Every little bit counts when helping students pay college or university tuition fees. According to a Statistics Canada table on tuition fees, Nova Scotia undergraduate students from Canada paid the highest tuition fees in the country in 2023/24, at an average cost of $10,548. That’s nearly 50% more than the national average. Since 2018, the […]
Lauren Phillips, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Lauren Phillips is The Coast’s Education Reporter, a position created in September 2023 with support from the Local Journalism Initiative. Lauren studied journalism at the University of King’s College, and has written on education and sports at Dal News and Saint Mary's Athletics for over two years. She won gold in the Canadian online publishing awards in the academic Best Multicultural Story category for her work on "Kwe’ Eskasoni," in May 2022, and assisted the journalism academic partners of Looking Out For Each Other (LOFEO), a project that started with the media guidelines on how to report responsibly on missing Indigenous people. Lauren assisted in researching recommendations for family and friends of missing Indigenous people to help them understand how media works and how to communicate effectively with reporters.
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dal’s orientation is nearly upon us
Orientation week, dubbed O-Week, starts for incoming Dalhousie University students this Thursday, Aug. 29. It’s a jam-packed week deserving of its own website. Last year’s O-Week saw over 2,000 students attend its larger events, the vice president of student life for the Dal Student Union, Ana Patton, tells The Coast. “This year, we’d like to […]
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Families on assistance getting payment for back-to-school supplies
Nova Scotia families who receive income assistance will automatically receive an increase to their Aug. 29 payment, meant to help with the cost of school supplies for their children. As the Department of Community Services announced on Aug. 6, the increase will extend to families with kids starting in Pre-Primary this fall. According to the […]
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Pay-what-you-can school lunch program starts feeding kids in October
A long-awaited provincial lunch program for school students is nearly here. At a media announcement on Friday Aug. 23, Nova Scotia’s minister of education and early childhood development, Becky Druhan, called the pay-what-you-can program “historic.” “This is about, day-to-day, ensuring our students are healthy, focused on learning, with full bellies, ready to tackle the day,” said […]
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Student housing help: a resource list
What are your options if you are a student looking for housing in Halifax two weeks before the fall semester begins? First option: on-campus housing; MSVU, Dal and AST have a few rooms left. Of the seven colleges and universities in Halifax, all but one—NSCAD—have student accommodations. However, as of Thursday, Aug. 22, most of […]
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How bad is the housing market for university students?
Student Housing NS is a non-profit housing provider that recently switched to supporting and advocating for the housing needs of students province-wide. The group also leads research into student housing needs to develop support. Right now, they’re asking all postsecondary students in Nova Scotia to complete a five-minute survey on the realities they face when […]
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‘We need help now’ say support workers about school violence report
The first day of school is fast approaching for students and educators alike. This is why the union representing 5,000 school support workers essential to everyday learning—the Canadian Union of Public Employees—is demanding action from the provincial government to make their workplaces safe to return to. On Thursday, Aug. 15, CUPE Nova Scotia and the […]
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Pollinator and community gardens at Dal to host artist residencies, upcoming show
The Black to the Roots artist residency has officially begun. Six artists were recently selected to curate a group show in a pair of community gardens at Dalhousie University, with the resulting works to be exhibited this October. Both gardens are active growing spaces, allowing artists to rethink the gallery setting and extend community engagement […]
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Treaty Space Gallery opening soon in newer, bigger space
The Treaty Space Gallery, a part of NSCAD’s Anna Leonowens Gallery system, has a new and bigger location at 1887 Granville Street that will be open in September. “I’m most excited to transform the new space into, not only a gallery where people can exhibit work, but also an Indigenous Student Centre,” says exhibitions coordinator […]
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At least four African Nova Scotian students get scholarships at Peace Basketball Tournament
The annual Peace Basketball Tournament is back for its sixth year with 20 teams competing on courts across Halifax over Aug. 22-25. The tournament continues the legacy of the former provincial Black Invitational Basketball Tournament, which stopped over a decade ago after running for 40 years—but which was a rallying force in bringing people together […]
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New housing bursary at MSVU for students affected by war
The Mount Saint Vincent University Student’s Union is asking students affected by ongoing war and conflict worldwide to submit a two-page application for access to a new housing bursary. From now until noon on Aug. 27, current Mount students can find the bursary application on the MSVUSU website here. According to the form, the $12,475 […]
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Forest school in Halifax started by parents who saw it benefit their son
You know the sensationalized old adage, “When I was your age, I had to walk to school uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow?” Well, maybe there’s more to it than reminding kids how easy they have it. Parents and co-founders of the Tideview Nature School in Halifax, Jessie Zhao and Mikel L’Italien, have found […]