Athabasca University Student Financial Aid Information
Students whose fees are paid by a third party, e.g. employers, workers compensation, a band, etc., are not financial aid students and should contact the Registrations Unit for assistance.
Financial Aid Advisors
Surnames A-C
- Morgan Newington
- Extension: 6161
Surnames D-H
- Lois Cowan
- Extension: 6403
Surnames I-M - Becky Jonasson
- Extension: 6793
Surnames N-R
- Dawne Webb
- Extension: 6654
Surnames S-Z
Application Process
You should apply for financial aid at least three months in advance of your anticipated start date. This is particularly important if you live outside of the province of Alberta because out-of-province students must apply to their home province for funding. We do not send financial aid packages to out-of-province students.
You are required to complete a full time or part time Loan Study Plan that will assist our Student Financial Aid Advisors in determining the amount of tuition you may request on your financial aid application.
If you have submitted a financial aid application and have any concerns with it, there are contact numbers to call. Alberta students may contact their nearest Career Development Center. Out-of-province students may contact their local student financial aid agency.
Once approved for funding, you can change your start date, but the approved loan documents have to be sent back to Students Finance and your application will be reassessed. The reassessment will delay your new student loan document by at least three weeks.
Your loan must be negotiated/cashed within 30 days of the financial aid advisor's signature. Information on how to negotiate/cash your student loan is included with the loan documents for all Alberta students. If you are an out-of-province student and you haven't received any information from your funding agency, you may contact the appropriate financial aid advisor.
Full Time Student Status
Funded students receive a shortened contract for their courses. Three-credit courses are shortened to four months (instead of six) and six-credit courses are shortened to eight months (instead of twelve). Full-time requirements state that you must be registered in a minimum of sixty percent of a full course load or nine credits over four months for one semester or eighteen credits over eight months for two semesters. All courses in a semester must have the same start date.
To maintain full time status, your must successfully complete at least 2 credits per month or 9 credits in any four month registration period. If you do not meet the minimum completion requirements, we may recommend to your funding agency that funding be discontinued.
Academic Progress
We monitor the academic progress of all funded students and report your progress to your funding agency. If you do not demonstrate academic progress, we will recommend that funding be discontinued.
You must submit assignments and complete course projects on a regular basis. As a guideline for monitoring academic progress, you should have submitted at least 50% of your course work and assignments within 60 days of your semester start date.
Maximum Course Load Policy
You may not be active in more than six courses at once. This does not include pre-registered or wait-listed courses.
Funded students should be aware of this policy as it may affect multiple semesters if course extensions are being purchased. You must ensure that you do not exceed the maximum course load while maintaining the minimum number of credits required for funding.
Course Extensions
You are allowed to purchase up to three two-month extensions in each course. While any extension taken for the first semester does not delay the start date of the second semester courses, students who do not complete the required number of credits in their funding term may jeopardize their full-time status and thus future funding considerations. You should therefore be cautioned not to use extensions unless absolutely necessary.
For example, if you are registered in five three-credit courses in your first semester, you must complete a minimum of three of the courses in that semester. You may then take a maximum of four more three-credit courses in the second semester, extending the remaining two courses from the first semester.
Course Withdrawals
The standard withdrawal policy applies to funded students. If a withdrawal changes your status from full-time to part-time, your funding agency will be notified immediately of this change in status. When a student loan is used to pay for courses, any eligible refund will be issued to the bank to be applied to your loan balance.
Withdrawals must be formally requested; simply not completing assignments or not attending class does not constitute a withdrawal. All withdrawal requests must be made in writing and bear your signature, or be made via our online system. To formally withdraw, you may submit a Withdrawal Request Form or complete the process via our online services.
Millennium Bursary Cheques
If you have been awarded the Canadian Millennium Bursary as part of your financial aid award, you must meet certain requirements before the award can be released.
The Award is issued to your post-secondary institution for release around the expected date of completion of the first semester in your second funding term. The institution must verify that you have successfully completed at least one year of study and that you are enrolled full-time and in good standing.
If you do not comply with these requirements, your award will be returned to the Canadian Millennium Bursary Foundation.
Confirmation of Enrollment
If you are a full-time student requiring confirmation of enrollment or deferral of interest forms, the request must be made before you are mid-way through your courses. Out-of-province students must provide us with their provincial document if it is required.
Office of the Registrar - Last Updated February 17, 2009, 09:42:12
