Designation is a status assigned by StudentAid BC to an approved post-secondary institution that allows eligible students to apply for Canada and British Columbia student aid including loans, grants and other student financial assistance programs. If you want students at your institution to be able to apply for student aid with StudentAid BC, your institution must be designated before they apply.
Starting in June 2026, all full-time and part-time students will apply through our new Student Information Management System (SIMS).
For students to be able to apply for the 2026/27 Program Year, post-secondary institutions must have a SIMS Institution Account and be designated in SIMS.
For students to be able to apply for the 2026/27 Program Year, post-secondary institutions must have a SIMS Institution Account and be designated in SIMS.
- Timeline for processing designation applications
- Designations eligibility requirements
- Check if your institution is eligible to apply for designation
- Designation application process by institution type
Timeline for processing designation applications
- New institutions applying for designation for the first time will need to set up a Business BCeID. This requires approximately 2-3 weeks to process for Canadian post-secondary institutions in provinces located outside of B.C., and 3-6 weeks for post-secondary institutions located outside of Canada.
- Designation applications require approximately 4-8 weeks to process.
Designation eligibility requirements:
- All institutions must meet the designation eligibility criteria outlined in Chapter 1 of the StudentAid BC Policy Manual and have at least one program that meets StudentAid BC program eligibility requirements.
- B.C. private institutions that hold a designation certificate must have programs approved by the Registrar under the Private Training Act.
- Degree granting private or out-of-province Institutions that have consent from Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills under the Degree Authorization Act after review and recommendation by the Degree Quality Assessment Board (DQAB).
- Institutions located in the United States need to be designated Title IV under the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008.
- International institutions need to be approved by an authority in each country and listed with one of the following:
- International Association of Universities
- Association of Commonwealth Universities
- Europa World of Learning
- US Department of Education for Title IV funding
- Famer (medical)
Check if your institution is eligible to apply for designation
Answer a few questions using the StudentAid BC Designation Eligibility Pre-Screening tool below to find out if your institution is eligible to apply for designation.
Designation application process by institution type
1. Create a SIMS Institution Account
- Use your Business BCeID to log in and create a SIMS Institution Account.
- Enter all required institution information.
- SIMS will populate the names of eligible users from your institution’s Business BCeID Account, so any users who need to have access to your SIMS Institution Account must first be added to your Business BCeID account.
Note: Ensure your institution’s legal signing authority is included in your list of users, because only they can submit your institution designation request in SIMS. - If you already have your SIMS Institution Account set up, please review your account profile to ensure that all fields are filled out accurately. Some new fields have been added to the profile that need to be completed. If you find any profile information that needs to be added, please reach out to Designat@gov.bc.ca and we can update the information for you.
2. Apply for StudentAid BC designation
- With the launch of SIMS for full-time students, StudentAid BC has updated the terms and conditions for StudentAid BC designated institutions to clearly outline institution responsibilities that must be met to maintain StudentAid BC designation.
- Carefully review the Designation Agreement in SIMS. By selecting the required checkbox, you provide your digital signature and formally agree to the terms. This can only be done by your institution’s legal signing authority.
- Once you have submitted your application, it will take 4-8 weeks for StudentAid BC to process your application.
1. Apply for a Business BCeID
- To learn how to apply, please read our Business BCeID Step-by-Step Guide.
- We highly recommend institutions apply for a Business BCeID as early as possible to avoid delays for students applying for StudentAid BC funding.
- Setting up a Business BCeID takes approximately 2-3 weeks for Canadian institutions in provinces located outside of B.C., and 3-6 weeks for institutions located outside of Canada.
2. Create a SIMS Institution Account
- Once you have your Business BCeID set up, log in and create your SIMS Institution Account.
- Enter all the required institution information.
- SIMS will populate the names of eligible users from your institution’s Business BCeID Account, so any users who need to have access to your SIMS Institution Account must first be added to your Business BCeID account.
Note: Ensure your institution’s legal signing authority is included in your list of users, because only they can submit your institution designation request in SIMS. - If you already have your SIMS Institution Account set up, please review your account profile to ensure that all fields are completed accurately. Some new fields have been added to the profile that need to be completed. If you find any profile information that needs to be added, please reach out to Desginat@gov.bc.ca and we can update the information for you.
3. Add Programs and Offerings and request StudentAid BC designation
- Once you have set up your SIMS Institution Account and entered at least one approved program, you can request StudentAid BC designation.
- StudentAid BC will review your request to determine if your institution is approved for designation. This requires 4-8 weeks to process.
- After you have been designated you can enter any remaining Programs and Offerings.
Designation process:
- 1 Enter a Memoranda of Understanding with the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills (BC Public institutions do not need to complete a designation application form).
- 2 Create a SIMS Institution Account.
- 3 Apply for designation within the SIMS Institution Account which formally enters you into a designation agreement with StudentAid BC.
Designation renewal process:
- BC public post-secondary institutions will have a designation agreement with StudentAid BC that requires renewal.
- This renewal process is automatically tracked, and institution users will be able to see their institution designation date on their designation page in their SIMS Institution Account.
Institution designation in the legacy system — all types of institutions:
If your institution has full-time students applying for the 2025/26 Program Year (for programs starting between August 01, 2025 and July 31, 2026), your institution must also be designated in the legacy Student Financial Assistance System (SFAS).