| Hello, Sorry this email is long. It’s after my atempts to make it short. I’ve underlined the main points, for those who want to skim. I have been on the university's Refugee and Newcomer Advisory Committee (RNAC) for a few years, so I am familiar with some of SFU’s programs. Also, much of my own research has been about asylum policies and programs — but there are SFU faculty and staff who know more about Canada and BC, including people on this list. I don’t know about past tution efforts, but I am happy to connect anyone who’s interested with the RNAC group. It includes some amazing staff who help run SFU's programs for refugees and newcomers, faculty engaged in related areas, and administration representatives. Be warned: offers to help might be enthusiastically welcomed! (I know that for the past several months I haven’t been able to be fully active.) What SFU is doing: every year SFU brings refugees into Canada, as new students at SFU. We pay for their tuition, fees, and living costs. This is the program that Melek linked to. It’s small, but an SFSS student referendum just approved funding to increase the number from four to six! I’m resisting adding details; you can look up the WUSC program (at SFU or other Canadian universities). Also, staff at International Student Services, along with students, have been building additional resources for other students who also have refugee backgrounds. We don’t know who they are; part of the effort is making the resources visible for people who may find them useful. I don’t see how we’d be charging international tuition to Convention refugees in Canada, because they aren’t international students. People admitted to Canada as Convention refugees (because of persecution for reasons listed in the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees) are given permanent residency status. So they would pay domestic tuition, just like other permanent residents do. - applied for asylum while in Canada, and have been given it, but their permanent residency status hasn’t come through yet. - are refugee claimants, who have applied for asylum while in Canada and don’t have a final decision yet. There’s a backlog, so it can take 1-2 years (and longer). - applied to SFU from another country and have a refugee status there. - have undocumented status in Canada, or other temporary residency statuses. - others? I’m happy to support anyone who is interested in checking out these things and starting a drive to reduce tuition and/or open pathways for application, or fundraise for bursaries or awards. In addition to people on the RNAC, there are a few student groups who may also be interested in getting involved in something like this. BTW: The York pilot program is primarily for people in Canada who are undocumented or are refugee claimants. There is an academic bridging course that facilitates admission for students with marginal academic status, and students with relevant status can apply to be charged domestic instead of international tuition. Without residency or SIN’s, however, many don’t have access to most financial aid programs or jobs, so even domestic tuition is difficult. (Note: This started as a pilot program in 2017, and I’m wondering if the tuition discount program is still active. Neither the university nor the NGO that coordinated it are showing any current information.) BTW: The proposal forwarded to the list suggests something much more ambitious than York’s program. It isn’t about Convention refugees. It focuses on people who don’t have refugee status. It proposes that SFU start deciding who we think should be recognize as refugees, give these domestic and international applicants preferential admission, and reduce their tuition. It mentions potential legal objections because this is usually a government decision; as I see it, that may not be the hard part. Despite treaties and regulations, there is no consistent practice for deciding who should and should not “count” as a refugee, or what sorts of evidence to require. This is not just an international issue — in many countries, including Canada, the chances of being approved depend greatly on the particular judge who sees the case. I don't know how we'd decide what situations qualify, what evidence we’d accept, what exceptions to make because the evidence isn’t available or the situation is a little different, whether we’d allow appeals… I may be overthinking it, though, and I’m happy to support people who want to see if we can. —Suzanna Suzanna M. Crage, PhD Senior Lecturer Undergraduate Program Chair Department of Sociology and Anthropology Simon Fraser University 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 1S6 Pronouns: she/her Office: AQ 5081 Email: scrage@sfu.ca As faculty at Simon Fraser University, I work and live on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw), Tsleil-Waututh (Səl̓ílwətaɬ), Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), and Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm) First Nations. I seek to support Indigenous peoples as they work to strengthen their communities and land. Suzanna M. Crage, PhD Senior Lecturer Undergraduate Program Chair Department of Sociology and Anthropology Simon Fraser University 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 1S6 Pronouns: she/her Office: AQ 5081 Email: scrage@sfu.ca As faculty at Simon Fraser University, I work and live on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw), Tsleil-Waututh (Səl̓ílwətaɬ), Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), and Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm) First Nations. I seek to support Indigenous peoples as they work to strengthen their communities and land.
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