Combat Tuition Increases with Discounts and Freebies

Post-secondary education is expensive. If you’ve enrolled in an AU course recently, you may have noticed tuition has become even more expensive for most students. Brace yourself: you may be paying even more soon, as AUSU is revising their bylaws and the new structure will probably require an increase to the membership fees it levies on each AU undergraduate course.

Despite the ever-increasing expense of tuition, there are still some perks available to AU students. We’ve sifted through the AU and AUSU websites and summarized some available discounts and freebies:

Software Discounts. AU partners with online retailer OnTheHub, to provide a variety of software to students at discounted prices. Available software includes Windows 10, MS- Office suites, plus Adobe, IBM, Norton products and dozens more.
https://athabasca.onthehub.com/

Student ID cards. Many retailers and other organizations offer discounts to students. To access discounts offered only to students with ID, you’ll need to obtain an AU Student ID Card. You can apply for a free card from AU any time. Cards are effective for the current academic year of September 1 to August 31; after expiry, continuing students can request a date sticker to keep their card current.
http://registrar.athabascau.ca/enrolment/records/idcards.php

lynda.com Online Learning. AUSU provides undergrad students with free access to lynda.com’s online video training website. lynda.com offers hundreds of training videos on computer software, business skills, design, photography, and much more. Any student enrolled in a for-credit AU undergrad course can apply for access to lynda.com through AUSU.
www.ausu.org/services/student-resources/lynda/

Eye-wear Discounts. AUSU has partnered with FYIDoctors.com to provide discounted prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses. Any student enrolled in a for-credit AU undergrad course can access these discounts by obtaining a promo code from AUSU, then visiting one of FYidoctors’ participating eyewear retailers across Canada.
https://www.ausu.org/services/student-resources/eyewear/

Shaw Television and Internet Discounts. For September, Shaw Communications provides discounted rates for full-time AU students. These discounts are available to new subscribers only and apply to the first twelve months of service. Act quickly: this offer expires September 30, 2017. Shaw services are available in Western Canada only, from BC to Thunder Bay ON. Read the fine print on this offer.
https://www.ausu.org/shaw/

Student Lifeline Mental Health and Wellness Program. AUSU provides free access for its members to the Student Lifeline wellness program through Lifeworks.com. In addition to online resources, the Student Lifeline program offers access to counselling and community resources.
https://www.ausu.org/services/lifeline/

The Voice Magazine. Not only is this magazine available to you absolutely free from their website, they might even pay you! AU students can earn real money for writing news, views, and interviews, or submitting poetry, prose, or photos. Contact the editor (karl@voicemagazine.org) to learn more.
https://www.voicemagazine.org/

With rising tuition, students have to be, more than ever, financially savvy to stay afloat. Taking advantage of every possible discount and freebie allows you to combat the rising costs of education.

Barbara Lehtiniemi is a writer, photographer, and AU student. She lives on a windswept rural road in Eastern Ontario.