Kat Ward
News Reporter

Ontario college students transitioning to degree programs this fall will automatically be considered for Humber’s new $2,500 scholarship.

“Historically, scholarship dollars have been reserved for students who are coming directly from high school,” said Barbara Riach, Humber’s deputy registrar. “There hasn’t been a means of financial recognition for students who have already completed some post-secondary education, and senior administration wanted to honour that.”

Students who have completed a two or three year diploma program, and have a GPA of 80 per cent or higher, will automatically be considered for the award. Individuals who are completing final semester have to wait until their grades are processed.

Currently Humber is one of three Ontario institutions that offers a scholarship of this nature; the others are Guelph-Humber and Laurentian.  “Students who already have a diploma are ideal candidates,” said Riach. “This scholarship helps make Humber a more attractive option in comparison to other colleges, there’s no doubt about it.”

Transferring from a diploma to a degree program has been an option in Ontario for many years. However, the process is not yet streamlined.

“Pushing this in Ontario has been much harder than in other parts of the country,” said Faiz Fuad, a recruitment officer for Humber. “The system is not so easy for students to navigate and it is hard for them to get those transfer credits.”

Scholarships, such as Humber’s new $2,500 award, provide financial support for students seeking furthered education. “It is important to keep options open because you don’t know what will happen 12 months or two years down the road,” Riach said.

Humber student Karlie Fisher transferred from the community and justice service diploma to the degree program this January.

“When I finished my diploma I didn’t know what to do,” Fisher said. “A lot more jobs are requiring degrees nowadays, a lot more than people realize.”

Students will be able to get more information about the scholarship at Humber’s annual degree fair today at the Lakeshore campus.

Representative from 48 universities and colleges from North America, the United Kingdom and Australia will be available to answer questions.

“This is a great opportunity for students to see how their credits can apply to future coursework in bachelor and masters degrees,” said Anna Borg, the fair’s organizer and assistant to the vice-president of academic.

The fair will be held in the L-West cafeteria from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.