Here are some important things to consider before beginning your studies at a private post-secondary school in B.C.

• Is your school approved?
  Private post-secondary schools in British Columbia are regulated to ensure that standards of integrity and educational competence are met by private institutions offering post-secondary education in B.C.
• Career training schools
  You can only receive StudentAid BC funding if the private post-secondary school holds a Designated Institution Certificate from the Private Training Institutions Branch, Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, and has been designated by StudentAid BC.
• Degree granting schools
  Private schools that want to award degrees in B.C. must be approved through the Degree Quality Assessment Board. You can only receive StudentAid BC funding if the private degree-granting school is approved and has been designated by StudentAid BC.
• Signing an enrolment contract
  Once you have been accepted by a B.C. private post-secondary school that holds a Designated Institution Certificate, you must sign an enrolment contract. Enrolment at an accredited school designated by StudentAid BC requires that you complete this contract.
  
  The enrolment contract should contain the following information:
  
  • Name and address of the school.
  • Name of your course or study program.
  • Start date, end date and duration of the course.
  • Cost of the course.
  • Date that the contract is entered into.
  • Name, mailing address and signature of the student or guardian.
  • Signature of the school official.
  • A tuition payment schedule if you are paying by instalments.
  • The school's tuition refund policy.

Attending more than one post-secondary school at the same time is called "split enrolment." In some cases, you can receive StudentAid BC funding for courses taken at the second school.

Before registering at your second school, check with the financial aid office at your "home" school about student assistance options. The home school is the one that will issue your credential at graduation time.

You may be eligible for funding if courses at the second school are:

• Offered with the same start and end date as those taken at the home school.
• An essential element of your study program.
• Counting for credit towards your certificate, diploma or degree at your home school.
• Either not offered by your home school or are full.

Your second school must be a designated school under StudentAid BC.

Split enrolments involving private vocational/trade schools are not permitted.

Here are some important things to consider before you enrol in a post-secondary school outside of British Columbia or Canada.

• Is your school designated for StudentAid BC funding?
• Are you studying outside Canada? If so, you may need a power of attorney.

For program year 2024/25, B.C. authorized and regulated online programs offered by B.C. public and private post-secondary institutions are eligible for StudentAid BC funding if they meet basic StudentAid BC program requirements.

Institutions located outside of B.C. delivering online, blended and distance learning programs must meet all basic StudentAid BC program requirements. In addition, a program meets StudentAid BC eligibility criteria if any of the following are true:

• The academic or career training program with the same study period length is offered and delivered at 100 percent course load on site; or
• A similar program where a student will earn the same number of academic credits in the same time period as a student in other StudentAid BC-eligible programs is delivered on site at the same institution; or
• A student will earn academic credits for 100 percent of the program at the undergraduate level for a program that is recognized as equivalent at another designated institution listed in the B.C. Transfer Guide, Alberta’s transfer guide or other comparable articulation agreements from other jurisdictions.

Note: All programs must also meet all other required StudentAid BC program eligibility criteria.

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My program is not already approved

If the program is not already approved for StudentAid BC funding, a message will be posted to your dashboard for you to inform your school that they need to download a Confirmation of StudentAid BC Distance Education Eligibility form. Your school will need to complete this form before your B.C. student loan application is processed.

This must be completed by the financial aid officer at your school and returned to StudentAid BC for you to be considered for SABC funding.