Solving the Mystery of Full time Student Loan Eligibility in BC

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Maintaining program eligibility for full-time student loans shouldn't be a mystery. If your target student population is relying on student loans to fund their education, these are the important factors of program eligibility worth considering before making major changes and potentially losing that funding source.  

Updated June 2022

 

BC is RRU’s home province so we are primarily concerned with meeting StudentAid BC’s program eligibility requirements. While every provincial ministry responsible for student loans must follow some basic Canada Student Loan program regulations, each has the authority to set additional criteria. For out-of-province residents, eligibility is often defaulted to the home province’s designation.

We've sleuthed out these relevant regulations from the 2022-23 StudentAid BC Policy Manual (mostly paraphrased). You can retrieve the full manual here https://studentaidbc.ca/institution-officials

1.       The program of studies must be offered and delivered at 100 percent of a full course load. For student loan purposes at RRU it is:

• for undergraduate programs      0.87 credits per week
• for graduate programs               0.29 credits per week

A 60-credit undergrad program can be delivered in 16 months and still retain 100% course load status.

2.       If there is a program offered at 100 percent of a full course load, a student may choose to reduce their course load to at least 60 percent (40 percent for students with permanent disabilities) and retain full time status. This brings certain blended programs into the realm of eligibility. 60 percent at RRU is a minimum of:

• for undergraduate programs      0.52 credits per week
• for graduate programs               0.17 credits per week

3.     Distance education, blended learning or online programs may be eligible for student financial assistance if students will earn the same number of academic credits in the same time period as students in other StudentAid BC-eligible programs delivered onsite at the same institution for each level of degree (i.e. certificate, undergrad, graduate, doctoral).

4.       Student loan study periods are a minimum 12 weeks and a maximum 52 weeks. Breaks in full-time study are permitted. Up to10% of the study period's breaks can be funded.

5.       The following programs are not eligible for StudentAid BC funding:

• Programs of study such as executive programs that are designed specifically to meet the needs of full-time members of the labour force
• Brokered courses (when an institution provides a formal credential while another agency/institution provides the actual program of study) 
• Personal development, hobby, self-interest or similar programs (e.g. non-credit Continuing Studies courses)

Each spring, the Financial Aid team reviews student loan eligibility for RRU's programs. When it meets the above criteria we report eligibility to StudentAid BC. Along with this certification of eligibility, we submit a list of suitable study periods to the government with tuition, fee, and book costs. We're permitted teeny tiny program changes like shifting the program start date few days forward or backward but that's pretty well it before we must report changes in eligibility.

Ultimate message: Check with Financial Aid & Awards before making big program changes please.