, then it is true for every career. The only way to move forward as a society is to ensure that everyone who wants to attain an education can do so, no matter what their professional ambitions are." Cody LaRocque, Student Olds College	"Students graduate at all levels with crushing school-related debt. As a result, they are forced to take the first job that pays the bills rather than seek out the position that best reflects their credentials and abilities. The system is pouring all these resources into people and their potential is too often not being fully maximized. Recent graduates are prevented from making their full contribution to society." Graham Lettner, Student University of Alberta President, University of Alberta Students' Union
"Young people are graduating from their post-secondary education studies and they are not finding the opportunities in the job market as they were promised. My perception is that more and more young people are choosing private-for-profit schools, which make promises to change your life; but, all they do is charge students $17,000 for tuition, leaving the student with more debt and still without opportunities. It's all about getting the money. We are failing our young people." Wendy Armstrong, from Edmonton	"Where did we go so wrong? We decided that in response to the fact that post-secondary education is so expensive, we would follow a market ideology. We do not want to make tough investments - so we privatize, commercialize, and marketize the system. The magic of the market would solve all this. Do you believe in magic? Markets are not designed to ensure services get to everyone. Markets are about who wins and who doesn't. And then we're surprised that there are inequities in the system... The fundamental principle behind a fix must be public provision." Larry Booi, from Edmonton
"A large family came to our office; they were not well off. The father had been injured and the mother did not have a strong education. The choice before her, and her family, was to work in the fast food industry or go back to school to make a better life for her family. After looking at their budget, they found that student loans would provide the same amount in funding as would the fast food service if she opted to work instead. As a result, she and her family must rely on the food bank to help make ends meet while she studies." David Feldman, from Edmonton Executive Director, University of Alberta Campus Food Bank	"Post-secondary education is a public good; I have a serious problem with the dependence on corporate funding as it favours some disciplines at the expense of arts and hummanities. It depresses the arts and it ties the universities to the interests of corporations. The government must view post-secondary education as an investment - not an expense and infuse a substantial amount of public money into the system so to remove the need for corporate funding and excessive tuition fees." Charan Khehra, from Edmonton