Alberta town banks on future payoff with program paying tuition for some residents

A central Alberta town hopes paying for students' post-secondary education brings the community social and economic benefits.

Drayton Valley, a municipality of 7,000 located about 135 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, launched its Zero-Fee Tuition program in 2019, offering to pay for tuition for residents enrolling in select NorQuest College programs.

At the time, the town was in the thick of an economic downturn. The program was seen as a way to attract more residents and help diversify its oil-and-gas-dominant economy. 

"We looked at ways that we could not only create hope in the community, but really help create jobs," said Mayor Nancy Dodds, a town councillor when the program launched.

Though academic research on the program's benefits has yet to be published, the town's mayor already considers the program a success and hopes to expand it to fund training for Class 1 drivers, nurses and other in-demand jobs.

The town had hoped some students would move to Drayton Valley to take advantage of its Zero-Fee Tuition program — and some did — but when the pandemic moved all learners online, the town tightened its purse strings.

Students in the program's first cohort had tuition fully covered. Today, students may receive up to $5,000 in tuition assistance if they enrol in select programs at The Health Care Aide Academy, Delmar College, the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension, Northern Lakes College or Olds College.

The schools and streams have varied over the years, but the intent of the program has remained the same: students must live in Drayton Valley to qualify for the funding and must have first exhausted other options, like government grants and bursaries.

Most of the students attend in-person classes at the town's Clean Energy Technology Centre, which has multiple post-secondary partners. Some study virtually.

There were 20 students enrolled in the program in 2020. Of the 25 students in the program this year, more than half are training to become health-care aides.

Beth Boser, who has worked as a teaching assistant and secretary, said she enrolled in the program because her three sons are starting to leave home and she wanted a flexible job.

She said the zero-fee tuition program will help solve a shortage of health-care aides in town. 

"Most of us are from the community and are staying," she said of her intention to work full-time as a nurse's assistant after earning her certificate. 

Dodds said the town has worked with high schools and industry partners to identify programs that interest students, worker shortages and skills gaps.