September 21, 2011 in Blog by Ryan
Survey will help Waterloo Banking Project help students with their money
News Release
20 September 2011
Survey will help Waterloo Banking Project help students with their money
As the provincial election campaign turn to the issue of rising university tuition, a group of students in Waterloo is working to make it easier for students to manage the costs of higher education.
Waterloo Banking Project is running a survey to collect information from students at University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. The survey is online at survey.waterloobanking.com
The project is an initiative of Waterloo and Laurier students working to establish student-run financial services on their campuses. The vision is to help students graduate with more money, less debt, and better financial skills, by offering them accounts, loans, and financial planning services that are competitively priced and structured for students.
The organization would offer services in person at branches or kiosks, through ATMs, and online, in partnership with an established bank or credit union.
“Tuition is becoming a larger and larger factor for students pursuing a university education. Unfortunately, students have to worry about money when they should be focusing on their studies,” said Ryan Chen-Wing, founder and leader of the project, who studies economics and history at UW.
“We are working to make things a little easier for students,” he added.
In the past fifteen years tuition in Ontario has more than tripled, increasing 268%. This year university students in Waterloo are expected to pay $345 million to the two universities.
Student responses to the survey will help the group fine-tune their ideas for products and services to have the most impact on students. Registered UW and WLU students who complete the survey can enter a draw for $500.
“A key part of any business is the customer. We need to make sure that our services best meet the needs of our student customers,” said Helena Cao, senior director of the project and a math and business double degree student at UW and WLU.
The group is incorporated as a not-for-profit and has a board of advisors. They are also in discussions with potential partner financial institutions and with both universities. Launch is planned for 2013.
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