General Information

Mission Statement

To provide in a timely and efficient manner, financial assistance to eligible students, thereby providing equal opportunity to access post-secondary education.

History

The Student Assistance Office was established in 1964. The program was established to provide needs-based assistance to students who would be unable to attend post-secondary study because their family resources were not sufficient to cover their educational costs. This philosophy has remained unchanged.

Programs and Principles

Programs:

The Student Assistance Office administers:

• Canada Student Loans and Nova Scotia Students Loans
• Canada Millennium Scholarship Bursary
• Canada Study Grants for:
  • High Needs Students with Dependents
  • High Needs Part-Time Students
  • Women in Doctoral Studies (for Ph.D level study in fields considered under-represented by women)
• Canada Access Grant:
  • Students from Low Income Families
  • Students with Permanent Disabilities

Please visit the Canada Student Loan Program's Web site for more information at CanLearn.ca .

Principles:

The federal and provincial governments provide loans to help students study at designated universities, community colleges or private career colleges. The purpose of the Canada Student Loan (CSL) and Nova Scotia Student Loan (NSSL) is to supplement, not to replace, the financial resources that you (and your family, if applicable) are expected to contribute. NSSL and CSL are based on financial need as determined through an assessment of your application. Educational costs (such as tuition fees, books and supplies, basic living expenses), and the resources Nova Scotia Student Assistance expects you (and your family, if applicable) to contribute, are taken into consideration. Student loans are not designed to supply all of the assistance you may need to meet your educational and living costs.

Basic eligibility

There are a number of basic eligibility criteria you must meet in order to be eligible to apply for financial assistance in Nova Scotia.

1. You must be either a Canadian citizen or a Landed Immigrant. If you are a Landed Immigrant, and applying for the first time, you will be required to submit a copy of your Permanent Resident Form with your application.
2. You must be a Nova Scotia resident.
3. You can only apply for a Student Loan to attend approved full-time programs which lead to a degree, diploma or certificate. These programs must be at least 12 weeks long and be offered by an approved institution. Approved institutions include:
   • Universities, Colleges
   • Technical Institutions
   • Community Colleges
   • Private Career College

You can determine if an institution is approved for Assistance by clicking here.

However, even though an institution has been approved, all of its programs may not have been. The following types of programs are NOT approved:

• Upgrading programs
• Fully-funded transition year programs
• Courses that are not credited toward a degree, diploma, or certificate

You can apply for a Student Loan for some, but not all, qualifying year programs. Check with the Student Assistance Office if you are not sure whether a particular institution or program has been approved for Student Loans.

• You must be taking at least 60% of a full course load, or 40% if you are a student with a permanent disability . For university students a full course load is normally five courses per term. To be considered a full-time student, you need at least three courses per term. For more detailed information on full time status please click here.
• Any previous student loans must be in good standing (i.e. you must not have defaulted on a student loan).
• You must maintain satisfactory scholastic standard.
• You must have passed the Nova Scotia Student Assistance credit check.

Your responsibilities and obligations

The office receives more than 23,000 applications a year. It can take 4-6 weeks to process your application. Incomplete applications will delay processing.

You must:

• Report any change in your financial situation, such as an increase in your resources (if you get a part-time job, for example). These changes will affect the amount of your loan. If you do not report the change before your loan is finalized, you may be assessed an overaward which you will have to repay. Files are audited each year.
• Give us your new address and phone number if you move.
• Read and follow the terms and conditions printed on the back of your student loan documents.

Nova Scotia Student Assistance definitions

Allowable Costs	Educational costs used to determine need. These include tuition, books, living costs, local transportation, return transportation, etc. With the exception of tuition, these are not actual costs, but fixed amounts determined federally, which are the same for all applications. (See Table A)
Assessed or Calculated Need	The amount a student is eligible to receive after a student's costs have been deducted from the resources. (See funding available)
At Home	Refers to single students living in their parents' home and to married students living with their spouse.
Award	The loan you are eligible to receive.
Away from Home	Refers to dependent and independent single students who live away from their parents' home and married students who live away from their spouse. Single Dependent Students and Married Students will be assessed with the living at home costs if the parents or spouse lives within commuting distance of the educational institution the student is attending.
Borrower	This term refers to a student who has qualified for, and cashed a Certificate of Eligibility with a loan provider.
Canada Access Grant for Students from Low-income Families	This grant is available to first-time, first year dependent students whose families' net income falls within the range of entitlement to the National Child Tax Befefit Supplement. It will cover up to one half of tuition cost to a maximum of $3,000 (but cannot exceed your total amount of assessed financial need).
Canada Access Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities	This grant of up to $2,000 per loan will be awarded to students with permanent disabilities who have demonstrated financial need. Eligibility of this grant is determined during the assessment of the student loan application.
Millennium Access Grant for Students from Low-income Families	This grant is available to first-time, first-year dependent students whose assessed parental contribution is less than $1,000. It will provide up to $2,500 to address the amount that the assessed costs are not covered through student loans and other sources of funding. An additional $1,000 may be available in place of student loan to help support more manageable debt levels.
Canada Student Loan (CSL)	Federally subsidized loan.
Confirmation of Reinstatement of Interest Free Status	Confirmation of Enrolment for Nova Scotia Student Loan. Signed by the institution and used when a student is remaining in full-time study, but is not getting another Nova Scotia Student Loan. Confirms to the lender that the student is still in school and defers repayment of the Nova Scotia Student Loan until the student has completed full-time study.
Full-Time Work	Working 30 to 40 hours each week and earning at least minimum wage.
Job Search	Refers to the requirement for students to actively seek full-time work during their pre-study period.
Minimum Pre-Study	Students are expected to make a Contribution from working during the pre-study period. Based on number of weeks in pre-study period provincial minimum wage rates and average weekly work hours less income tax, CPP, EI contributions and living costs.
Need	Need is what we calculate, by subtracting your total assessed costs from your total assessed resources. This may be a positive or a negative number. The calculated need will be used in determining the authorized award under the Nova Scotia Student Loans Program. If the figure is zero, the student is deemed to have sufficient resources to finance his/her education and does not qualify for financial assistance.
Nova Scotia Student Loan (Nova Scotia Student Assistance Office)	Provincially subsidized loan.
Nova Scotia Student Loan Agreement	The loan document for a Nova Scotia Student Loan. The student has this form signed by the educational institution and then mails or takes it to the lender to negotiate the loan. The Nova Scotia Student Loan can not be negotiated until halfway through your program.
Overaward	Amount of Canada Student Loan or Nova Scotia Student Loan or Canada Study Grant issued to a student in excess of the amount the student is entitled to receive.
Pre-Study Period	The period immediately before the start of a student's classes. The length of this depends on what the student was doing the year before and is broken down as follows if the study period begins in September: just out of high school in June - 8 weeks finished university in April - 18 weeks in the labour force - 18 weeks
Resources	Funds students have or are assumed to have to contribute towards their educational costs. These are used to determine the calculated need for assistance. For specifics, see "How loan amounts are determined"
Schedule 1 (CSL)	The loan document for a Canada Student Loan. The student has this form signed by the institution, and then takes it to the lender to negotiate the loan. Also known as a "Certificate of Eligibility".
Schedule 2 (CSL)	Confirmation of Enrolment for Canada Student Loan. Signed by the institution and used when a student is remaining in full-time study, but is not getting another Canada Student Loan. Confirms to the lender that the student is still in school, and defers repayment of the Canada Student Loan until the student has completed full-time study. This form can be obtained from your lending institution.
Student Category	Your student category is used to determine the amounts of funding you are eligible to receive. There are four categories: Dependent Independent Married Single Parent
Tuition	This is the fee payable for registration in a program at a post-secondary educational institution. Tuition fees are set by the institutions and are used by Nova Scotia Student Assistance Office in assessing applications.

Social Insurance Number (SIN)

You must have a valid permanent Social Insurance Number (SIN) in order for your Nova Scotia Student Assistance application to be processed. If you do not have a Social Insurance Number, contact any office of Human Resources Development Canada, Employment and Insurance, for information about how to obtain one. They are listed in the blue pages of local telephone directories.

How to get help

The Client Service Officers who answer the phones can answer most of your questions. They are available during regular office hours, 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. each weekday.

You can speak with a Financial Aid Counsellor on the phone at these times:

Monday and Tuesday - 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Thursday and Friday - 8:30 A.M. to 11:30 A.M.

Long distance calls to the Student Assistance Office are free from anywhere in Canada. Phone 1-800-565-8420 or, in the Metro area, 424-8420.

You can meet with a Counsellor, by appointment, at the Student Assistance Office at these times:

Monday and Tuesday - 9:00 A.M. to 11:30 A.M.
Thursday and Friday - 1:00 P.M. to 3:40 P.M.

Call 424-8420 to make an appointment. Our office is on the 4th floor (main level) of the Brunswick Place Building, 2021 Brunswick Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

How to get information on your file

All calls to the Student Assistance Office are answered by the Interactive Voice Response (IVR). The IVR will give you up-to-date information on the status of your file. You can also find out what date we are processing, when your information was processed, if you were awarded a loan and how much. If more information is needed to process your application, the IVR, in most cases, will be able to tell you. The IVR is available 24 hours a day, every day. The information is updated once daily (usually between 10:00 p.m. and midnight).

Deadlines

For Loan Applications, Appeals and Pre-study Reports

All information must be received no later than 8 weeks before your study period ends. For example, if you finish your program any time in April, you must have submitted ALL information before March 1st. If you finish any time in December, information will not be accepted after October 31st.

Students who do not apply early often do not have enough time to send additional information needed to process, finalize or increase their loan award. It can take 4-6 weeks to process information you send. If you are starting classes in September, we recommend you apply before June 30th. Remember, we cannot issue awards after the end of your study period. FOR THIS REASON DEADLINES ARE ENFORCED.

Satisfactory scholastic standard

You must pass at least 60% of a full university course load to remain eligible for Student Loans and interest-free assistance. If you are at a community college or private career college, you must pass each year. Each year you must send in a photocopy of whatever document shows that you have completed your school year.

If you do not maintain a satisfactory scholastic standard, the consequences and results illustrated in the following table will apply.

Scholastic situation - Successful completion of:	Consequence	Result
Less than 60% of a full-time course load for one period of study.	Probation: Student remains eligible to be considered for loans in the next period of study.	Student must succeed in all following periods of study to maintain continuous eligibility for loans.
Less than 60% of a full-time course load for two periods of study.	Student loses eligibility for loans for 12 months.	Student must maintain student loans in good standing during a 12-month period.
Less than 60% of a full-time course load for three periods of study.	Student loses eligibility for loans for a minimum of 36 months.	Must maintain loans in good standing during 36-month period.

Failing courses may increase the number of years you'll need to complete your program and there is a limit to the length of time you can apply.