What's New for 2009-10?
In Federal Budget 2008 a series of initiatives were announced on student financial assistance to make education more accessible to students from low and middle-income families, to encourage more students with permanent disabilities to pursue post-secondary education, to improve assistance to students when repaying their loans and to simplify navigation between the many different loan programs currently available.
Grants for Full Time Studies
In order to increase the accessibility of education, new grants were established and changes were made to some existing grants. Students would be assessed for the grants when they apply for Student Assistance for the 2009-2010 academic year. Students must have a calculated need of at least $1 and be enrolled in an approved program at a designated educational institution. These grants may exceed a student’s calculated need and are non-repayable as long as students do not withdraw from study within the first 30 days. These grants are issued in 2 disbursements (one at study commencement and one at the half way point of study). If your program is less than 23 weeks, your grant will be issued in one disbursement at study commencement. There are situations where a student would not be eligible to receive their second disbursement. This will be determined through a reassessment of the student's file if additional information is received. Before making any changes to the institution you are attending, contact the NS Student Assistance Office for information on how this could impact your assistance.
If there is still unmet need after qualifying for the grants students would then qualify for Canada Student Loan (CSL) and Nova Scotia Student Loan (NSSL). The grants are:
Canada Student Grant for Students from Low-Income Families
• your 2008 family income (as reported to Canada Revenue Agency) must be below the established low-income thresholds (Click here to see Income Levels Table).
• you must be enrolled in an approved
certificate, diploma or bachelors program and your program of study must be at least 2 years duration (60 weeks)
• if all criteria are met, you could qualify for $250 per month of study.
Canada Student Grant for Students from Middle-Income Families
• your 2008 family income (as reported to Canada Revenue Agency) must be below the established middle-income thresholds (Click here to see Income Levels Table).
• you must be enrolled in an approved
certificate, diploma or bachelors program and your program of study must be at least 2 years duration (60 weeks)
• if all criteria are met, you could qualify for $100 per month of study.
Canada Student Grant for Students with Dependants
• you must have the care and custody of children under 12 years of age and/or children 12 years of age and older who have a disability (confirmed by a physician).
• your 2008 family income (as reported to Cananda Revenue Agency) must be below the established low-income thresholds (Click here to see Income Levels Table).
• if all criteria are met, you could qualify for up to $200 per month per child
Canada Student Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities
Formerly named the Canada Access Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities
• you must have a permanent disability (as defined under the Canada Student Loans criteria).
• if all criteria are met you could qualify for $2000 per process year.
Grant for Services and Equipment for Students with Permanent Disabilities
Formerly named the Canada Study Grant for the Accommodation of Students with Permanent Disabilities
• you must have a permanent disability (as defined under the Canada Student Loans criteria).
• you must be enrolled in full-time or part-time study at a designated educational institution.
• you must be able to provide proof of your disability and a letter identifying that you are in need of the assistance from an individual authorized to make such a determination.
• if all criteria are met, you could qualify for up to $8000 per process year.
Part Time Changes
In addition to the full time grants, there have been some changes announced to the part-time program. The limit of $4000 in part-time federal loan funding has been increased to $10,000 and part-time students are not required to repay their part-time loans while in study. Students have the option of making payments to their part-time loans while studying or having payments deferred and interest accrue until 6 months after completion of study when they enter into repayment. Amendments were also made to the grants for part-time studies. The grants are:
Canada Student Grant for Part Time Studies
Formerly named the Canada Study Grant for High-need Part-time Students
• Your calculated need must be at least $1
• you must be enrolled in a certificate, diploma or bachelors program at a designated educational institution on a part-time basis.
• your 2008 family income (as reported to Canada Revenue Agency) must be below the established thresholds
(Click here to see Part-Time Income Levels Table).
• if all criteria are met you could qualify for up to $1200 per process year to a maximum of your assessed need.
Grant for Part-Time Students with Dependants (CSGP-PT DEP)
Formerly named the Canada Study Grant for Part-time Students with Dependants
•have an assessed need that exceeds the Grant for Part-Time Studies (which provides a maximum of $1,200) and have borrowed at least $4,000 in Canada Student Loans
• you must be enrolled in a certificate, diploma or bachelors program at a designated educational institution on a part-time basis.
• You must also have a dependant under the age of 12 and/or a permanently disabled dependant who is 12 years of age or older at your Period of Study Commencement Date.
• If all criteria are met you could qualify for up to $1920 per process year.
Changes for Married / Common -Law Students
Improvements have also been announced that will enable more students who are married or in a common law relationship to qualify for funding. This will be made possible through a reduction in the percentage a spouse is required to contribute towards the students’ education. The change will apply for both Canada and Nova Scotia Student Loans.
Debt Management
Borrowers will have new debt management measures to assist them with the repayment of their federal student loan debt in the form of the Repayment Assistance Program (RAP) which calculates an affordable payment for those who qualify. RAP replaces the existing Interest Relief (IR) and Debt Reduction in Repayment (DRR) programs with a 2 stage approach as well as an accelerated program for students with permanent disabilities. Nova Scotia announced the implementation of a version of RAP in June of 2007 and will be aligning some aspects of the existing provincial program with the new federal program to ensure borrowers get the best benefit possible.
Simplification of the Student Assistance Program
The Service Delivery Vision will assist in moving forward the initiatives that will work towards simplifying the many different loan types that exist. These initiatives are currently in progress and will provide a more streamlined and efficient program for students. The initiatives include:
Consolidated view of loans - This allows borrowers who may have loans from different provinces or loans at the federal level to view information on their loans in one location.
A master loan agreement - This means only one document to sign over the lifetime of your federal student loans.
A single electronic application for all debt management measures - This means that any applications that are required for a borrower to get assistance with repaying their student loan debt will be available electronically and will collect the information required for any of the debt management programs available once.
A single loan payment for multiple loans - This means that whether your federal and provincial loans are integrated or separated, borrowers will be able to make one payment that will be split to cover all required loan payments.
Consolidated, simplified communications across the Student Financial Assistance programs - This means that any communication received by borrowers for both their federal and provincial loans will be more effective as any repetition or duplication of information will be eliminated and borrowers will get one communication package that covers both loan levels.
Completion of the Mandate of the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation
Following the end of the mandate for the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation in 2009, a new transition grant was announced to ensure that borrowers who benefited from a Millennium Bursary for the 2008-09 academic year would not be disadvantaged and would still receive the remainder of the bursary they would have been entitled to through this transition grant. It will cover the difference between what Millennium Bursary had been issued plus any of the Low Income and Middle Income Grants issued.
New Security Measures for Online Tools
In order to enhance the level of security of student information that is entered into our online tools, the Nova Scotia Student Assistance website has moved to a new method of authenticating it's students. Whenever a student clicks on any of the icons for online tools, they will be taken to a new page which requires login using specific user names, passwords and challenge questions selected by the students. This adds an additional layer of protection for student's personal information when they are using any of the online tools on the Student Assistance website.
Extended Hours Available to Reset Your Password
The Nova Scotia Student Assistance Office (NSSAO) is responding to the needs of students - more flexibility through extended service hours for password related issues.
As of June 15, 2009, students may now contact NSSAO Password Support Representatives Monday to Friday by phone from 8:30 am - 4:00 pm AST for assistance with password issues. Representatives are still available from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm AST for all other questions students may have related to their Nova Scotia student loans.
In the Fall of 2009, the NSSAO will review the activity related to password issues and evaluate the process for any additional adjustments that may be necessary.
