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Calculating Amounts 2012/13

Calculating Student Financial Assistance

• Calculating Assessed Need
• Example
• Notification
• Reassessments
• Over-awards
• Student Financial Assistance Abuse

Your eligibility to receive assistance will be determined by assessing your financial need. This is done by adding together the costs for your education and your living expenses, and then subtracting any financial resources that may be available to you. This determines your assessed financial need—the amount of funding for which you may be eligible.

The provincial government provides funding for 40% of the amount assessed to a maximum total of $140 per week of study; the federal government provides 60% of the amount assessed to a maximum of $210 in loans (in some cases, eligible recipients of Canada Student Grants may receive greater than $210 in total federal assistance per week of study).

Calculating Assessed Need

Once the completed application is received, including all required documentation, a standardized process is used to calculate the amount of assistance you are eligible to receive.

This formula is simple: total individual and family resources are subtracted from total educational and living costs:

Costs – Available Resources = Assessed Need

Students with a positive (+) assessed need will be eligible for assistance as explained in this guide. Students with a negative (–) assessed need are deemed to have sufficient resources to cover the costs of attending post-secondary studies.

Step 1: Determine Your Student Category

There are 6 student categories:

• single dependant student living at home;
• single dependant student living away from home;
• single independent student living at home;
• single independent student living away from home;
• married or common-law student; and
• single parent.

Dependant Student

You will be considered a dependant student if:

• you have never been married or in a common-law relationship (to be considered to be living common law, you must have lived with your partner for a period of at least 12 consecutive months); or
• you have never been a single parent with legal custody and financial responsibility for supporting a child(ren); or
• you are pursuing post-secondary education within 4 years of leaving high school; or
• you have not been in the labour force full time for 2 years. (The 2 years need not be consecutive; however, each year must be a period of 12 consecutive months.)

Independent Student

You will be considered an independent student if:

• you are not married or living in a common-law relationship; or
• you are not a single parent; and
• you do not meet any of the other criteria for a dependant student.

Changing Student Category

Your student category is determined by your status on the first day of the month in which your study period begins; it cannot be changed for the remainder of that study period.

If your status changes during the fall semester, your new status will not be reflected in the needs assessment or adjusted until the winter semester. For example, if your study period starts on September 1, 2011, but you will be getting married on October 1, 2011, your status will not be updated until the winter semester—after you have reapplied as a married student and included your spouse’s information on the application.

A student’s category may be changed from dependant to independent, but only in situations where there is a family breakdown. Proof of a family breakdown must be provided by an unbiased, unrelated third party who confirms the family breakdown and states the reason(s) for the breakdown.

A student’s category may be changed from married or common law to independent student or single parent only in situations where proof of this change in marital status is provided by an unbiased, unrelated third party who can also confirm the date of separation.

Step 2: Calculate Total Educational and Living Costs

Living Allowance

A weekly living allowance, based upon student category, is used in the calculation of costs as per the following table.

Student Category	Living Allowance
Single student living at home	$95
Single student living away from home	$208
Single parent	$288
Married or common-law student	$414
Each Dependant	$96

All students are assessed standard costs that reflect as closely as possible the costs associated with each student’s living situation.

Educational Costs

Education costs include the following:

• actual tuition and compulsory fees as reported by your educational institution;
• an allowance of up to $500 per semester for books and supplies, when applicable; and
• an allowance of $500 per academic year for computer-related costs.

Other Costs Considered:

• local transportation;
• return transportation;
• child care (if applicable).

Step 3: Calculate Resources

Your financial resources (and those of your parents or spouse, if applicable) will be used to calculate the amount you will be expected to contribute toward your education.

These include, but are not limited to resources such as earned income, Employment Insurance benefits, training allowances, pension benefits, financial investments (e.g. GICs, savings accounts, dividend income) and scholarships.

Employment Income

You are expected to work full-time during the period immediately preceding the start date of your study period (usually 9 to 17 weeks). From your net income, a moderate standard of living is allowed; you are then required to contribute 80% from the remaining amount toward the cost of your education.

If you work during your study period, there is a $100 per week exemption from your gross employment income. All (100%) of the remaining net (after-tax) income will be used in calculating your assessed need.

Scholarships and Bursaries

If you receive a scholarship or bursary, you must report the total amount on your application; however, only the amount that exceeds $1,800 per academic year will be considered a financial resource in calculating your assessed need.

Training Allowance

Any income you receive by virtue of being a student (e.g., NL Skills Development) will be assessed at 100%.

Parental Contribution

For a dependant student, the income of his or her parent(s) will determine the parental contribution. This amount will vary; it depends on family income after taxes, a moderate standard of living allowance and family size. The standard-of-living allowance measures the cost of living for a family, taking into consideration regional variations and family size.

If your parents have 2 or more dependant children enrolled in post-secondary studies, the calculated contribution will be divided by the number of children. This will determine their contribution for each child.

Try the Parental Contribution Calculator at CanLearn.ca to estimate what your parents may be expected to contribute toward your education.

Note: The refusal of parent(s) to contribute to the cost of post-secondary education is not an acceptable reason to have an assessed parental contribution waived.

Scholarship Trust Fund and Parental Contribution

In cases where a scholarship trust fund or Registered Education Savings Plan has been established for you, the parental contribution amount is assessed based on your parents’ income(s) or on the annual amount available from the trust fund, whichever is greater.

Spousal Income

If you are married or living common-law, your spouse or partner’s income from the pre-study period (usually 9 to 17 weeks) will also be included when calculating the need assessment. From his or her net income, a moderate standard of living is allowed and your spouse is required to contribute 80% of the remaining amount toward the cost of your education.

For the in-study period, your spouse or partner is required to contribute 70% of his or her net income (i.e. after taxes) toward the cost of your education.

Step 4: Determine Assessed Need

Costs – Available Resources = Assessed Need

Once the costs of attending post-secondary studies have been determined, the financial resources available will be subtracted from those costs. This results in an assessed need:

• students with a positive assessed need will be eligible for assistance as explained in this guide;
• students with a negative assessed need are deemed to have sufficient resources to cover the costs of attending post-secondary studies.

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Example of financial assistance

Andrew is a dependant student from St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador. He graduated from high school in June and will attend Memorial University as a full-time student in St. John’s in September.

Educational and Living Costs

Andrew has enrolled in 5 courses at Memorial University and will be living away from home during the semester.

Expense	Amount
Tuition	$1,275
Other fees	248
Books and computer-related costs	750
Living costs ($208 x 17 weeks)	3,536
Return transportation	285
Total expenses	$6,094

Resources

Pre-study Period Income

During the pre-study period (nine weeks between the completion of high school and the start of university), Andrew lived at home and his gross income was $ 2,075.

Individual Resources	Amount
Gross income during pre-study period	$2,075
Less taxes (6.77%)	(140)
Less weekly living allowance($95 x 9 weeks)	(855)
Discretionary Income	1,080
Pre-Study Period Contribution (80% of discretionary income)	$864

Study Period Income

Andrew decided to work during the fall semester and will gross $2,500 during that period.

There is an exemption of $100 of gross employment income per week when students work during their study period.

Individual Resources	Amount
Gross income during study period	$2,500
Less taxes (6.77%)	(169)
Less weekly exemption ($100 x 17 weeks)	(1700)
Study Period Contribution	$631

Parental Contribution

Parents of dependant students are required to provide their financial information so the Student Financial Services Division can determine their contribution toward their child(ren)’s educational costs.

Family Resources	Parent #1	Parent #2	Combined
Gross income	$47,000	$20,000	$67,000
Less taxes	($10,777)	($3,294)
Net Income	$36,233	$16,706	$52,939

Andrew’s parents have a combined after-tax income of $52,939. His family consists of his mom, dad, sister and himself (a family size of four).

The Moderate Standard of Living (MSOL) is a measure of the costs of living for the parents of dependant students. The Moderate Standard of Living for a family of four living in Newfoundland and Labrador is $49,358.

Moderate Standard of Living (MSOL) for the
2012–2013 loan year for Newfoundland and Labrador

Family size	MSOL (NL)
2	$34,182
3	$42,706
4	$49,358
5	$54,516
6	$58,733

The difference between total parental income ($52,939) and the family’s Moderate Standard of Living ($49,358) is $3,581. This represents the discretionary income for Andrew’s family.

Based on this discretionary income, Andrew’s parents will be required to contribute $12 per week of study. Based on a 17-week period of study, their total expected contribution would be $204.

Calculation of Assessed Need

To calculate Andrew’s assessed need, his total individual and family resources are subtracted from his total educational and living costs.

Costs (educational and living)	$6,094
Less Resources (pre-study, study, and parental contribution)	(1,699)
Assessed need	$4,395

Note: In situations where the assessed need exceeds the available limits for loans and grants (called unmet need), students will have to secure additional resources to cover the full costs of attending a post-secondary program because student financial assistance will not completely cover all associated costs.

The federal portion for financial assistance comprises 60% of the assessed need, up to a maximum of $210 per week of study (in some cases, eligible recipients of Canada Student Grants may receive greater than $210 in total federal assistance per week of study). Financial assistance from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador comprises 40% of the assessed need, up to a maximum of $140 per week of study (including a maximum of $60 per week in loans and $80 per week in an Up-front Provincial Grant).

Students who apply for a loan with the Student Financial Services Division and meet the eligibility requirements for the Up-front Provincial Grant are automatically assessed for a Canada Student Grant.

Following are the thresholds used to determine eligibility for the Canada Student Grant for Students from Low-Income Families and the Canada Student Grant for Students from Middle-Income Families.

	Newfoundland and Labrador
Family Size	Low-income Threshold	Middle-income Threshold
1 2 3 4 5 6	$20,061 $24,973 $30,701 $37,277 $42,277 $47,683	$32,334 $45,269 $56,558 $65,369 $72,200 $77,785

Andrew’s family consists of four people and the pre-tax family income is $67000. Therefore, Andrew is ineligible for a Canada Student Grant for Students from Low-Income and Middle-Income Families.

As indicated above, Andrew’s assessed need for a 17-week study period is $4,395:

Federal portion (60%) $2,637
Provincial portion (40%) $1,758
Total Assistance $4,395

Breakdown of Federal Assistance (total of $2,637)
Canada Student Grant for Students from Middle-Income Families	$0
Canada Student Loan	$2,673
Total	$2,637
Breakdown of Provincial Assistance
Provincial Student Loan ($60 per week for 17 weeks)	$1,020
Up-Front Provincial Grant (up to $80 per week for 17 weeks)	$738
Total	$1,758

Note: The maximum Up-front Provincial Grant for a 17 week study period is $80 x 17 = $1,020. In this example, once the provincial student loan of $60 per week is subtracted ($1,020), the remaining portion of provincial need ($738) is less than the maximum grant available.

Therefore, the total loan portion of Andrew’s student financial assistance is $3,657 ($2,637 in federal and $1,020 in provincial loans) and the total grant portion is $738 (provincial grant).

Table of Discretionary Income

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Notification

A Notice of Assessment will be mailed to you informing you of the outcome of your application detailing the amount, if any, of student financial assistance awarded. If your application is reassessed at any point during the period of study, a Notice of Assessment (Revised) will be sent to you. These notices will be sent to the mailing address you provided on your application form. Please ensure the Student Financial Services Division is notified immediately of any change in your address.

If you are a first time applicant or you have had a break in studies of more than two years once your application is assessed (and if it results in approval to receive an amount of student financial assistance) you will be sent a Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (MSFAA) to the mailing address you provided on your application form. Please ensure the Student Financial Services Division is notified immediately of any change in your address.

Review any notices you receive upon receipt to ensure they accurately reflect your situation. If you have any questions regarding any notifications received from the Student Financial Services Division, do not hesitate to contact us. Please see the outside back cover of this Guide for full contact information.

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Reassessments

If your circumstances—such as your course load or financial situation—change after your application is processed, your file will be reassessed, resulting in one of three outcomes:

1. Your assessed need will increase, which may entitle you to additional assistance. If this happens, you will be notified and the additional money will be disbursed the same way your initial assistance was disbursed, provided sufficient time remains prior to the end date of the period of study;
2. Your assessed need will decrease below the level of assistance you were already given, leaving you in an “over-award” situation; or
3. Your assessed need will remain the same.

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Over-awards

An over-award (overpayment) is student financial assistance that you receive but are not eligible for. Over-awards will be recovered as follows:

NL Student Loans; Up-front Provincial Grants, and Canada Student Loans

The amount of the over-award will be deducted from future loan and/or grant entitlements.

Canada Student Grants

If you withdraw from studies or change from full-time to part-time status within 30 calendar days of the first day of classes, all or part of a Canada Student Grant that was disbursed for the respective period of studies will be converted into a loan in accordance with the conditions stated on your Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement. You will have the opportunity to repay the over-award immediately; otherwise, this amount will be added to your outstanding loan principal at consolidation.

If a reassessment of your application determines that you provided inaccurate information rendering you ineligible for a Canada Student Loan for full-time or part-time studies, all or part of the Canada Student Grant that was issued will be converted into a loan in accordance with the conditions stated on your MSFAA.

Note: If you are able to provide documented evidence within 6 months that your withdrawal from studies or your change from full- to part-time studies was as a result of unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances beyond your control, the decision to convert the grant into a loan may be reconsidered.

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Student Financial Assistance Abuse

False or misleading statements, information, and misrepresentation, including by omission, may be considered fraud or abuse and may result in a borrower being restricted from student financial assistance for a period of up to five years. Student financial assistance includes loans, grants, and repayment assistance. In some instances the borrower may be required to immediately repay any loans or grants received from fraudulent or abusive actions.

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