What is an appeal?
You can submit an appeal to have StudentAid BC review your assessment if your personal situation has changed in a way that may have impacted your assessment. If your circumstances meet one or more of the criteria listed within the drop-down menus of the part-time appeal categories below, and you have not received the maximum amount of funding for the application study period, you may submit an appeal request. The outcome may result in a change to your StudentAid BC award.
Submitting an appeal request does not guarantee that you will receive more StudentAid BC funding. Even if your educational and living costs are high, StudentAid BC is restricted by part-time maximum student loan and grant amounts. You cannot increase your award through an appeal if you reach the maximum student loan or grant amounts. Please review your Assessment to see if you have received maximum funding
amounts.
How do I request an appeal?
- 1 Talk to a financial aid officer at your school. If you are attending a B.C.
public post-secondary institution or Trinity Western University, they can help you with the appeal process. You can contact StudentAid BC if you are attending a private post-secondary institution within B.C. or a school outside of B.C.
- 2Read the Appeal Criteria listed in each appeal category below.
- 3 Complete the appropriate Appeal Request Form and gather all the required documentation.
- 4 Upload your completed Appeal Request Form and all required documentation to your Student Account for Part-Time Students.
Did you apply for part-time funding before November 20, 2024?
If you submitted a part-time paper application form before November 20, 2024, and you want to request an appeal, please contact StudentAid BC.
Deadlines
- Six weeks before your current study period end date.
- Your appeal assessment will be delayed or denied if you do not submit your completed Appeal Request Form and all required documentation by the deadline.
Canada student loan funding cannot be issued after your study period ends.
How long does it take for StudentAid BC to process an appeal?
It can take up to six weeks to process an appeal request. Please check StudentAid BC's home page for current processing times.
What does the appeal process look like?
- 1 StudentAid BC reviews your Appeal Request Form and all supporting documentation and applies policy found in StudentAid BC's Policy Manual to determine if your circumstances meet the criteria.
- 2 Your circumstances will be reviewed:
- If approved, you will receive a Final Decision Letter through your Student Account for Part-Time Students.
- If not approved, you will receive a Notification of Findings Letter through your Student Account for Part-Time Students. The Notification of Findings Letter includes the preliminary decision and a list of any missing documentation that is required to support your appeal request.
- 3 If you receive a Notification of Findings Letter, you will have 15 calendar days to submit further documentation to your Student Account for Part-Time Students.
- 4 Once all additional documentation is received, or the deadline has passed, you will receive a Final Decision Letter through your Student Account for Part-Time Students.
What can I do if my appeal is denied?
You can request that your appeal be reviewed by the Appeal Committee.
Appeals will be denied by StudentAid BC when
- You fail to provide necessary documentation
- Your circumstances do not meet the criteria
If your appeal is denied, and your appeal issue was included in the list of policy and criteria that are eligible for an appeal, you may request that your file be presented to the Appeal Committee for further consideration. Denied appeals are not automatically referred to the Appeal Committee for consideration.
The Appeal Committee includes students, financial aid officers, a member from the public at large, and a non-voting representative from the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. The Appeal Committee meets, as needed, based on the referral of cases. The Appeal Committee considers all documentation and makes recommendations that are subject to the final approval of the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills or their designate.
Please check StudentAid BC's home page for the date of the next Appeal Committee meeting.
Learn more about the StudentAid BC Appeals Outcomes for 2022/23.
Appeal Categories for Part-Time Students
Select an appeal category from the menu below to review the Appeal Criteria and download the appropriate Appeal Request Form. We recommend you download and open the form using the latest version of Adobe Reader.
Appeal Categories 2024/25
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period end date
If you are a part-time
student who withdrew or failed to successfully complete your studies while
receiving StudentAid BC funding, you will have a restriction placed on your file
and will not be eligible for further funding until you have successfully
completed one self-funded semester at a designated post-secondary institution.
Appeal Criteria
You can complete one self-funded semester at a designated post-secondary
institution, or you can appeal your scholastic standing if you were otherwise on
track to successfully complete your program, and one or more of the following
criteria has impacted your ability to study:
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period end date
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request to repeat your course when you have passed a
course but did not obtain the grade required to proceed to the next level in
your program of post-secondary study.
Note: You are not eligible for financial assistance if you are repeating courses
solely to improve your grades.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period end date
Appeal Criteria
If you were denied B.C. student loan funding due to a previous bankruptcy that included B.C. student loans, you may appeal the
denial if you can demonstrate that:
- There were exceptional
circumstances leading to your bankruptcy, such as medical reasons or
marital breakdown
- You filed for bankruptcy during your study or non-repayment period and you
are continuing in the same program of study in which you were enrolled in at
the date of bankruptcy or bankruptcy-related event
- If student loans were involved in the bankruptcy, Canada Student Financial
Assistance Program has provided clearance for your receipt of new loans
- If student loans have been repaid or discharged, you are a good credit risk. Credit risk is determined by the reason for bankruptcy, your efforts to rehabilitate your credit and that your studies warrant further investment
- If student loans were not involved in your bankruptcy, the debts have been discharged or that a trustee has stated they will not place any claim or your student loan
Note: If your Canada student loan is in default or was involved
in your bankruptcy, you must contact Canada Student Financial Assistance Program
to receive clearance for further funding. For more information on your federal
loans, please contact the National
Student Loans Service Centre at 1-888-815-4514 and ask to be transferred
to the Case Review Unit of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program.
Appeal Criteria
You may submit an appeal request if one or more of the following criteria caused
you to not meet the required submission deadline to receive funding before your
study
period end date.
- Medical illness or injury;
- Family emergency (e.g., death or injury)
- Natural disaster
- Layoff, strike, lockout, or other reduction in earnings beyond your
control
- Other exceptional
circumstances
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request if your request for rehabilitation of your B.C.
student loan has been denied and you meet one of the exceptional circumstances listed below:
- You have made reasonable efforts to rehabilitate your loan
- You have experienced exceptional circumstances which reasonably impacted your ability to make the equivalent
of two consecutive monthly payments and/or your outstanding interest payment, such as:
- Medical illness or injury
- Family emergency (e.g., death or injury)
- Natural disaster
- A dependent with a permanent disability
- Layoff, strike, lockout or other reduction in earnings beyond your control
- Divorce
Appeal Categories 2023/24
Deadline
- Multiple Withdrawal/Unsuccessful Studies Appeal: Six weeks
before your study period ends
- Overaward Appeal: 90 days from the date you received the
letter advising of your overaward
You may submit an unofficial copy of your transcripts
without an appeal form if of you have successfully completed two self-funded,
full-time semesters or one self-funded academic year after your last withdrawal
or unsuccessful completion that caused your denial of funding.
Appeal Criteria
You can appeal your scholastic standing when you are otherwise on track to
successfully complete your program and one or more of the following criteria has
impacted your ability to study:
- Medical illness or injury
- Family emergency (e.g., death or injury)
- Natural disaster
- Other exceptional circumstance
Multiple Withdrawals
If you have withdrawn
from full-time
studies twice while receiving StudentAid BC funding or having in-study payment-free status, you will be denied further assistance.
To reinstate your eligibility, you must successfully
complete two terms/semesters or one academic
year of full-time study without using any StudentAid BC funds or you can submit an
appeal request if you meet one or more of the above Appeal Criteria.
Unsuccessful Studies
If you fail a total of 68 weeks of post-secondary courses while receiving
StudentAid BC funding or in-study payment-free status, you will be denied future
assistance.
To reinstate your eligibility, you must successfully complete two terms/semesters or one academic year of full-time study without using any StudentAid BC funds or
you can submit an appeal request if you meet one or more of the above Appeal
Criteria.
Overaward
An overaward means
that you received more StudentAid BC funding than you were eligible for during
your study period. In most circumstances, students will have a loan overaward
deducted from any future loan entitlement. You can submit an appeal request if
you meet one or more of the above Appeal Criteria.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request to repeat your course when you have passed a
course but did not obtain the grade required to proceed to the next level in
your program of post-secondary study.
Note: You are not eligible for financial assistance if you are repeating courses
solely to improve your grades.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
If you and/or your spouse/common-law partner or your parent(s), step-parent(s), sponsor(s) or legal guardian(s) have had, or anticipate having, a significant decrease in income due to an exceptional circumstance(s), you may request an appeal to have your student financial assistance application reassessed using income for the current program year that matches the year of your application number.
Exceptional circumstances include:
- Medical illness or injury
- Family emergency (e.g., death or injury)
- Natural disaster
- Layoff, strike, lockout, or other reduction in earnings beyond the family's
control
- Other exceptional
circumstance
Appeal Criteria
You may submit an appeal request if one or more of the following criteria caused
you to not meet the required submission deadline to receive funding before your
study
period end date.
- Medical illness or injury;
- Family emergency (e.g., death or injury)
- Natural disaster
- Layoff, strike, lockout, or other reduction in earnings beyond your
control
- Other exceptional
circumstance
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
You can appeal to waive your step-parent’s fixed contribution if your parent has
had a recent (within the past five years) marriage or common-law relationship
with a step-parent, where the step-parent has not assumed financial
responsibility for you and does not claim you as a dependent on their taxes.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal to change your classification from a dependent
student to an independent student if you meet one or more of the following
criteria:
- You no longer communicate with your family due to an irreconcilable rift,
and can provide satisfactory evidence of a severe and permanent breakdown in
the relationship between you and the parent(s), such as being disowned. The
family rift must have existed for at least one year unless a serious
situation has arisen recently.
- You were a youth under the guardianship of, in an agreement with, a
provincial or territorial child welfare agency on your 19th birthday.
- You would normally be classified as a dependent student by StudentAid BC,
but you are unable to contact or locate your parents, step-parent, ,
or legal guardian
due to conflict of emergency (such as war, famine or natural disaster) in
the country where they live.
Do not submit this Appeal Request Form if you incorrectly indicated that you are
a modified independent student (meaning there was no rift between you and your
parent(s)) on your application. You must upload an Appendix
7 – Request for Reassessment to your StudentAid BC Dashboard and your
parent(s) must mail an original Appendix 1 – Parent
Information form with an ink signature.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
If you are a part-time
student who withdrew or failed to successfully complete your studies while
receiving StudentAid BC funding, you will have a restriction placed on your file
and will not be eligible for further funding until you have successfully
completed one self-funded semester at a designated post-secondary institution.
Appeal Criteria
You can complete one self-funded semester at a designated post-secondary
institution, or you can appeal your scholastic standing if you were otherwise on
track to successfully complete your program, and one or more of the following
criteria has impacted your abiltiy to study:
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
You may appeal the B.C. student loan lifetime
maximum limit if you meet one or more of the following criteria:
- You require funding to complete your study period
- You require approximately one or two more semesters to complete your
program
- There are exceptional
circumstance which contributed to your higher borrowing amount
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
If you receive StudentAid BC funding, you are expected to travel to and from
school by the most economical means. As part of your StudentAid BC financial
need assessment, you are automatically given a transportation allowance that
equals the
cost of a monthly public transit/bus pass.
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request for additional transportation allowance if one
or more of the following criteria apply:
- There is no/limited local public transit where you live
- The travel is required due to special circumstances (e.g., work schedule,
family transportation responsibilities, or a requirement to live a
significant distance from your post-secondary institution)
- Additional transportation for a clinical or practicum placement is
required
If you
could move closer to your school for less or similar living costs, you will
only be considered for the additional transportation allowance under
exceptional circumstances.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
If you were denied B.C. student loan funding due to a previous bankruptcy or
bankruptcy-related event that included B.C. student loans, you may appeal the
denial if you can by demonstrate that:
- There were exceptional
circumstance leading to your bankruptcy, such as medical reasons or
marital breakdown
- You filed for bankruptcy during your study or non-repayment period and you
are continuing in the same program of study in which you were enrolled at
the date of bankruptcy or bankruptcy-related event
- If student loans were involved in the bankruptcy, Canada Student Financial
Assistance Program has provided clearance for your receipt of new loans
- The loans involved in your bankruptcy or bankruptcy-related event have been
discharged and you are in the process of rehabilitating your student loans
Note: If your Canada student loan is in default or was involved
in your bankruptcy, you must contact Canada Student Financial Assistance Program
to receive clearance for further funding. For more information on your federal
loans, please contact the National
Student Loans Service Centre at 1-888-815-4514 and ask to be transferred
to the Case Review Unit of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
As part of their parental contribution, your parents, step-parents,
or legal
guardian are expected to provide free room and board if you are living
at home. However, in some circumstances parents cannot afford to provide this
support and must charge the student for room and board.
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request if you are living at home and need to pay room
and board, and if your parent(s)/step-parent/sponsor/legal guardian are:
- Receiving income assistance or disability benefits
- Receiving Canada Pension and/or old age supplement, with no other source of
income or support
- Earning low income, and/or
- Unemployed due to layoff, strike or lockout.
We may
limit the amount you can claim for room and board to reflect fair market
rental value.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request if you had exceptional expenses that created
financial hardship that affected your ability to start or continue your studies,
such as:
- Medical illness or injury;
- Family emergency (e.g., death or injury)
- Natural disaster
- Unforeseen legal expenses
- Court-ordered payments
- Expenses related to your or your dependant’s permanent disability that are not
covered by another funding source (uninsured)
Disability-related goods or services not covered by any other funding source may
qualify as an exceptional expense. Items that are not considered in the initial
financial need assessment but may be appealed include, but are not limited to:
- Disability-related medicine
- Specialized footwear and eyewear
- Special dietetic requirements
- Specialized apparel
- Attendant care and/or specialized transportation
Most B.C.
post-secondary institutions stipulate that students must have
medical/dental/health insurance coverage. A copy of your insurance plan is
required in your appeal. To avoid receiving an overaward,
make it clear if your insurance plan will be reimbursing you for any part of
these costs.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request if you believe there was an error in the evaluation
of your scholarship, bursary or grant, or if you are in full-time studies and have a
permanently disabled dependant aged 12 and over.
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Dependent Student Appeal Criteria
As a dependent
student, you can submit an appeal request for B.C. residency
if any of the following apply:
- Your parent(s) reside in or maintain a family home in B.C., even if one parent
works in another province
- Your parent(s) live in B.C., but your
lives in another province
- Your parents are separated or divorced and the parent with whom you normally
reside or from whom the principal financial support is received is a resident of
B.C.
- Your parent(s) have been stationed abroad for a definite period of time (e.g.,
military service), and lived in B.C. for at least 12 months before leaving the
country
- Your parent(s) are not living in Canada and you are studying in B.C.
- Your parent(s) are permanent residents who have been residents in B.C. for less
than 12 months prior to the commencement of your study
- Both you and your parents originally resided in B.C., but your parent(s) have
resided in another province for 12 consecutive months, and you stayed in B.C. to
begin or continue post-secondary education
Independent Student Appeal Criteria
As an independent
student, you can submit an appeal request for B.C. residency if any of the following
apply:
- You are married/common-law and both you and your spouse/partner originally
received student financial assistance from a province other than B.C. but are
now both studying in B.C. and B.C. is the province of residency for one of you
- You are a married/common-law student from another province attending a B.C.
post-secondary institution and your spouse/partner is employed in B.C. Your
working spouse must provide documentation of employment in B.C. (pay stubs,
letter from employer, etc.) for 12 consecutive months prior to the first day of
classes in the study
period
- You are considered to be a resident of another province but have completed four
years of full-time study in B.C. prior to the start date of classes for which
student financial assistance is being requested (the Province
of British Columbia will accept you as a resident)
- You and your spouse/partner are both attending school in a third province (in
which neither you or your spouse is a resident), each of you will then be
considered a resident of your original province, unless a mutual agreement among
provinces is reached
Deadline — Continuous intake
You are expected to start repaying your Canada-B.C. integrated loans and other B.C.
student loans on the first day of the seventh month after leaving full-time studies.
A default occurs when you fail to make monthly student loan payments as set out
under your loan agreement.
If you have defaulted on repaying your student loan, you must request rehabilitation before you can apply for additional
student financial assistance or interest-free status from StudentAid BC.
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request if your request for rehabilitation of your B.C.
student loan has been denied and you meet the following criteria:
- You have made reasonable efforts to rehabilitate your loan and
- You have experienced exceptional
circumstances which reasonably impacted your ability to make the equivalent
of two consecutive monthly payments and or your outstanding interest payment.
Exceptional circumstances include:
- Medical illness or injury
- Family emergency (e.g., death or injury)
- Natural disaster
- A dependent with a permanent disability
- Layoff, strike, lockout or other reduction in earnings beyond your
control
- Divorce
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request for in-study payment-free
status if you did not meet the submission requirements due to:
- Medical illness or injury
- Family emergency (e.g., death or injury)
- Natural disaster
- Other exceptional circumstance
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request if:
- Your ability to get your part-time loan funding application submitted on time
was affected by exceptional circumstances.
- Your total family income falls above the middle-income
threshold set out by the federal government, but was affected by exceptional
circumstances.
Exceptional circumstances may include:
- Medical illness or injury
- Family emergency (e.g., death or injury)
- Natural disaster
- Layoff, strike, lockout or other reduction in earnings beyond your control
- Other exceptional
circumstance
Deadline — Six weeks before your study period ends
Appeal Criteria
You can submit an appeal request for single parent status if you have legal and/or
physical custody and responsibility for supporting your own children for an average
of eight days per month.
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