En - Student Financial Assistance (SFA) Kit 2011-2012

Student Financial Assistance (SFA) Kit 2011-2012

Presented for the 151th regular meeting of the Board of Directors (CAO-15111)

August 20-21, 2011 In Montréal

Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec

Trousse sur l’aide financière aux études Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec - 2011

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The Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ) is an organization that brings together 15 student associations and more than 125,000 students from all levels of study and every region of Quebec. Established since 1989, its main mandate is to defend the rights and interests of students with government and education stakeholders. Throughout its eighteen years of existence, it has endeavored to defend a humanistic education as a societal choice. It particularly focuses on defending its members before, during and after their passage in university by demanding, above all, an accessible and quality education.

Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec

15, rue Marie-Anne Ouest Suite 200 Montréal (Québec) H2W 1B6 Telephone: (514) 396-3380 Fax: (514) 396-7140

Supervision Daniel Pierre-Roy, vice-president of soicopolitcal affairs (2008-209)

Analysis and writing Jean-François Venne, researcher (2008-2009)

Linguistic revision Pascal Marchi, vice-president of university affairs (2008-2009)

Page formatting Pascal Marchi, vice-president of university affairs (2008-2009)

Update Mathieu Oligny, vice-president of sociopolitcal affairs (2010-2011)

Update Ariane Campeau, vice-president of sociopolitcal affairs (2011-2012)

* This document is an update of that written by Farouk Karim (FEUQ. SFA Kit. 2002) and updated in 2004 2004 by Guillaume Bélanger and François Vincent. For clarificaion purposes, the amounts were indexed to the provisional CPI of 2010 and we take it for granted that the modifications made to SFA for summer 2011 will take effect in section 5 of the document.

Tous droits réservés – FEUQ 2011


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Table of contents

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 1 2. THE FUNCTIONING OF THE STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ............................. 3 2.1. MISSION OF STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ....................................................................................................... 3 2.2. SUMMARY OF PRINCIPLES OF THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ................................................................. 3 2.3. ELIGIBILITY ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 2.3.1. Eligibility conditions ............................................................................................................................................ 4 2.3.2. Duration of eligibility .......................................................................................................................................... 5 2.3.3. The limit of indebtedness ................................................................................................................................... 5 2.3.1. Categories of student(s) ..................................................................................................................................... 6 2.3.2. Student with spousal contribution: ............................................................................................................... 7 2.3.3. Student with parental contribution: ............................................................................................................ 7 2.3.4. Motive for refusal .................................................................................................................................................. 7

2.4. THE GRANTING OF LOANS AND BURSARIES ............................................................................................................... 7 2.4.1. Steps to follow for the first application ..................................................................................................... 10 2.4.2. Mode of the calculation of loans and bursaries ..................................................................................... 10 2.4.3. Calculation of allowable expenses ............................................................................................................... 11 2.4.4. Calculation of the student contribution .................................................................................................... 17 2.4.5. Parental contribution ....................................................................................................................................... 21

2.5. REIMBURSEMENT OF STUDENT LOAN ..................................................................................................................... 26 2.5.1. Program of deferred reimbursement ......................................................................................................... 27 2.5.2. Debt remission program .................................................................................................................................. 27

2.6. LOAN PROGRAM FOR PART-‐TIME STUDENTS ......................................................................................................... 27 2.6.1. Evaluation .............................................................................................................................................................. 29

2.7. THE OTHER PROGRAMS OF STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE .......................................................................... 29 2.7.1. Students with a major functional deficiency ........................................................................................... 29 2.7.1. The work-‐studies program ............................................................................................................................. 31 2.7.2. Program of summer languages bursaries ................................................................................................ 33

2.8. RECOURSE .................................................................................................................................................................... 33 2.8.1. The request for a change ................................................................................................................................. 33 2.8.2. Bureau de revision (review board) ............................................................................................................. 34 2.8.3. The request addressed to the Comité des demandes dérogatoires (special applications office) 34

3. LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY EVOLUTION OF THE STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (1981-‐2008) ................................................................................................................................... 35 3.1. 1981-‐1990: STUDENT LOANS AND SCHOLARSHIPS ACT AND THE LOANS AND GRANTS REGULATIONS . 35 3.1.1. Description de la loi et du règlement ......................................................................................................... 35 3.1.2. Major changes ...................................................................................................................................................... 38 3.1.3. 2. 1990-‐Present: Act Respecting Financial Assistance for Education Expenses and the Student Financial Assistance Regulations ................................................................................................................ 47 14.1.1. Recurring observations .................................................................................................................................. 86

4. GAINS OBTAINED ....................................................................................................................................... 88 5. DEMANDS OF THE FEUQ .......................................................................................................................... 90 5.1. IMPACT OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES ON THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE COMMUNITY ................................................ 90 5.1. ALLOW THE PURSUIT OF FULL-‐TIME STUDIES AND PROMOTE SUCCESS ............................................................ 93


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5.1.1. Adapting the program to the real duration of studies ....................................................................... 93 5.1.2. Filling the gap between the real cost of living and the level of financial assistance. ............ 94 5.1.3. Indexation of allowable expenses ................................................................................................................ 97 5.1.1. The parental contribution ............................................................................................................................... 99

5.1. STUDENT INDEBTEDNESS ....................................................................................................................................... 100 5.1.1. Evolution of the average debt ..................................................................................................................... 100 5.1.1. The lifting of the tuition freeze .................................................................................................................. 102 5.1.2. The debt remission program ....................................................................................................................... 104 5.1.3. Ancillary fees ...................................................................................................................................................... 105

5.2. IMPROVE THE DIFFICULT SITUATION OF STUDENT PARENTS ........................................................................... 109 5.2.1. Enlarge the eligibility criteria for the program ................................................................................. 109 5.2.2. The cost of living of student-‐parents ....................................................................................................... 110

5.3. THE TREATMENT OF SUPPORT PAYMENTS IN VARIOUS SOCIAL PROGRAMS .................................................. 115 5.4. THE PROGRAM POUR PART TIME STUDENTS ....................................................................................................... 117 5.5. THE AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED BY THE FEDERAL PROGRAMS OF STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ........ 117

6. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................. 121 7. LEXICON ..................................................................................................................................................... 122 8. BIBLIOGRAPHIE ....................................................................................................................................... 124


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Tables of figures

TABLE 2-‐1 – MOTIVES AND MODES OF FINANCING OF THE MAIN CONTRIBUTORS OF STUDIES PROJECTS ............................................. 4 TABLE 2-‐2 – PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY OF A LOAN AND BURSARY, SFA, 2008-‐2009 ................................................................................ 5 TABLE 2-‐3 – MAXIMAL LEVEL OF INDEBTEDNESS BY LEVEL OF STUDIES AND DURATION OF UNIVERSITY PROGRAM, SFA, 2008-‐

2009 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 TABLE 2-‐4 – AMOUNT OF LOANS ESTABLISHED FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS .......................................................................................... 11 TABLE 2-‐5 – ELIGIBLE MONTHLY EXPENSES ................................................................................................................................................. 12 TABLE 2-‐6 – ADMISSIBLE PERIODIC EXPENSES ............................................................................................................................................ 13 TABLE 2-‐7 – BASIC EXEMPTION AND SUPPLEMENTARY INCOME ............................................................................................................... 19 TABLE 2-‐8 -‐ REDUCTION OF THE CONTRIBUTION ........................................................................................................................................ 21 TABLE 2-‐9 – AMOUNTS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION AS GROSS INCOME IN THE CALCULATION OF THE PARENTAL CONTRIBUTION

................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 TABLEAU 2-‐10 -‐ MONTANTS EXEMPTÉS DE LA CONTRIBUTION PARENTALE .......................................................................................... 23 TABLE 2-‐11 -‐ TABLE OF PARENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS ................................................................................................................................. 23 TABLE 2-‐12 -‐ TABLE OF CONTRIBUTION OF SPOUSE ................................................................................................................................... 24 TABLE 2-‐13 PROGRAMME DE PRÊTS POUR LES ÉTUDES À TEMPS PARTIEL ............................................................................................. 28 TABLE 2-‐14 – ELIGIBILITY THRESHOLD ACCORDING TO STUDENT STATUS ............................................................................................. 29 TABLE 2-‐15 – EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION PARTICIPATING IN THE WORK-‐STUDIES PROGRAM .......................................................... 32 TABLE 3-‐1 -‐ DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIRECT DEPOSIT AND MONETARY ADVANCE ............................................................................... 74 TABLE 3-‐2 – ACADEMIC INFORMATION EXCHANGED BETWEEN THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION AND SFA. ................................... 74 TABLE 3-‐3 -‐ EVOLUTION OF THE MAXIMUM LOAN LIMITS IN THE COLLEGIAL AND UNIVERSITY NETWORKS ..................................... 75 THE SAME CALCULATION WAS USED FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS AS WELL; HOWEVER, THEIR MAXIMUM LOAN IS $415 PER MONTH

INSTEAD OF $315. ALSO, SINCE GRADUATE STUDENTS GENERALLY STUDY ON A FULL-‐TIME BASIS, THIS INCREASES THEIR MONTHS OF STUDIES (12 MONTHS IN TOTAL) AND THE TOTAL OF THEIR TUITION FEES (3 SEMESTERS). THEIR LOANS ARE, THUS, MUCH HIGHER (MORE EXCEEDING $8,000). TABLE 3-‐4 – THE MAXIMUM LOANS, AS THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE SFA REFORM ............................................................................................................................................................. 75

TABLE 3-‐5 – LEVEL OF INDEBTEDNESS AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AFTER THE REFORM ........................................................................ 76 TABLEAU 3-‐6 – LEVEL OF MAXIMUM INDEBTEDNESS .................................................................................................................................. 77 TABLE 3-‐7 – INCREASE IN MONTHLY ALLOWABLE EXPENSES OF SFA FOLLOWING THE LIFTING OF THE TUITION FREEZE ............. 79 TABLE 3-‐8 – INCREASE IN MONTHLY ALLOWABLE EXPENSES IN SFA FOLLOWING THE LIFTING OF THE TUITION FREEZE .............. 80 TABLE 3-‐9 -‐ MODIFICATION OF THE MAXIMAL AMOUNT PAID AS A BURSARY ......................................................................................... 81 TABLE 3-‐10 – INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT FOR THE PURCHASE OF SCHOOL MATERIAL FOLLOWING THE LIFTING OF THE TUITION

FREEZE ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 82 REDUCTION OF THE PARENTAL CONTRIBUTION TABLE 3-‐11 – NEW EXEMPTION AMOUNTS FOR THE PARENTAL OR SPONSOR’S

CONTRIBUTION FOLLOWING THE LIFTING OF THE TUITION FREEZE ............................................................................................... 82 TABLE 3-‐12 – NEW AMOUNTS OF EXEMPTIONS FOR THE SPOUSAL CONTRIBUTION FOLLOWING THE LIFTING OF THE TUITION

FREEZE ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 83 TABLE 5-‐1 – AVERAGE HOURLY AND WEEKLY PAY ACCORDING TO THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION, 2008 ............................................... 91 TABLE 5-‐2 – RATE OF UNIONIZATION PER LEVEL OF EDUCATION, 2008 ..................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. TABLE 5-‐3 – UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ACCORDING TO LEVEL OF STUDY, QUÉBEC, 2009 ....................................................................... 92 TABLE 5-‐4 – TOTAL TAXES PAID BY A TYPICAL PERSON DURING HIS ACTIVE LIFE ACCORDING TO LEVEL OF EDUCATION ................ 92 TABLE 5-‐5 – DEMANDED INCREASES FOR ALLOWABLE MONTHLY EXPENSES IN SFA FOR RECIPIENTS WITHOUT DEPENDENT

CHILDREN. ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 96 TABLE 5-‐6 – ALLOWABLE MONTHLY EXPENSES FOR SFA, 2009-‐2010 ................................................................................................. 97 TABLE 5-‐7 – LOW-‐INCOME CUTOFF OF STATISTICS CANADA, BEFORE TAX, 2008 ................................................................................ 99 TABLE 5-‐8 – LOW-‐INCOME MEASURE AFTER TAX, 2007 ........................................................................................................................... 99 TABLEAU 5-‐9 -‐ FRAIS AUTRES QUE LES DROITS DE SCOLARITÉ IMPOSÉS AUX ÉTUDIANTS, ANNÉE 2007-‐2008, 1ER CYCLE (À

L’EXCLUSION DES FRAIS EXCLUSIFS À UNE FACULTÉ OU À UN PROGRAMME ET DES FRAIS RELIÉS AUX ASSOCIATIONS ÉTUDIANTES) ............................................................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

TABLEAU 5-‐10 -‐ ÉVOLUTION DE LA DETTE MOYENNE UNIVERSITAIRE (1996-‐1997 À 2007-‐2008) .. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.


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TABLE 5-‐11 -‐ ADJUSTMENT OF THE DEBT REMISSION PROGRAM TO 25% .................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. TABLE 5-‐12 ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 106 TABLEAU 5-‐13 ........................................................................................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. TABLE 5-‐14 – LOW-‐INCOME CUTOFF OF STATISTICS CANADA, BEFORE TAX, 2008. .......................................................................... 110 TABLE 5-‐15 – LOW INCOME MEASURE AFTER TAX, 2007 ...................................................................................................................... 111 TABLEAU 5-‐16 -‐ DÉPENSES MENSUELLES MOYENNES ET TOTAL ANNUEL, ÉTUDIANT SANS ENFANT À CHARGE, EN DOLLARS DE

2010 ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 112 TABLEAU 5-‐17 – DÉPENSES MENSUELLES MOYENNES ET TOTAL ANNUEL, ÉTUDIANT AVEC ENFANT À CHARGE, EN DOLLARS DE

2009 ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 113 TABLE 5-‐18 – INCREASES DEMANDED BY MONTHLY ALLOWABLE EXPENSES IN SFA FOR RECIPIENTS WITH A DEPENDENT CHILD.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 115

FIGURE 2-‐I -‐ FONCTIONNEMENT DU RÉGIME D'AIDE FINANCIÈRE QUÉBÉCOIS ........................................................................................... 7 FIGURE 2-‐II -‐ DÉMARCHE D’OCTROI DES PRÊTS, AFE ...................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. FIGURE 0-‐I -‐ RECONNAISSANCE DE LA DÉFICIENCE FONCTIONNELLE MAJEURE ........................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.


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List of recommandations

Recommendation 1. That Student Financial Assistance develop a more flexible formula of the calculation of the number of eligible semesters, allowing the student to choose a horizontal or vertical course of studies. (CASP-18 (7.2))

Recommendation 2. That the period of eligibility of student financial assistance be increased by five months at the master’s and thirteen months at the doctorate, in order to ensure a better harmonized financing for the real duration of studies and that this aid can be paid in bursaries. (CASP-17 (7.2))

Recommendation 3. That student financial assistance increase the amount of allowable expenses for recipients of student financial assistance without dependent children, notably by an increase of living expenses and transportation expenses for students who do not have access to public transit. Transportation expenses for non-residents and Internet expenses should also be included in allowable expenses. (CASP-19 (7.2))

Recommendation 4. That the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports introduce an annual automatic indexation mechanism of all the allowable expenses in the calculation of Student Financial Assistance, and that this indexation be equivalent to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the year concerned. (CASP-20 (7.2))

Recommendation 5. That the ministry of Education, recreation and Sport provides a mechanism for annuel adjustment of the estimated indexing rate to the observed reality for the reference year. (CASP-467(7.2))

Recommendation 6. That the shortfall in the indexation of the student financial aid is filled in order to remain relevant. (CASP-437 (7.2)

Recommendation 7. That the calculation of allowable expenses is weighted according to the area of residence of the student (CASP-21 (7.2))

Recommendation 8. That the exemption amounts for the maintenance of family unity be established at $45,000 and indexed thereafter. (CASP-22 (7.2))


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Recommendation 9. That the increase of allowable expenses and their annual indexation is manifested by an increase in bursaries and the number of recipients that have a right to a bursary, and that it have no impact on the current maximum loan limit. (CNCS-580 (2.2.1))

Recommendation 10. That a special allocation to cover the increase in tuition fees be given in the form of bursaries to all recipients without exception, and that it not lead to any increase in loans. (CASP-29 (7.2))

Recommendation 11. That the program of deferred repayment be made more accessible to student-parents, notably by increasing the maximum income to the low-income cutoff of Statistics Canada (CASP-34 (7.2))

Recommendation 12. That the remission of the debt be automatic as soon as the diploma is obtained, regardless of the progression of the student (horizontal or vertical) and take into account the interruption of studies because of pregnancy. (CASP-31 (7.2))

Recommendation 13. That the debt remission program apply to all students that have been recipients of financial assistance in each of the university years. (CASP-32 (7.2))

Recommendation 14. The adoption by the government of a framework law on the regulation of ancillary fees. (CASP-30 (5.5.2))

Recommendation 15. Thatstudents who have family responsibilities, notably single-parent students, be considered full-time students beginning with their eligibility to the part-time program regardless of their level of study. (CASP-24 (7.2))

Recommendation 16. That the period of eligibility to Student Financial Assistance be increased according to the needs of student-parents that are caught up with higher expense due to the presence of dependent children. (CASP-25 (7.2))

Recommendation 17. That student financial assistance increase the amount of allowable expenses for recipients of student financial assistance with a dependent child, notably by an increase of living expenses and expenses for dependent children over 18 years of age. The heads of single-parent families should see this amount increase for minors. As for daycare expenses, allowable expenses should be raised, paid in the form of a bursary for parents


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who do not have access to a public daycare service. Transportation expenses must be increased for those who do not have access to public transit and for non-residents. Finally, Internet expenses must also be included in allowable expenses. (CASP-26 (7.2))

Recommendation 18. That Student Financial Assistance exclude the child support payments to the head of a single-parent family from the calculation of the loans and grants and other affected social programs. (CASP-27 (7.2))

Recommendation 19. That students enrolled fulltime that subscribes partime be exempted of paying interest during their studies. (CASP-35 (7.2))

Recommendation 20. That the amounts allocated to Quebec for the Canada Student Grants Program serve to improve the Quebec Student Financial Assistance program through the maintenance of the amount of bursaries as bursaries. (CASP-468 (7.2))


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List of acronyms

SFA Student Financial Assistance CCAFE Comité consultatif sur l’accessibilité financière aux études CIAFT Conseil d’intervention pour l’accès des femmes au travail CNCS-FEUQ Conseil national des cycles supérieurs of the Fédération étudiante

universitaire du Québec CSF Conseil du statut de la femme FAFMRQ Fédération des associations de familles monoparentales et

recomposées du Québec MELS Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport

Student Financial Assistance (SFA) Kit Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec - 2010

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1. Introduction

Student Financial Assistance (SFA) is an investment that we all make as a society. Its avowed objective is to “prevent, through the allocation of adequate financial assistance, that the lack of financial assistance be an obstacle for persons who wish to pursue studies and who have the will and ability to do so.”1 For many years, however, students have stated that the loans and bursaries program of SFA has difficulty attaining this objective.

The reasons for these difficulties are multiple. Increases in the cost of living have only rarely been taken into consideration in the calculation of allowable expenses. There is no annual automatic indexation mechanism. Consequently, the level of these allowable expenses has only been indexed eight times in 20 years, namely in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, and each time in a discretionary manner. The level at which family income is taken into consideration (which can cast doubt on access to the program) is too low. Single-parent mothers continue to see their child support payments taken into account in the calculation of their income. The transportation expenses of recipients who do not live with their families are not covered by the program, except in regions where there is no public transit. The program also has difficulties responding to recipients living in particular situations, such as family/studies integration or the prolongation of graduate studies.

Furthermore, the program leads to very high levels of indebtedness. According to the 2008-2009 Statistical report tof Student Financial Assistance, yhe average debt load is $13,022 at the undergraduate level, $16,304 at the master’s and $23,045 at the doctoral.2 Student debt is an increasingly heavy burden for students. In fact, nothing guarantees that university studies will lead to a job whose salary will allow students to rapidly repay loans. We mustn’t forget that the initial situation of an SFA recipient is that of a person who does not have the means to entirely assume the costs of university studies. We are therefore not talking about well-off students who can count on a rich family. On the contrary, these are the most vulnerable students. Starting up their active life with a student debt of thousands of dollars is very arduous, especially as the debt is far from being exempt from interest once studies are finished. We also have to find a mode of reimbursing that takes advantage of the real repayment abilities of former students.

Finally, the lifting of the tuition freeze in March 2011 is a direct attack on accessibility to studies. The allowance that is supposed to “absorb” the tuition hike will still be distributed in the form of loans to recipients who do not have a right to the bursaries program, which will increase indebtedness. This is without counting the thousands of students who are not eligible for SFA, who will have to find a way to pay $325 more per year, namely $1,625 in 2016-2017. 1 Aide financière aux études, page consultée en juin 2008. http://www.afe.gouv.qc.ca/fr/pretsBourses/index.asp

2 : AFE, Rapports statistiques 2001-2002 à 2008-2009


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The Fédération Étudiante Universitaire du Québec (FEUQ) has designed this Student Financial Assistance Kit in order to regroup in one document all the necessary elements to understand its sometimes complex programs. Thus, the reader can refer to this kit, in the first instance, to understand the functioning of the of the SFA program, secondly to follow the legislative and regulatory evolution of the last 20 years, and finally to grasp the desired changes in the program as demanded by the FEUQ.

Good reading!


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2. The Functioning of the Student Financial Assistance Program

2.1. Mission of Student Financial Assistance

Financial Assistance was first established in 1966 (Student Loans and Scholarships Act, 1966, c. 70). In 1990, An Act respecting Financial Assistance for Education Expenses (1990, c. A-13-3) replaced this first law. It was amended in 1997 and became An Act respecting Financial Assistance for Education Expenses.3

Student Financial Assistance must implement everything so that “each person benefits from the advantages to which An Act respecting Financial Assistance for Education Expenses gives them the right through the application of its regulations” (AFE, 2007, p. 3).

The main program of Student Financial Assistance is the Loans and Bursaries Program. It is addressed to students in the secondary professional, collegial and university networks” SFA thus defines its program mission:

The objective of the program is to prevent, through the allocation of adequate financial assistance, that the lack of financial resources be an obstacle to persons who wish to pursue studies and have the will and ability to do so.4

However, An Act respecting Financial Assistance for Education Expenses specifies that the program has a contributory character. We mean by this that the accessibility to the program and the calculation of loans and bursaries are determined according to the contributions of the student, the parents or his/her spouse. The student thus remains the first responsible person for the costs of his studies. Furthermore, the program is auxiliary, namely that the government first loans a certain amount to the student, and can even add an amount in the form of a bursary to fill the difference between the amount a student can take from his pocket to pay for his studies and the cost evaluated by the government.

2.2. Summary of principles of the financial assistance program

We generally recognize four contributors for the financing of postsecondary studies. We mean by this that the responsibility can and must be shared among them, according to the financial capacity of each. These four contributors are the student, the family, the government and private enterprise. Each of these contributors has different motives to support the studies project of the individual. For the latter, we concede that education will bring benefits that he will harvest all his life. His family must support him, by virtue of the obligation it has towards him. The family being the main socioeconomic

3 Québec, ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, Aide financière aux études. 2008. Aide financière aux études. Statistiques. Rapport 2005-2006. Québec : MELS, p.3.

4 Aide financière aux étude « Programme de prêts et bourses ». Page consultée en juin 2008. http://www.afe.gouv.qc.ca/fr/pretsBourses/index.asp


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determinant of an individual—it is evident that the importance of its contribution to his studies project generally exceeds a simple financial contribution. The state, for its part, has all the advantage in supporting the education of its citizens. It goes without saying that the level of education of the population supports the democratic life of a state, in addition to allowing a dynamic and competitive economy. Furthermore, the government earns a fiscal benefit from this support for studies. In fact, there is a direct link between the level of education and the employment rate, as well as the level of salaries. Finally, private enterprise itself can benefit from a well-trained workforce, whose imagination and adaptation capacities for progress and innovation rest on a high quality education.

Table 2-1 – Motives and modes of financing of the main contributors of studies projects

Participant Motive(s) Mode(s) of financing

Individual Benefits of education throughout his active life active

Income Loans he will contract (if necessary)

Family (parents or spouse)

Main socio-economic source of an individual Financial obligation towards the individual

Financial contribution Contribution in kind (room and board)

Government Returns drawn from the benefits of this education, notably at the fiscal level

Subsidies to educational institutions. Bursaries and subsidies for interest rates on loans

Private enterprise Profits drawn from the benefits of this education (productivity, technological, scientific and cultural advances)

Donations or subsidies oriented or not to universities and their elements (ex: Chairs, academic units, libraries)

Source : Trousse AFE, FEUQ, 2004

2.3. Eligibility

2.3.1. Eligibility conditions

To be eligible, the student must meet seven main criteria:

i. Be a Canadian resident or have permanent residency status; ii. Live in Quebec or reputed as residing there at the time of the application; iii. Be admitted to a recognized educational institution; iv. Be enrolled full-time; v. Not having exceeded the determined number of study semesters; vi. Not having attained the limit of indebtedness vii. Not having sufficient financial resources to pursue studies.

Specifications are required for certain of these conditions.


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2.3.2. Duration of eligibility

The recipient is deemed eligible for variable durations according to the duration of the diploma and the type of assistance to which he has a right:

Ø The recipient of a loan AND bursary is eligible up until six months after the normal duration of the targeted diploma (as determined by the department or university where he is enrolled);

Ø The recipient of a loan only is eligible up until 15 months after the normal duration of the targeted diploma (as determined by the department of the university where he is enrolled);

Ø For programs with a longer duration than the average, SFA takes into account the duration of studies by adding 6 months of eligibility for loans and bursaries and 9 months for loans.

Table 2-2 – Period of eligibility of a loan and bursary, SFA, 2011-2012

Studies Forecasted duration

Eligibility period for a loan*

Eligibility period for a bursary*

Secondary (vocational training) 20 months 35 months The first 26 months

Collegial (Pre-university training) 18 months 33 months The first 24 months

Collegial (technical training) 27 months 42 months The first 33 months

University (Undergraduate) 24 months 39 months The first 30 months

University (master’s) 16 months 31 months The first 22 months

University (doctorate) 32 months 47 months The first 38 months

Source : AFE, Une aide à votre portée, 2011-2012, p. 9.

*Only the months of studies are considered for the eligibility calculation of loans and bursaries. Limit of indebtedness

2.3.3. The limit of indebtedness

The limit of indebtedness is calculated in two ways: either by levels of study or the total amounts of all the loans received. The exceeding of this limit can put into question the eligibility of the recipient. This can happen, for example, when the recipient has made one or various changes in the program. In this case, the student can attain his limit of indebtedness at his level of studies before having attained the normal duration of his diploma. We have to understand that the limit of indebtedness is established by level of studies and not by program.


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It is in 1997 that the maximal level of indebtedness by level of education was introduced. The maximum amounts are the following:

Table 2-3 – Maximal level of indebtedness by level of studies and duration of university program, SFA, 2011-2012

Level of studies Duration of program Cumulative limit

Undergraduate Under 28 months 28 months and more

$30,000 $36,000

Master’s: under 5 semesters and more Under 20 months 20 months and more

$42,000 $48,000

Doctoral All programs of study $45,000

Programs of study outside Quebec but in Canada

Programs of study outside Canada

$55,000

$70,000


2.3.4. Categories of student(s)

Students are distributed into three categories, according to their situation at the time of their application.

Student without parental contribution:

Student Financial Assistance does not calculate any parental contribution from the studetn if the latter fulfills one of the following conditions:

ü Being married, civil union, legally separated or a widow or divorced; ü Being or having been a biological or adoptive parent; ü Being single and living maritally with another person of a different sex or

the same sex and living with the child of one or the other; ü Being at least twenty weeks pregnant; ü Having completed 90 credits in the same undergraduate program, or

having completed four years of full-time studies with a view to obtaining a diploma outside Quebec. In the case of a person who has a major functional deficiency and must pursue his studies part-time, the number of credits required is 45, rather than 90;

ü Having obtained an undergraduate diploma or the equivalent outside Quebec or again a diploma of higher studies in music (DESM 1) or an attestation of studies at the end of 3 years of training at the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec;

ü Pursue university studies at the master’s and doctoral levels full-time in an educational institution designated for the allocation of loans and bursaries only;


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ü Having been during 24 months, without counting the periods during which there was full-time attendance of an educational institution, in on eof the following situations: held a paid job, having received employment insurance benefits or income-replacement indemnities (CSST, SAAQ, RRQ, etc.) or having met one’s needs while residing elsewhere than one’s parents or a combination of the two situations ;

ü Having stopped studying full-time during at least 7 years after the end of the school obligation;

ü Be a single-parent family with a dependent child; ü Be single with deceased parents. ü

Student with spousal contribution:

ü The contribution of the spouse is taken into consideration if the student is married, in a civil union or again if he lives maritally with a person and he lives with a child. No contribution is calculated if the spouse is also reputed to be studying full-time.

Student with parental contribution:

ü The parental contribution is taken into account when the student is not part of any of the two previous categories.

2.3.5. Motive for refusal

Certain situations can bring about a refusal by SFA to an application made by a student who is otherwise eligible.

Ø The student has already contracted loans, but finds himself in default of payment and the Ministry of Education had to reimburse the financial institution. To recover his eligibility, the student must repay at least 50% of his debt in default of payment and conclude an agreement to pay the balance.

Ø The student received a bursary paid in excess; he becomes eligible again at the moment he repays this amount or a repayment agreement is concluded. Since 1998-1999, the student can deduct the bursary paid in excess from the assistance amount that will be granted to him during the following year.

Ø The student who received aid following a false declaration is deemed ineligible for a period of two years. The student must reimburse the entire excessive amount before becoming eligible again.

2.4. The granting of loans and bursaries

Financial assistance, calculated according to allowable expenses and contributions, first takes the form of a loan. At the end of the year, Financial Assistance sends the bursary to directly to the financial institution to lower the overall indebtedness of the student.


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Since 2003, assistance is collected on a monthly basis directly into the bank account of the student. It is higher at the beginning of the term so as to allow the student to pay tuition fees and expenses related to school material.

Before the start of term, financial assistance informs the students of the total assistance (loans and bursaries that will be granted to him during the year). The student must go to his financial institution to give his guarantee certificate for the loan. He thus authorizes SFA to make direct payments into his bank account. In October, the student will receive a document to confirm his income. SFA, after having made a verification with the ministère du Revenu, will allocate his bursary to the financial institution.

Aid is given according to the academic calendar. It is thus established from September 1 to August 30.

Figure 2-I – Functioning of the Quebec financial assistance program


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Source : Trousse AFE, FEUQ 2004

Figure 2-II – Steps for the granting of loans, SFA


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2.4.1. Steps to follow for the first application

The student financial assitance program gives the choice to the applicant either in paper or online. The student has a period of 60 days after the last month of studies of the year of allocation concerned to make an aplplication. Furthermore, a simulation software of the calculation of accessibility on the Website is available to help students in forecasting the amounts they will have a right to.

The guarantee certificate

When you have access to loans (which concerns practically everyone except students with a major function deficiency, who receive the totality of their financial assistance in the form of bursaries) you must procure a guarantee certificate. This certificate authorizes you to receive aid from the banks that are the institutions that will lend you the money while the government act as endorser.

Confirmations of income

During the year, you will have to confirm twice your financial resources. During the month of September and January, fill out the form even if your income has remained unchanged.

Declaration of change

If your status changes during the term, whether it be your income, your place of residence or your student status, you will have to fill out a declaration of change form that is found on the SFA site.

2.4.2. Mode of the calculation of loans and bursaries

Tow elements are included in the calculation of the maximum loan of the student; the monthly amount of the loan and the fees required by the educational institution (tuition fees and ancillary fees).

The calculation of the assistance first rests on the determination of financial needs (living expenses – contributions – financial needs). If the financial needs are higher than the maximum loan limit, the rest is paid in bursaries.

We can see that the loan amounts are established according to the level of studies in the following table. However, this tabke hides a specificity that leads to an increase in the indebtedness of certain students. In fact, the Ministry of Education has established an allocation to adjust aid according to the lifting of the tuition freeze of 2007. This allocation is paid in the form of a bursary for recipients of a loan and a bursary, but in the form of a loan for students who only have a loan. In their case, the loan amount indicated in the following table can thus in fact be higher.

We should also note that other fees that can be added to the amount of the established loan. Thus, in the case of the student pursuing studies outside Quebec, we add to the


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monthly loan the tuition fees required by the educational institution, up to the amount of $6,000 per period of studies.

We can also add the expenses for the purchase of computer material and the recognized daycare expenses when the child does not have access to a subsidized place in a daycare center.

Table 2-4 – Amount of loans established for university students

Undergraduate $305 per month of studies as well as tuition fees

Master’s and PhDs $405 per month of studies as well as tuition fees

Holders of an undergraduate degree $405 per month of studies programs recognized for the allocation of loans

only $950 per month of studies Source : AFE, Des questions à vos réponses, 2011-2012, p.28.

2.4.3. Calculation of allowable expenses

Allowable expenses are expenses of the students deemed normal and necessary by SFA for the pursuit of studies. They are divided into two categories: monthly expenses and periodic expenses. Academic expenses (tuition fees and school material expenses) are calculated in this second category. The two following tables describe the different allowable expenses. The table that follows presents allowable expenses as they were in 2010-2011 and the proposals of modification of MELS for 2011-2012. Since the second are not officially adopted at the time of writing, it is the first that served as the basis for the calculation in the part that follows. The differences between the two are, moreover, completely minimal.


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Table 2-5 – Eligible monthly expenses

2010-2011 Proposal of MELS for 2011-2012

Living expense (including transportation costs

Students studying full-time or in an internship full-time (cooperative internships

excluded) and residing with parents

345$ / month 354$ / month

Students studying full-time or in an internship full-time (cooperative internships

excluded) and not residing with parents

758 $/ month 778 $ / month

Students enrolled and residing with parents

Each month :138 $ + 10 % of job income. Maximum :

345 $ / month. Per month : 147$ + 10 % of job

income. Maximum : 354 $ per month.

Student enrolled and not residing with parents

Each month : 551 $ + 10 % of job income. Maximum:

758 $ / month Per month: 571 $ + 10 % of job income

Maximum : 778 $ per month.

Living expenses for children For each child: 234 $ / month 240 $ / month

Subsidized place in a daycare 151 $ / month of studies 151 $ / month of studies

Non-subsidized place 279 $ month of studies 279 $ month of studies

Additional expense for single-parent family

Minor child 62 $ / month 64 $ / month

Without minor child 175 $ / month 180 $ / month

Expense for absence of public transit 89 $ / month

91 $ / month

Frais de stage de courte durée (stage moins long que la

period of studies) 257 $ / mois

Maximum : 1 196 $ / year 264 par mois

Maximum : 1 228 $ per year

Source : AFE, Une aide à votre portée, 2011-2012 et MELS propositions de modifications 2011-2012.

* Transporation expenses are not taken into account for students not living with their parents, since SFA assumes they can choose to live near their institution of learning. We have to see to what extent this measure is a realisitic presumption or not, notably by virtue of the price of rents in certain university neighborhoods.


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Table 2-6 – Admissible periodic expenses

Tuition fees and ancillary fees

This expense is recognized the first month of the period of studies. It includes the amount for the

purchase of a book or school material varying from $378 to $433 per period of studies, according to the

program. In the case of students writing up the their master’s or doctoral thesis, the amount drops

to $198. (indexed to $203 in 2011-2012).

Expenses related to the purchase of computer material

This expense is taken into account only once and for the entire duration of studies. An amount of $2000 is added to allowable expenses for the purchase of micro-computer as well as peripheral and software material. This amount is $3000 when the program of studies requires the use of a portable. The help

can be granted following the addition of this expense, which is paid in the form of a loan. The

interest on this loan is assumed by the government during the duration of studies.

Interest paid by the student who benefited from the former guarantee of

loan for the purchase of a micro-computer.

This interest is considered as an allowable expense during the duration of studies. This expense is

recognized the first month of studies of the allocation year.

Special transportation expenses This expense is recognized the first month of each period of studies.

Expenses related to the purchase of visual aids

$185 / person (student or child) within two years. This expenditure is recognized the month of

purchase.

Allocation for a peripheral city, region or MRC

$66/month. Maximum: $528 /year. (The amount will be increased to $69 in 201-2012, for an annual maximum of $552). This expense is recognized the

first month of the period of studies.

Medical expenses The surplus of $16 (Student or child) per month.

This expense is recognized the month of the purchase.

Supplement for the student with low income or having no income

We take into account this amount, if applicable, the first month when we recognize the expenditures for

the allocation year. Supplement for the student who is

studying full-time during the summer and who is subject to an income cut

exceeding 10% during the calendar year in progress.

This amount corresponds to one-third the gap between the contribution calculated the year before the drop in income, is applicable. The supplement is granted only to the student who received a bursary

amount during the previous allocation year. Source : AFE, Une aide à votre portée, 2011-2012, p. 14.

As we were able to see in the two previous tables, allowable expenses are of various kinds:


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2.4.3.1. School expenses

School or academic expenses include tuition fees ($72.26 per credit5), registration expenses, ancillary fees for educational expenses as well as other fees prescribed by the educational institution. They also include the amounts allocated for the purchase of school material or specialized equipment. Fees for didactic material vary according to the discipline. Thus, students in programs such as architecture, visual arts, chiropractic, physical education, occupational therapy, medicine, veterinary medicine, music, speech therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy and engineering, all heavy disciplines, receive $431 per semester for the purchase of didactic material. Other university students receive $378 per semester. Finally, graduate students that devote themselves to writing their master’s or doctoral thesis can receive $198 for each period of studies of four months. The amounts granted for the purchase of specialized equipment correspond to the costs of what the student is expected to acquire for the purposes of his studies.

No amount is allocated to the student if he has been full-time during less than three months. Also, no amount is allocated to the student for all periods of four months during which he is doing an internship.

2.4.3.2. Living expenses

Living expenses cover the food, housing, clothing and leisure needs of students. They are determined on the basis of: place of residence of the student and his activity (studies, work, inactive). The amounts are allocated to the student by monthly payments. The amounts allocated are indicated in the table included above and entitled monthly allowable expenses.

All of the studies conducted recently on students6 show that the real expenses of students greatly exceed the amounts established by SFA. These amounts were only indexed five times since 1994, namely 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2008, 2009 and 2010. For 2011-2012, MELS submitted a decree to index certain allowable expenses at the rate of 2.7%. No automatic indexation mechanism currently exists. The decision to index and the level of indexation is thus entirely at the discretion of the ministry.

5 Niveau de 2007-2008.

6 On pense notamment à FONDATION DES BOURSES DU MILLÉNAIRE. 2007. Le prix du savoir. L’accès à l’éducation et la situation financière des étudiants au Canada. Troisième édition. Ottawa : auteur, 162 p. ; FEUQ. 2010. Sources et modes de financement des étudiants de premier cycle. Montréal : 147 p. ; QUÉBEC, CONSEIL DU STATUT DE LA FEMME. 2004. Maintenir le soutien financier aux études et s’adapter aux nouvelles réalités. Québec : auteur, 68 p. ; QUÉBEC, MINISTÈRE DE L’ÉDUCATION, DU LOISIR ET DU SPORT, AIDE FINANCIÈRE AUX ÉTUDES. 2003. Enquête sur les conditions de vie des étudiants de la formation professionnelle au secondaire, du collégial et de l’université. Décroche tes rêves. Québec : MELS, 357 p. Aux cycles supérieurs, on peut lire l’enquête du CNCS : VENNE, Jean-François. 2007. Les sources et modes de financement des étudiants aux cycles supérieurs. Montréal : CNCS-FEUQ, 107 p. plus annexes.


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2.4.3.3. Transportation expenses

Transportation expenses only apply to students that are reputed residing with their parents and serve to cover their transportation expenses between their place of residence and the educational institution or place of work or internship. Fees are granted only if there is no public transit service to go to the educational institution. The amount allocated is $89 per month.

2.4.3.4. Expense for a dependent child

The expenses related to a child are allocated to students that that have one or more dependent children of a minor age or a pregnant student of at least 20 weeks who has the right to an amount allocated as a living expense of a child. They are also allocated to a student if the minor child is the object of shared custody and if the student is not the one that receives the family allowance allocated in the application of An Act respecting Family Benefits. The amounts allocated are $234 per month per child

We should note that if the two parents study full-time, the expenses for the child can only be collected by one of the two.

We also have to remark that if the student shares custody of the child, he will not be able to see these expenses allocated. However, if during the allocation year, he had custody of the child at least 25% of the time, living expenses for a child will be allocated to him according to the percentage of time over which he had custody of the child.

Finally, if the student or her spouse have a child of legal age, it is possible that they receive these expenses. The child of the student must be studying full-time and that he not fulfill the conditions stipulated in paragraphs 1 to 4 of the first paragraph of article 4 of the law on SFA, namely: 1) being or having been related by marriage, 2) having or having had a child that was yours, 3) living maritally with a person, 4) be pregnant for at least 20 weeks. Also, if the student does not live with the child, these expenses will only be allocated if the child is reputed to receive a contribution from his parents.

We should not that these living expenses for children cannot be allocated if the parents already subscribe to programs of the different levels of support like the Canada Child Tax Benefit or again the child support program of the Régie des rentes du Québec.

2.4.3.5. Daycare expenses of the child

Child daycare expenses are $151 per month for parents that benefit from daycare services at seven dollars a day and a maximum of $279 for the others. They are allocated for each child aged under 12 years as well as for children aged 12 to 17 who have a major functional deficiency (serious visual deficiency, serious hearing deficiency, motor, organic, etc.).

As for dependent children, if the student and her spouse are both full-time students, the child daycare expenses are only allocated once per child.


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If the child is the object of shared custody, the student can only benefit from daycare expenses if, during the allocation year, he or she has custody of the child during at least 50% of the time. Daycare expenses are reduced by half if the student has custody of the child during less than half the time.

2.4.3.6. Supplementary allocation for peripheral regions

The supplementary allocation for peripheral regions serves to defray the costs related to transportation and long-distance calls incurred by students coming from remote regions or pursuing their studies in these regions. To be admissible, one has to be recognized as dependent on one’s parents and not reside at their place. Furthermore, their location of residence must be situated in a peripheral region or the educational institution attended is situated in such a region. The allocation is $67 per month, for a maximum of $536 per year of allocations. The regions considered peripheral are the following:

Ø Région administrative du Bas-St-Laurent; Ø Région administrative de la Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine; Ø Région administrative du Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean; Ø Région administrative de la Côte-Nord; Ø Région administrative de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue; Ø Municipalité régionale de comté (MRC) de Pontiac; Ø MRC de la Vallée-de-la-Gatineau; Ø MRC Antoine-Labelle; Ø Le territoire de la Ville de La Tuque

2.4.3.7. The loan for computer material

This assistance concerning the purchase of a micro-computer that was suspended in the 2003-2004 budget was subsequently reintroduced in the 2003-2004 budget.

The recipient of SFA can only have recourse to this assistance once. The loan is for $2000. In the event that the student finds himself obliged to buy a portable for his program of studies, the loan can rise to $3,000.

The loan for the purchase of a computer is added to the total debt of the student. The government pays the interest up until the end of studies.

Finally, the student is no longer constrained by the monopoly of the university cooperative. He can buy his computer in the business outlet of his choice. He must keep the proof of purchase of his computer.

Medical expenses and chiropractic

Medical and chiropractic expenses can also be reimbursed, to the extent that they follow a medical prescription. Amounts exceeding $16 of monthly expenses can be claimed on the condition that they are not covered by the Régime général d’assurance-


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médicaments or a private medical insurance plan. These allowable expenses concern the student and not his dependent children.

2.4.3.8. Expenses for visual aids

Finally, expenses for visual aids can be granted to bursary students for visual aids (glasses or contact lenses) and eye examination expenses. These expenses are reimbursed upon presentation of a supporting document. These expenses cannot exceed $185 per period of two years and apply to the student and his dependent children. These expenses are reimbursed upon presentation of a supporting document.

2.4.4. Calculation of the student contribution

The calculation of the contribution was modified following the introduction of the Contact project. In fact, there is no longer a minimal contribution of $1,280 calculated for the student contribution. Now, the student contribution is calculated according to the student income for the year. However, certain exemptions allow the student to keep his financial gains of the summer.

Student income

Three categories of income are included in the student contribution. They are the job income, other income and grants.

50% of job incomes (40% if the student was not the recipient of SFA the previous year)

ü Gross income including tips and bonuses that come from a job; ü Amounts received as income-replacement indemnities in the application

of a law in Canada; ü Indemnities received in the application of a wage insurance program; ü Unemployment benefits, benefits of the same nature paid by a ministry or

a government organization; ü Amounts received in the application of a program for the monitors of

official languages established by the federal government; ü Benefits received in the application of a pension plan; ü Reimbursement of sick leave or special holidays flowing from the

application of a collective agreement or another document in lieu thereof; ü Company income or self-employed worker, in the sense of the Taxation

Act; ü Retirement or invalidity annuity and retirement or invalidity pensions

received in application of a law applicable in Canada.

100% of other income

ü Death benefits in the form of annuity payments in the application of a law;


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ü Orphan’s annuity, child annuities to the disabled contributor, annuities for children victims of criminal acts, surviving spouse’s pension and the benefits received as such in the application of a law;

ü Income from an estate, a trust or an open donation for the benefit of the student;

ü Amounts paid as financial assistance during a linguistic training offered in application of the law;

ü Allocations paid by the minister or a government organization; ü Amounts received as spousal support; ü Investment income; ü Amounts equivalent to all exemptions from obligatory tuition fees; ü Cash benefit or evaluable in money, with the exception of spousal

support or alimony received following a de facto separation, a divorce decree or a decree of judicial separation.

100% of a student grant exceeding $5,000


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Exemptions:

SFA grants certain exemptions. The income earned during the summer months where the student does not have allowable expenses are protected. The calculation is simple: $1,110 x the number of months for which no allowable expenses are recognized for the student.

There exist two types of exemption.

Ø Basic exemption: To calculate the basic exemption, SFA compares the job income of the student and the amount corresponding to 30% of the protected income. The smallest of the two amounts is retained as the basic exemption.

Ø Supplementary exemption: the calculation of the supplementary exemption differs according to which the student is reputed to be a resident or not.

ü Resident: To the basic contribution is added the smallest amount between 5% of job income or 5% of protected income;

ü Non-resident: To the basic contribution is added the smallest amount between 35% of additional job income to 35% of protected income or 70% of protected income.

Table 2-7 – Basic exemption and supplementary income

Basic exemption

The smallest amount between 100% of job income or 30% of protected income

Supplemental income

Resident The smallest amount between 5% of job income or 5% of protected income

Non-resident The smallest amount between 35% of job income or 70% of protected income Source : AFE, Une aide à votre portée, 2011-2012, p. 22.


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Reductions:

It is possible that the student receives a reduction in certain circumstances.

Ø The recipient pursues his studies without being full-time (including supplementary studies) and his studies are made within the period of four months that precede a month of full-time studies. To calculate the reduction, SFA multiplies the number of credits for which the student is enrolled by $255. If the student has job income, we multiply 2.5% of his income (up to the corresponding amount of protected income) by the number of hours of the course divided by 15 or by the number of credits. We then subtract the result of the amount previously obtained.

Ø If the student is doing studies that are not full-time, SFA multiplies the number

of units to which he is enrolled by $120. Ø If the student works, SFA multiplies $380 by the smallest of the following two

numbers: ü The result obtained by subtracting the number of units divided by 3 or

the number of hours divided by 45 of the number of months considered for the calculation of the protected income;

ü The result obtained by dividing the job income by $1,110.


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Table 2-8 - Reduction of the contribution

Student that is not full-time

$255 X the number of units minus

the smallest number between 2.5% of job income or shared income [the number of hours ÷ divided by 15] or the number of units)

The student that is not full-time and that is reputed to be a resident

$120 X the number of units

The student who works

$380 X the smallest of these results:

Ø The number of months considered to calculate the protected income minus

(the number of units ÷ divided by 3) or (the number of hours ÷ divided by 45)

Ø The job income ÷divided by $1,110 Source : AFE, Une aide à votre portée, 2011-2012, p. 23

2.4.5. Parental contribution

When the recipient is considered dependent on his parents, SFA includes a part of the income of these as a “parental contribution.” The parental contribution is “presumed,” that is to say that SFA takes into account regardless of whether the student in fact receives it or not. In case of default of payment on the part of the parents, the only recourse for the students is to sue their parents.

We first determine the available income (AI) by subtracting from their gross income (GI) all the exemptions (E) to which they have a right. These exemptions include amounts for the maintenance of family unity, dependent children and others.

Formula : (RB - E) = RD


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Table 2-9 – Amounts taken into consideration as gross income in the calculation of the parental contribution

Gross income of parents* Gross income of the calendar year preceding the allocation year (ex. For 2001-2002, it will be

2000) as declared in taxes

Income-replacement indemnities in the case of an automobile accident, criminal act or disability

Family allocations

Veteran’s pensions

Strike benefit

Shelter allowance program

Property tax reimbursement program

Children’s Special Allowance’s Act and child tax benefit When parents are subject during the calendar year in progress to a drop in income of 10%, they must provide an estimate of their income for the year in progress and it is this estimate that will be used. An a posteriori verification will be made after the production of the tax income return.

Source : AFE, Une aide à votre portée, 2011-2012


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Table 2-10 – Amounts exempted from parental contributiuon

Exemption 2010-2011 2011-2012 Maintenance of family unity

Ø 2 parents living together Ø One parent or two parents not

living together

15 274 $

12 931 $

15 274 $

12 931 $

Dependent child*

For the student that makes the application and has a major functional deficiency

2 805 $

2 380 $

2 881 $

2 444 $

Second parent works 14% of income up until $2,310

14% of income up until $2,310

*Including students that make an application and that are sponsored by a sponsor.

Source : AFE, Une aide à votre portée, 2011-2012, p. 25. et MELS, Projet de règlement modifiant le règlement sur l’aide financière aux études, 2011.

Once the available income established, we apply the parents’ contribution table to establish the level of the parental contribution.

Table 2-11 - Table of parental contributions

Available income Contribution demanded

Exceeding Without exceeding

$0 $8,000

$44,000

$54,000

$64,000

$8,000

$44,000

$54,000

$64,000 -

0% 0% on $8,000, plus 19% of the rest

$6,840 on $44,000, plus 29% on the rest $9,740 on $54,000, plus 39% of the rest

$13,640 on $64,000, plus 49% of the rest

Source : AFE, Une aide à votre portée, 2010-2011 p. 25.

The parental contribution is divided into equal parts, according to the number of children enrolled in postsecondary studies

2.4.5.1. The contribution of the spouse

Like the parental contribution, the spousal contribution is presumed, but voluntary. No contribution is demanded for a spouse that benefited the previous year from financial assistance.


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To calculate the contribution of the spouse, we subtract from the gross income a basic exemption of $12,931. In certain cases, an exemption of $2,250 can be added for a student with a major functional disability. We then apply the table of contributions of spouses.

Table 2-12 - Table of contribution of spouse

Available income Contribution demanded

Exceeding Without exceeding

$0 $8,000

$44,000

$54,000

$64,000

$8,000

$44,000

$54,000

$64,000 -

0% 0% on $8,000, plus 19% of the rest

$6,840 on $44,000, plus 29% on the rest $9,740 on $54,000, plus 39% of the rest

$13,640 on $64,000, plus 49% of the rest



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Here are some examples:

Source : Calculs FEUQ

Example: Olivier is a non-resident student doing a master’s in chemistry at Université de Laval. In addition to the 4 000$ he will earn this year as a teaching assistant, he receives a grant of 6 000$ from a granting agency. He studie full-time in the autumn and winter, but is not active during th summer. What is his contribution? Also, what will be the amount of his loan and bursarys?

Calculation of allowable expenses:

Living expenses, months of study (8 months) 6 064 $

Tuition fees (school and ancillary: 2 168 550) + (378 X 2) 3 474 $

Total 9 538 $

Calculation of contribution:

Income: 4 000 $

Basic exemptions (or 30% of protected income) - 1 332 $

Addional exemption (1400+1554) - 2 954 $

(35% of job income + 35 % of protected income)

Sub-total (- 286 $)

Reduction of contribution 0 $

Income of grants exceeding $5,000 + 1 000 $

Total 714 $

Total aid: 8 824 $

Calculation of loan:

Month of studies (405 $/month) 3 240 $

Total maximum loan 3 240 $

Calculation of bursary 5 584 $


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Source : Calculs FEUQ

2.5. Reimbursement of student loan

Ø During the duration of studies, the interest on the student’s loan are entirely assumed by the government (complete exemption period).

Ø During the six first months following the interruption of studies, the student must assume the interest, but does not have to reimburse his loans (period of partial exemption).

Ø The reimbursement must begin six months after the abandonment of studies. Ø The student must then meet his financial institution in order to sign a

reimbursement agreement. The duration of the reimbursement is the only element that can be negotiated between the student and the financial institution. All the loans contracted by a student are consolidated in one sole loan during the signature of the agreement (which includes the loan for the purchase of a computer).

In the following cases, the reimbursement of the loan can be deferred because of a temporary interruption of studies:

Ø Pregnant student;

Exemple: François is studying civil engineering at the École Polytechnique. He is still dependent on his parents and must receive a parental contribution. His father has a gross annual income of $42,000 while his mother holds a part-time job that brings her an income of 10 000$. François has a brother pursuing college studies. What then is the parental contribution for François ?

1° Parental incomes 52 000$

2° Exemption for maintenance of family (15 274$)

Exemption for student (2 805$)

Exemption for his brother (2 805$)

Second parent who works (14% of income): (1 400$)

3° Available income 29 716$

4° Table of contribution

(0% on the first 8 000$ and 19% on the rest) 4 126$

5° Total parental contribution: 4 126$

6° Contribution for François (4 126$/2): 2 063$


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Ø Student that adopted a student; Ø Student that gives birth to a child or whose spouse gives birth to a child; Ø Student that has a disability of more than one month confirmed by a medical

certificate delivered by a doctor; Ø Student that is elected to exercise functions/duties within an organization

grouping together student associations;

2.5.1. Program of deferred reimbursement

To be eligible for a program of deferred reimbursement, the ex-student must have a gross monthly income below the minimum wage multiplied by the factor $160.21 ($1546 for a minimum wage of $9.65). An amount of $117 is added to the student if the student is the head of a single-parent family and $240 per dependent child.

In the five years following the abandonment or end of studies, the student can make use of the program for a maximum of 24 months of his life. Each demand is valid for a period of six months and must be renewed if the student wants to benefit again. When the student benefits from the program of deferred reimbursement, the interest of on his debt are assumed by the government and do not have to be reimbursed subsequently. The student must simply fill out a form that he sends to Financial Assistance. These reimbursements of assistance are suspended the time the SFA renders its decision. However, if the response is negative, he must reimburse the payments that were not made beginning at the date of his application.

2.5.2. Debt remission program

Since 1999-2000, a remission of 15% of the capital is granted to the person who finishes his studies without interruption in the expected timeframe. To be eligible, the student must also have obtained a bursary in each of his years of study. We should note that since 2000-2001, this program applies to collegial studies.

The amount corresponding to the debt remission is paid to the financial institution responsible for the debt of the student. The amount is either deducted from the debt or given, either entirely or in part, to the student. The amount of the debt remission is taxable. The student receives a revenue statement. The amounts borrowed for the loan guarantee program for the purchase of a micro-computer are excluded from the debt remission program.

The student has three years beginning with the end of his studies to make an application for debt remission.

2.6. Loan program for part-time students

The loan program for part-time studies offers student financial support in the form of a loan to make possible the pursuit of part-time studies. School fees (tuition fees and school material) as well as daycare expenses (if applicable) are covered by this SFA loan


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program. To be considered part-time the university student must be enrolled in courses worth between six and eleven credits.

To be eligible for the program, we must meet the following requirements:

Ø Be a Canadian citizen or have the status of permanent resident; Ø Reside in Quebec; Ø Be admitted to an educational institution designated by the ministère de

l’Éducation and follow courses in a recognized program; Ø The student has not exhausted the number of terms of study for which SFA is

granted (14, for all levels of study (collegial and university); Ø The student has less annual financial resources than the amount determined

(below $35,000 per year); Ø The student has not attained the fixed debt limit ($8,000 from the part-time

program). Thus, the accumulated debt for loans and bursaries program is not considered.

If the student already benefits from the loans in the loans and bursaries program, he must continue to reimburse even if he studies part-time. However, as soon as the part-time student becomes full-time, he will exempt from repayment during the duration of his full-time studies.

Eligibility is determined according to the same logic as that of the loans and bursaries program, that is to say that the income of the applicant and, if applicable, the parents or a possible spouse will be taken into consideration. In the same way, SFA grants a certain number of “allowable expenses.”

Table 2-13 Programme de prêts pour les études à temps partiel7

Number of recipients 2 089

Average amount of assistance allocated ($)

1 214 $

Overall amount of aid allocated (M$) 2,5 M$

Source : AFE, Rapport statistique 2008-2009, p.76

The eligibility thresholds for this program vary according to the situation of the student and the income taken into account. According to the situation, we can take into account the income of the student and his parents or spouse. The threshold is then fixed at $50,000. For a student without a contribution from a third party, the threshold is fixed at $35,000. Finally, a student with a dependent child and without a spouse sees his

7 Ce tableau et les suivants portant sur les différents programmes de l’AFE inclus tous les cycles d’études concernés par chaque programme.


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threshold fixed at $39,595, to which is added an amount of $2,400 for the second child and the following.

Table 2-14 – Eligibility threshold according to student status

Situation of the student Eligibility threshold Income taken into account

With parental or spousal contribution $50,000 maximum Student + parents

Autonomous without dependent child $35,000 maximum Student only

Improvement for dependent child $2,805 child (indexed

to $2,881 for 2011-2012).

Student only

Improvement for single-parent family $2,101 (indexed to $2,158 for 2012) Student + spouse

Source : Bureau de l’aide financière, Université de Montréal, 2006.

2.6.1. Evaluation

SFA retains an annual amount of $2,805 for each child in the calculation aiming to determine the eligibility of the student-parent for the part-time studies program. These amounts are situated under the threshold defined by Quebec taxation regarding the living expenses for dependent children. SFA should rather grant an amount of $2,764 for the first child and $2,550 for the following ones. Furthermore, these amounts should be indexed annually, as all amounts related to living expenses, since living expenses related to them are directly affected by the annual increases in the cost of living.

SFA takes into account the income of the spouse in the decision to grant part-time financial assistance in the calculation of this aid. Considering that this program only gives out aid in the form of a loan and doesn’t grant a bursary, this taking into consideration of the income of the spouse seems even more difficult to justify than in the case of the Loans and Bursaries Program. It would be preferable to completely abandon this taking into account in a way as to avoid that adults are deprived of aid because of it.

2.7. The other programs of Student Financial Assistance

2.7.1. Students with a major functional deficiency

Students with a disability at the postsecondary level have various sources of financing coming from the government. Firstly, we should note that the creation of the program RÉUSSIR in 2007. Thus, if a person lives with a physical constraint at work and wishes to return to studies, she can have access to the financial assistance program of last recourse of the ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité and the student financial assistance program. Furthermore, the government could commit to paying a specific supplementary amount as a support allocation.


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At the level of financial assistance as such, there exists a program for students with a major functional deficiency. However, there doesn’t exist a thousand ways to be recognized as an individual having a major functional deficiency.

Figure 2-III – Recognition of major functional deficiency

Thus, if the student is recognized as being part of one of these categories, he has the right to certain advantages at the level of the allocation of loans and bursaries.

Ø Eligibility to a loans and bursaries program for full-time students even if the student is part-time (less than 20 hours of teaching per month).

Ø The totality of the loans and bursaries that the student has a right to is paid in the form of a bursary.

Ø The status of autonomous student is recognized beginning at the acquisition of 45 credits rather than 90.

Ø The student can have access to the program during the summer despite the fact that he is not studying during this period.

Ø An allocation to meet the needs of certain expenses related to specialized services such as transportation and the adapted material.


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Tableau 2-15 - Programme de bourses pour les personnes atteintes d’une déficience fonctionnelle majeure, 2006-2007

Ordinary needs* Particular needs

Number of recipients 1,427 2,603


$7 171 $3 272

Overall amount of aid allocated ($M) $10.6 M $58.5 M

Source : AFE, Rapport statistique 2007-2008, p.72

*These data are already included in those that are related to the Loans and Bursaries Program.

2.7.1. The work-studies program

If the student is a recipient of the loans and bursaries program, but still does not have the necessary income for his daily needs due to “exceptional” reasons, he can be admissible for the work-studies program. This program allows the student to work on campus while having a limited number so as not to harm studies. This program is financed by MELS as much as by educational institutions. Given that it is institutions that themselves do the management of programs, we will not here do the analysis of these policies, but here is the list of participating institutions.


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Table 2-16 – Educational institution participating in the work-studies program

University educational institutions All educational institutions participate in the Program.

Collegial educational institutions Académie internationale du design et de la technologie Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe

Collège François- Xavier-Garneau

Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy Cégep de Saint-Jérôme Collège Gérald-Godin

Cégep André-Laurendeau Cégep de Saint-Laurent Collège Inter-Dec

Cégep Beauce-Appalaches Cégep de Sept-Îles Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf

Cégep d'Alma Cégep de Sorel-Tracy Collège Laflèche

Cégep de Baie-Comeau Cégep de Thetford Collège LaSalle

(section anglophone)

Cégep de Chicoutimi Cégep de Trois-Rivières Collège Lionel-Groulx

Cégep de Drummondville Cégep de Victoriaville Collège Marianopolis

Cégep de Granby– Haute-Yamaska Cégep du Vieux Montréal Collège Mérici

Cégep de Jonquière Cégep Marie-Victorin Collège Montmorency

Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles

Cégep régional de Lanaudière

Collège O'Sullivan de Montréal inc.

Cégep de La Pocatière Cégep Saint-Jean-

sur-Richelieu Collège O'Sullivan de

Québec inc.

Cégep de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue Collège Ahuntsic Collège Salette inc.

Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon Collège André-Grasset Collège Shawinigan

Cégep de Limoilou Collège de Bois-de Boulogne Collège Vanier

Cégep de Maisonneuve Collège de l'Estrie Dawson College

Cégep de Matane Collège de l'Outaouais Institut Teccart

Cégep de Rimouski Collège de Rosemont John Abbott College

Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup Collège de Sherbrooke Séminaire de Sherbrooke

Cégep de Sainte-Foy Collège de Valleyfield

Cégep de Saint-Félicien Collège Édouard-Montpetit

The work-studies program has three basic eligibility conditions. However, each institution can issue supplementary rules given that it is they who manage the program.


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Ø The student must have Canadian citizenship or the status of permanent resident, refugee or protected person by virtue of the law on immigration and the protection of refugees.

Ø The student must be full-time. Ø Having applied for financial assistance within the loans and bursaries program

for the current allocation year without attaining the indebtedness limit or the maximum number of eligibilities.

Table 2-17 Studies-work program, 2008-2009



1 426 $

Overall amount of aid allocated ($M) 6,9 M$

Source : AFE, Rapport statistique 2008-2009, p.74.

2.7.2. Program Explore

This program, though managed by MELS, is financed by Heritage Canada. This consists of a program allowing Canadians to learn one of the two official languages as a second language. These are bursaries allocated by the drawing of lots, in a number proportional to the population of each region.

Tableau 2-18 Programm of summer languages grants


Average amount of aid allocated ($) 1 974 $

Overall amount of aid allocated ($M) 6,2 M$

Source : AFE, Rapport statistique 2008-2009 p.73.

2.8. Recourse

Also, SFA includes various forms of recourse with three decision-making bodies: the bureau de revision (review board), the bureau de demandes dérogatoires (the special applications office), and the bureau des plaintes (the complaint office).

2.8.1. The request for a change

When the student states that an administrative error was made in the analysis of his file or when he wants to bring a new fact to the attention of Student Financial Assistance, he can submit a request for a change. It could then be a change of:


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Ø address; Ø income; Ø general or family situation; Ø educational institution; Ø studies program; Ø abandonment of a course;

It is preferable to first consult the personnel of the Financial Assistance Office of the educational institution attended. All change requests must be transmitted before March 31 of the targeted allocation year, unless there is a fortuitous event.

2.8.2. Bureau de revision (review board)

If the student believes that the rules of the loans and bursaries program were not applied correctly in his file (ex: eligibility or amounts granted), he can make a review application. He must, in this case, address himself to the Bureau de révision of SFA in the thirty days following the date written on the notice he wishes to contest. Once again, it is recommended to first consult the responsible person at financial assistance at the institution you attend.

2.8.3. The request addressed to the Comité des demandes dérogatoires (special applications office)

All persons whose studies risk being compromised due to the application of the habitual rules of the Loans and Bursaries Program can address their request to the Comité des demandes dérogatoires. The latter could make a recommendation to the ministry of Education, to whom it belongs to render this type of decision. This committee is made up of student representatives as well as postsecondary educational institution personnel and representatives of the socio-economic milieu. The committee can receive requests that come from:

Ø Eligible students who believe that the aid allocated is insufficient due to an exceptional reason; Ø Non-eligible students, because the number of semesters of assistance recognized by the program

or level of studies and the indebtedness limit for an educational level have been reached.


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3. Legislative and Regulatory Evolution of the Student Financial Assistance Program (1981-2008)

Even though the Quebec government has been providing loans and bursaries since 1937, it is only in 1966 that a law was adopted to govern this program: the Student Loans and Scholarships Act. There were major changes made to this act (and the regulation pending) in 1974 and, then, in 1990 it was replaced by the act still upheld today, the Act respecting financial assistance for education expenses.

In this document, we are going to study the major legal and regulation changes made to the program since 1981. We will are also going to look at the changes to the main parameters determining how assistance is allocated.

3.1. 1981-1990: Student Loans and Scholarships Act and the Loans and Grants Regulations

3.1.1. Description of the Act and the regulation

The Student Loans and Scholarship Act (L.R.Q., c. P-21) was adopted in 1966 and consisted of only 13 articles. It gave the Minister of Education the right to allow a student to contract a loan from a credit institution if this student (or his parents) did not possess the necessary means to undertake or continue his studies at the postsecondary level and suitably meet his needs. It also entitled a student to receive bursaries if he has obtained a loan and if this loan is deemed insufficient for him to continue his studies.

The Act stated that the government would pay the interests on the loans to the credit institution for as long as the borrower is a student, unless the loan certificate indicates otherwise. According to the Act, "a borrower who terminates his studies before 1 July in any year shall be deemed to remain a student until 31 December of the same year; a student who terminates his studies after 1 July shall be deemed a student until 30 June of the following year,” (Article 5). It also guaranteed that the government would reimburse credit institutions any capital and interest losses resulting from the borrower’s failure to pay, bankruptcy or death.

The Act also specified that no loan or bursary could be offered to a student once a ten-year period has elapsed after the date on which he undertook his college studies. This period was limited to four years for a student receiving SFA for his college education.

Furthermore, the Act listed the programs’ provisions under which the government could intervene by regulation. The government could set the maximum amount, the payment terms and other loan-related conditions; set the interest rate paid by the government or loan interest paid by students; determine the conditions of the certificate and stipulations that needed to be included; determine the conditions defining residence and citizenship which a student must meet; determine the allocation terms for bursaries and their maximum amount; prescribe any other measure deemed appropriate for carrying out the Act.


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Finally, the Act also contained provisions regarding false declarations and gave the Minister the authority to determine which educational institutions it would recognize as part of this program.

As for the Loans and Bursaries Regulations (R.R.Q., c. P-21, r. 2), it consisted of 48 articles, divided into five sections: definitions; citizenship and residence; bursaries; interest-free loans; exceptions.

The Definitions section, as indicated by its name, defines the main terms used within these regulations. For instance, the definitions of "year of allocation," "[loan] certificate," "contract," "application," "borrower," "full-time student," "exemption period" and "trimester" could be found. The term "spouse" described as "the person who is married to, or in a civil union […] with one or more dependent children," was also defined. The "dependent children" was defined "an unmarried child, regardless of his affiliation, who is under 18 years of age, or if 18 years old and over is enrolled in an educational institution."

There was the notion of "reorientation" for eligibility purposes, which represents "a change in the program of study chosen by the student and requiring his studies to be extended." Finally, the term "borrower without employment," used in the deferred-payment plan, means "the person without paid employment who is in search of paid employment, available to work and is a Quebec permanent resident." Nevertheless, the latter definition excluded persons earning or receiving financial resources exceeding the amounts received from social assistance, persons with unpaid employment, persons who voluntarily quit a paying job after completing their studies as well as persons married, or in union, whose spouse has a job. In the last example, the spouse would have to pay back the debt of the other spouse if the latter did not have a job.

The second section, Citizenship and Residence, established the program’s eligibility conditions defining the student’s citizenship and residence status and the criteria ensuring the student’s independence. Any student with a Canadian citizenship, or with a permanent resident status and deemed a resident of Quebec was eligible for the program. To do so, the student’s parents had to reside or had already resided in Quebec and the student pursuing his studies had to be still residing in Quebec. The student would lose his status if he had worked 12 consecutive months in another province, without pursuing his studies on a full-time basis.

There were five criteria defining the student’s independence from his parents: 1- be married; 2- be unable to establish his residence status of a Canadian province due to his parents’ main residence; 3- be on the job market without pursuing full-time studies for two consecutive years; 4- have a bachelor’s degree or obtained more than 90 university credits for the same program; 5- have lived with a child under his or his spouse’s custody.

The third section (Bursary) listed the elements considered when determining the bursary amount. The student’s bursary were based on his: a) tuition and registration fees; b) costs of academic supplies; c) food, lodging, transportation, clothing and leisure expenses, depending on his situation (residence, independence); d) student contribution; e) if applicable, parental contribution, spousal contribution, community


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contribution (religious), contribution of a sponsor who is committed to financially supporting him, as laid out in the various acts defining immigration; f) loan amount he is presumed to contract. This section, however, did not mention any specific amounts for any of these elements (except for the loan). There is room for doubt that is was for administrative regulation purposes. Finally, the maximum bursary amounts per education level were set (in 1981) at $6,500 for college students, $7,000 for university students, and $8,500 for a recipient who is married or with dependent children.

The following (Interest-Free Loans) was the most important of these regulations, both because of its content and size (38 articles). The same elements determining the bursary amount were used to determine the loan amount, except for parental contribution. The latter was only taken into account when the parents’ financial situation enabled them to pay for the student’s educational expenses in full, in which case no loan was granted. There were two articles that mentioned the maximum loan amounts to which each category of students was entitled: those who are enrolled in an educational institution recognized by the Minister to receive loans and bursaries and those enrolled in a financial institution recognized to receive loans only (in 1981-82, $1,430 per semester). All loans were allocated in a single installment.

The interest rate charged to the government by the credit institutions during the exemption period (during studies) was being modified every three months and was set to the average weekly return-rate of 5- to 10-year Canadian bonds, for the first four weeks of the eight-week period preceding the start of a term, plus 1%. This method, which at first seems complicated, consisted of taking the bondholder’s return rate, set two months before the term of allocation (this was to the government’s advantage or disadvantage depending on the interest rate). The government had to pay the interests to the credit institution within the 120 days after receiving a portfolio report on the current loans. As for students, their interest rate was set each year by the government and was activated once the student signed the loan contract or once the exemption period was over, if this contract was not signed. If the student exceeded the 10-year period as laid out in the Act, he had to pay the interests at the government-charged rate to the credit institution.

To be eligible for the exemption period, the student had to be a recipient of the program or confirm his status as a full-time student, if he was not applying for assistance. Before the end of his exemption period (as defined in Article 5 of the Act), the borrower (or the former student) had to sign his contract with the credit institution. The student had to start paying back the loan once the exemption period came to an end. Payments were monthly, almost equal installments spaced over a period of less than 10 years. The period of reimbursement is fixed by the two parties; nevertheless, the regulations followed a table specifying the length of the reimbursement period according to the total loan to be reimbursed and was used when one of the two parties required it. Finally, the borrower had the right to pay the loan either partially or completely before the due date.

The other articles of this section involved default payments and mechanisms regarding the government’s loan guarantees to the credit institutions. Default payment is when a borrower neglects to sign a contract before the end of his exemption period; when he


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fails to make a payment and this exceeds more than 30 days; when he falls or will fall into bankruptcy, insolvency or debtors’ protection. Many articles described the procedures that the credit institution must follow in order to recover the loan as well as the other amounts that they could claim (ex: legal fees in the event of a lawsuit).

Finally, the last section (Exceptions) consisted of exceptions to the 10- year eligibility regulations stated in the Act. It was possible for a student to obtain financial aid after this 10-year period, if he resumed his studies after having interrupted them only once and for more than one semester, or if he undertook his studies after a first reorientation. In the case of the latter, the eligibility period was extended to the longer of the two following periods: the number of academic years completed during the first orientation; the number of years required to complete his studies during the new orientation.

3.1.2. Major changes from 1981 to 1990

1981

• The Deferred-Payment Plan Is Implemented

In the early 1980s, there was a heavy recession, combined with unusually high interest rates (about 15%). This situation had side effects on student receiving student financial assistance who found themselves without a job many months after graduation. To rectify the situation, the government at the time implemented a deferred-payment plan for these former students (Decree 168-81, January 21, 1981). The eligibility conditions corresponded to “Borrower Without Employment” as defined within the regulations. The borrower, by submitting a statement about his status to the Ministry, could ask the government to pay the monthly payments owed to the credit institution as laid out in his contract (capital and interests included). This statement of non-employment had to be renewed every three months (and had no limit!). The government would then issue a joint cheque to the borrower and credit institution covering the monthly payments required and the borrower had to pick up the cheque in person from the nearest Centre de la main d'oeuvre du Québec [Quebec workforce centre] to his area of residence. Finally, the borrower had to sign an acknowledgment of debt to the government stating that he would reimburse the amount owing, according to a table agreed, once the borrower had finished paying back the debt owed to the credit institution.

This change may be described as positive in the sense that it helped borrowers in a difficult financial situation to make their payments when unable to do so on their own. Nevertheless, the minimum income fixed to be eligible (social assistance) made accessibility to this program difficult. The lack of statistics on the deferred payments of that time prevents us from effectively assessing exactly how difficult.

1982

• Changes to the Deferred-Payment Plan


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Hardly 18 months after it was introduced, the deferred-payment plan underwent major changes (Decree 1676-82, June 30, 1982). First, eligibility was no longer determined by the individual’s job status, but instead by the insufficiency of his financial resources. The definition of “Borrower Without Employment” was replaced by “Borrower Without Sufficient Financial Resources.” To qualify, a borrower had to meet the following conditions: a) be a permanent resident (in Quebec, unless residing outside with a spouse pursuing postsecondary studies); b) have insufficient financial resources (the borrower was an unmarried person with a weekly net income of less than the earnings of a 30-hour work week at minimum wage for three consecutive months; if he was married with a weekly joint net-income of less than one-and-a-half times of the earnings of a 30-hour work week at minimum wage, $25 were added for every dependent child, for three consecutive months); c) be available to work (in search of work or unable to work due to a physical or mental inability, certified by a doctor). These provisions were becoming a lot less restrictive than those set in the former definition, especially in terms of the maximum limit of financial resources determining accessibility to the program.

The program’s eligibility period was limited to 18 months, whereas before there was none. It is easy to see why this limit was set: the government wanted to prevent some individuals from receiving social assistance for an indefinite period without honoring their obligations as laid out in the program, or until they declared bankruptcy. Although this probably involved a few marginal examples (ex: student dropouts), this limit also helped the government limit the number of default payments and accelerate students’ loan payments.

• Loan Conversion Is Introduced

Followed by a decree confirming the increased loan limit (Decree 2633-82, November 17, 1982), this change was one of the bizarre elements introduced in the history of student financial aid. These conversion loans were added to the loan maximum when the recipient was eligible to receive a bursary. In 1982, college and university grant holders received an extra $120 in their loan maximum and an extra $270 to grant holders studying outside Quebec in disciplines other than chiropractic studies, naval architecture, podiatry and orthoptic studies.

This change meant savings for the government, since these loans would have otherwise been paid in bursaries. The purpose of this change was also to have the student pay a greater portion of his education expenses. This involved a higher loan percentage compared to the overall aid allocated.

1985

• Legal Changes

These legal changes did not emerge from a specific law aimed at amending the Student Loans and Scholarships Act. It consisted of an Omnibus Bill (Bill 48, June 17, 1985) whose purpose was to make minor changes to a great number of laws.


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The first change involved Article 3 of the Act. It allowed, hereafter, loans to be contracted with interests charged to the borrower, without any assessment of the student or his parents’ resources. This change paved the road to setting up the computer loan plan. Another change, this time to Article 11, gave the Minister permission to "establish a list of the supplies for which a loan may be granted and the categories of students who may obtain such a loan."

Article 5, stating that the government would pay the interests for as long as the borrower remained a student, was extended to include students resuming their vocational education at the secondary level. These students, therefore, having contracted loans for their college and/or university studies, were exempted from paying interests if pursuing vocational studies at the secondary level. This was the first time students of that level were eligible to receive financial assistance.

Article 8, which fixes the eligibility period to 10 years, was eliminated and replaced by two articles which gave the Minister the authority to cancel a loan certificate or bursary and to reduce the amount of the bursary, if there was a change in the student’s situation. The point of this modification was to eliminate any potential for fraud within the program. Beforehand, students were able to enroll full-time in a postsecondary educational institution, apply for financial assistance, then drop one, a few, or all their registered courses and still keep all the financial assistance they had received.

Finally, Article 12, stating the powers of the regulation, was modified to include the following rights:

§ determine the number of school terms for which a student may obtain a loan certificate or a bursary;

§ determine the deadline for the producing of documents and those after which an application for financial assistance may be refused or an amount of assistance may be reduced.

These powers were fixed once following regulation changes came into effect a few months later.

• Creation of the computer-loan plan • Introduction of maximum eligibility period for financial assistance • Regulations on the time limit for producing documents

This is probably the decree (Decree 2428-85, November 27, 1985) with the most influence on the changes made to the program in the 1980s. There were three major modifications: the computer loan was introduced, the deadline for producing documents was set and the maximum eligibility period was fixed. It is the latter that went through the most changes.

Beforehand, a student could obtain financial assistance for a 10-year period after starting his college studies (some exceptions applied). This 10-year period created some serious


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disadvantages: it made accessing master’s and PhD level harder. It meant that students had to follow their program’s academic timeframes almost perfectly until the doctorate degree (i.e. spend 2 years in college, 3 years for their undergraduate degree, 2 years for their master’s and 3 years for their PhD). Even then, if it took students a little longer before starting their graduate studies, their chances of getting financial assistance could have been reduced to nothing.

Establishing a maximum eligibility period according to the level of education was going to help this situation. A student was then able to get a loan and a bursary for a maximum of 10 terms at the college level; 12 terms for programs offered at the National Theatre School of Canada and at the Marine Institute of the Cégep of Rimouski; 10 terms for undergraduate studies; 9 terms for master’s studies; finally, 12 terms for PhD studies. At the university level, the total limit of terms for assistance was set at 22, which yielded greater flexibility than the 10-year regulation (e.g. 3 years for undergraduate degree; 2 years for a master’s degree; 6 years for a PhD degree or 4 years for undergraduate degree; 2 years for a master’s degree; 5 years for a PhD degree).

The impact resulting from this change was quickly felt. The total number of recipients, which had been already dropping since 1984, underwent a steeper drop (of 10,098 from 1986-87 to 1987-88). That same year, at the university level, there were 3,633 fewer recipients (6.16%). Nevertheless, at the graduate level, there were more recipients, a number which continues to grow to this day. There were, however, fewer and fewer undergraduate receiving SFA year after year until the 1990 reforms, and this despite the fact there were increasingly more full-time students.

These variations, open to interpretation, led us to three conclusions: 1° this change was to graduate students’ advantage; 2° this change probably helped limit the "ongoing" college studies phenomenon (more than 70% less recipients); 3° this change probably also explained the reverse phenomenon at the undergraduate level.

This decree also paved the road for setting up of the computer loan plan. The new Article 12.1 of the regulations included a maximum loan amount with interests ($2,050)8 which could be allocated as laid out in the provisions of Article 11 of the Act, i.e. supplies determined by the Minister. As such, it was not explicitly laid out in the regulation that these loans could be used for purchasing computers, no more than it specified the categories of students eligible for these loans. Nevertheless, the General Management of SFA’s annual reports at the time showed that students eligible for this program were students who had completed at least one year of studies in Pure and Applied Science and Business Administration (regardless of the level of education), master’s and PhD students in Social Sciences and Law as well as students who had completed one year of college in Computers. The program’s accessibility was extended to include all university students in 1989.

The decree also included the interest rate charged on these loans. It was set at the prime rate of more than 1% and was annually renewed on the anniversary of the loan 8 This amount was going to be increased to $3,000 in 1989 (Decree 1455-89, September 6, 1989).


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negotiation. Interests were paid each term by the student and were considered as allowable expenses when determining the loan and bursary.

Furthermore, the regulation included, henceforth, the deadline for producing documents required when applying for financial assistance. The student who registered for two school terms, or only for the fall or summer term had to submit his application before June 30th of the year of allocation or 45 days after receiving the educational institution’s admission authorization if the document was issued after May 15th. For a student registered for the winter term only, the deadline was set for January 31st. As for producing the déclaration de situation réelle (DSR) [report of real situation] to receive a bursary, it had to be submitted before September 30th or 45 days after the loan certificate had been issued. The penalty for any delays in producing the documents was determined by the following regulation change (Decree 1304-86, August 27, 1986); the total of financial assistance could have been (severely) slashed by as much as 50% for any unjustified delays.9

Finally, there were two more major changes made to these regulations. First, the income limit to be eligible for the differed-payment plan was increased, the number of working hours per week considered jumped from 30 to 35 hours. Finally, the minimum debt payment was raised from $20 to $30 per month.

1986

• Including courses and exams of professional orders in the eligibility period

Some adjustments were made to university undergraduates’ eligibility periods within this decree (Decree 1611-86, October 29, 1986). The eligibility period was basically extended to 14 terms for students pursuing an undergraduate degree after graduating or after accumulating 90 credits for a same degree. This change was particularly helpful to medical students, whose academic program lasted as long as their number of maximum eligible terms (5 years). However, the change also affected students who had taken courses and/or exams exempted by a professional order. This modification helped expand the concept of undergraduate studies.

This regulation took on a special character, because it was the first one issued (within these regulations) since the Regulations Act (L.R.Q., c. R-18.1) was adopted. Nevertheless, the basic regulations of this Act were not implemented. The 45-day delay preceding the enactment or approval of the regulation was ignored. The government simply used the articles that would help it justify the urgency of the situation to proceed with adopting this regulation without prepublication.

1988

9 Why have we not sought, to this day, to cut the salaries of the SFA General Management by 50% each time they send any late loans and bursaries at the start of a session? Maybe the government would have not needed to cut salaries by 6% this year if such a change had been implemented...


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• Abolishing the loan conversion

By changing this decree (Decree 1044-88, June 29, 1988), we got rid of this absurd loan conversion affecting grant holders, which at the time was set at $400. Abolishing this loan, however, did not mean a lower loan limit for grant holders. On the contrary, all recipients had their maximum loan limit increased drastically. The loan conversion was merged with the regular loan, and the latter was increased as well. Therefore, the loan maximum for less than 90 credits jumped from $1,750 to $2,380, and for more than 90 credits from $2,485 to $3,210. This represented an actual increase of $230 and $325 (respectively) for grant holders. As a result, adopting this measure really jumpstarted students’ debts.

• Including internships for co-op students in the eligibility period

The eligibility period was once again adjusted for some university undergraduate under this decree (decree 1541-88, October 12, 1988). The uniqueness of cooperative education programs was recognized and henceforth these students were eligible for 14 terms of financial assistance instead of 10.

1989

• Increasing the eligibility period for bachelor graduates pursuing medical studies

This was the last major regulation before the financial aid reform. Once again, it involved the eligibility periods of university undergraduates. This time, it affected undergrads studying medicine after graduation. Their maximum number of terms eligible for financial assistance was set to 18.


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3.1.2.1. c) Recent Changes

Higher Loan Limit

Since 1981, the government has been increasing the maximum loan limit set for students year after year. These hikes, in general, have greatly exceeded the costs of their living standards (following table). In 1982, 1986 and 1988 are years remembered for their excessive hikes. They are also known as the years during which the loan conversion was introduced, the year it was increased and the year it was abolished.

Changes to the Maximum Loan Made from 1981-82 to 1989-90

81-82

82-83

83-84

84-85

85-86

86-87

87-88

88-89

89-90

More than 90 credits

$1255

$1400

$1500

$1580

$1660

$1695

$1750

$2380

$2480

Less than 90 credits

$1790

$1995

$2140

$2250

$2360

$2405

$2485

$3210

$3350

Loan conversion

-

$120

$120

$130

$130

$400

$400

-

-

Inflation

-

12.0%

5.2%

4.4%

4.3%

3.9%

5.2%

2.9%

5.1%

Loan index

-

18.5-21.1%

6.6-6.9%

5.3-5.6%

4.6-4.7%

12.7-17.0%

2.6-2.9%

10.7-11.3%

4.2-4.4%

Government savings

-

3.28M

3.66M

4.27M

4.72M

13.83M

12.98M

-

-

The loan conversion, however, was also another way the government could save some money on the financial assistance program. The table above shows only the savings incurred at the university level. They say that, overall, the SFA program earned savings of more than 30% of what is indicated. It is obvious that these increased maximum loans had (and will continue) to have an influential impact on student debts. Again, the lack


45

of statistics on student debts on this period prevents us from drawing more specific conclusions on this situation.


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Interest Rates Charged on Debt Payments

Evolution of Interest Rates charged to the Government and Students from 1981 to 1990

Date Gov. Students Date Gov. Students

1st of July 1981 16.0% 1st of January 1986 11.0% 11.5% 1st of October 1981 18.125% 14.875% 1st of April 1986 11.0% 1st of January 1982 16.5% 1st of July 1986 10.25% 1st of April 1982 16.375% 1st of October 1986 10.25% 10.375% 1st of July 1982 15.75% 1st of January 1987 10.0% 1st of October 1982 15.75% 15.875% 1st of April 1987 9.625% 1st of January 1983 12.375% (14.875%) 1st of July 1987 10.625% 1st of April 1983 12.0% 1st of October 1987 11.125% 9.875% 1st of July 1983 11.625% 1st of January 1988 11.0% 1st of October 1983 12.5% 11.875% 1st of April 1988 10.125% 1st of January 1984 12.125% 1st of July 1988 10.875% 1st of April 1984 12.5% 1st of October 1988 11.25% 10.5% 1st of July 1984 14.375% 1st of January 1989 11.0% 1st of October 1984 13.625% 13.5% 1st of April 1989 11.375% 1st of January 1985 12.625% (12.5%) 1st of July 1989 10.875% 1st of April 1985 12.75% 1st of October 1989 10.375% 11% 1st of July 1985 11.875% 11.5% 1st of January 1990 10.625% 1st of October 1985 11.625% 1st of April 1990 11.5%

As mentioned earlier, interest rates charged on student loans were based on a very specific formula in the government’s case, whereas interests charged on former students’ debt payments were fixed annually by this same government. The table above shows how these rates have changed over the years.

A few elements jump out when reading this table. First, both the government and students were more or less paying the same rates. In fact, students were even being charged a lower rate than the government. We can, therefore, assume that a formula similar to that of the government was also being used for students.

Second, the extremely irregular nature of interest rates forced the government during some period (on two occasions) to readjust the students’ declining interest rates (in 1982 and in 1984). These readjustments more than anything proved the need to adapt interest rates more often than once a year. This procedure was only introduced in 1995, when the basic interest rate calculation was changed. Before we get to that point in time, here are some of the changes brought about by the student financial aid reforms, which took place in 1990.


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3.2. 1990-2011: Act Respecting Financial Assistance for Education Expenses and the Student Financial Assistance Regulations

At a time when there was a lot of talk about increasing tuition fees, the government decided to start reforming the student financial assistance program by launching, in April 1989, the Student Financial Assistance in the 1990s: Government Orientations document. This document was the main reference used for the public hearings during the Parliamentary Commission on Education, the results of which paved the way for the financial assistance reforms that took place a few months later.

The following paragraphs examine the legal and regulations reforms made to the student financial assistance program based on the recommendations presented in the Government Orientations document. They also look at the recommendations that were never implemented and, then, the main changes made to the program since 1991.

3.2.1. Changes to the Previous Act and Regulations

Right before the holidays (December 19, 1989), in the midst of the commotion provoked by the tuition hike announcement, Minister of Postsecondary Education and Science, Claude Ryan, tabled Bill 25 (Act respecting financial assistance for education expenses) aimed at replacing the Student Loans and Scholarships Act. In the press release that followed the tabling of this act, two major innovative program changes were announced: the eventual introduction of a financial aid plan for part-time students and the creation of a review system examining cases requiring individual attention (committee for special applications). It also stated that "the loans offered to students will remain at their current level and adjusted annually to take inflation into account." This Act was adopted about six months later on June 8, 1990. Let us examine the new structure and the changes introduced by this new Act respecting financial assistance for education expenses (L.R.Q., c. A-13.3).

This new law was composed of 67 articles divided into eight chapters, which made it much longer than the previous act (13 articles). The first chapter focuses on definitions. There were, now, two financial assistance programs: the loans and bursaries program for full-time postsecondary students and a bursary program for part-time postsecondary students. The other definitions were similar to those stated in the previous act. The definitions of "spouse" and "year of allocation," which appeared in the earlier act, were also included in this section.

Chapter 2 (Contributory Nature) made one of the three main principles introduced during the 1974 reform official in the Act: the financial aid program has to be auxiliary and take into account a prerequisite contribution from students, their parents or their spouse. This chapter established, among other things, the contribution categories required and laid out in the financial aid program. These general provisions were also included in the previous regulations. The conditions determining a student’s independence were also defined, especially for those not requiring parental contribution. The following conditions were added to those stated in the previous regulation: 1) has reached her 20th week of pregnancy; 2) is unmarried and the student’s


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parents or sponsor are/is deceased; 3) holds a PhD degree from a music conservatory or theatre drama conservatory in Quebec.

Chapter 3 (Financial Assistance Programs) defines the elements of the financial aid plans available. There are four parts: “Definitions,” “Loans,” “Bursaries,” and “Management of a Loan.” The definition section distinguishes between terms like "full-time” and "part-time" for each level of education. This distinction was previously stated in the regulation articles. It also described situations in which an individual was deemed as a full-time student, even if on paper he was considered as a part-time student. At the time when this law was adopted, only students with a major functional deficiency could be recognized as full-time students.

The loan section of the regulations lists the eligibility conditions for a loan and defined how the loan was calculated by subtracting the student’s contribution from his allowable expenses (not including the maximum loan). We noticed that the amount determined for the loan was converted into a grant in cases where the student had a major functional deficiency.

The third section, “Bursaries,” also lists the eligibility conditions for a bursary and defined how it was calculated by subtracting all the (student’s and, if applicable, his parents’, his sponsor’s or his spouse’s) required contributions from the maximum loan determined as allowable expenses.

There were only a few changes made to the last section on loan management. First, it defines the exemption period as the period that started on the date on which the borrower obtained his first loan or became once again a full-time student after not having been one. The end of this period was modified, more equitably, as shown in the following table:

Modifications to the Exemption Period

Before After

Ends on...

if full-time

studies

are completed,

December 31st of the current year

Before June 30th January 1st During the previous winter semester

June 30th of the following year

After June 30th April 1st During the previous summer semester

August 1st During the previous fall semester


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or dropped...

Source: FEUQ (2002)

Under the former regulations, a student graduating in the summer term could have extended his exemption period by up to 11 extra months, whereas other students could have only extended their exemption period by a maximum of eight extra months.

The status of a student eligible to extend the exemption period was modified as well. It included students at the secondary level and at the postdoctoral level. Recommendation 21 of the Government Orientations expanded the concept to include sport professionals who pursued studies at the postsecondary level:

Recommendation 21:

That for students enrolled in a special sports training program recognized by the Ministry of Leisure, Hunting and Fishing and leading them to international competitions, the government continue, during this period, to pay the interests charged on their student debt contracted from the loans and bursaries program.

Another major change: the government followed up on Recommendation 19 and set up a debt-reduction plan for "punctual" graduate students:

Recommendation 19:

That master’s and PhD students who complete their program of study within the specified timeframe receive a 25% reduction on their debts contracted from the loans and bursaries program.

This section also defines all the periods during which loan interests are paid by the government and establishes the Minister’s subrogation rights before financial institutions, the statutes of limitation as well as the Minister’s obligation to reimburse the loan amount to the financial institution in the event of the borrower’s death.

This third chapter also contains a section covering the bursary program for part-time students. We will get back to this point later.

Chapter 4 deals with the programs’ general provisions. It lists the student’s obligations to produce documents essential to his application for financial assistance and to divulge any information that may modify the amount received as assistance for which he is eligible. It also lists the Minister’s rights in the event of false declarations (i.e. reduced financial assistance) and of ineligibility for financial aid due to the student’s financial obligations to the program (ex: bursary received without entitlement). It gives the Minister the right to grant assistance to a person not eligible, or although eligible would have not been entitled to sufficient financial assistance, if he considers that the pursuit of his studies is otherwise jeopardized. Finally, a new provision covered in Recommendation 17 of the Government Orientations states setting up the committee for special applications :


50

Recommendation 17:

That an appeal board be founded consisting of four student-service representatives from an educational institution, four persons from the general public and four students, all appointed by the Minister responsible.

The Act, however, neither specified (contrary to the recommendation) the number of members for this committee, nor defined the regulations of internal management. Furthermore, the committee had to submit all applications to the Minister and get his opinion before making a decision (thus, he had discretionary right, despite the committee’s existence).

Chapter 5 (Examination) did not affect students and dealt with the rights granted to the account auditor commissioned to examine the program’s accounts.

Chapter 6 reveals the penal provisions that may be applied in case of false declaration. The penalties laid out started at $250 and went up to $1,500, which was increased by $500 compared to the previous act.

Chapter 7 listed the Minister’s powers within the program as well as the government’s powers within the regulations. The Minister had the right to designate the postsecondary educational institutions recognized to receive financial aid and the financial institutions recognized for loans authorized. As for the government’s powers within the regulations, the following rights were added to those stated in the former act: to determine the terms and conditions for the various contributions established; to determine the elements adjusting the minimum contribution, estimated incomes and real incomes; to determine the terms and conditions of contribution regarding parents’ assets; to establish the list of allowable expenses and determine the maximum amounts allocated; to define what constitutes a major functional deficiency; to set the eligibility period as well as the debt-reduction percentage for graduate students’ loans. As for the first four powers mentioned (which were all finance-related), these powers previously belonged to the Treasury Board. The Minister would, therefore, submit his propositions for modification to the Board, which decided whether or not to adopt them. All these parameters did not appear in the Act, or in the regulations and the changes were not made public (i.e. they were not published in the Gazette officielle). This was a major change in terms of the democratization of the financial aid program.

Finally, the last chapter (Transitional and Final Provisions) contained some modifications to the regulations appended to those on financial assistance.

Student Financial Assistance Regulations

Soon after the Act respecting financial assistance for education expenses was adopted, the Cabinet adopted, under Regulation 844-90 (June 20, 1990), the Financial Assistance Regulations, which was going to replace the Loans and Bursaries Regulations. These new regulations consisted of 83 articles, divided into two chapters and fifteen sections and contained six appendices.


51

Chapter 1, composed of twelve sections, includes all the regulations of the loans and bursaries program regarding full-time postsecondary education. Many new elements were added to the former regulations, since the power of regulation decisions was transferred from the Treasury Board to the Cabinet.

Section 1 states the regulations describing the student’s contribution. This is an entire new section which establishes the elements needed to calculate the student’s contribution when determining the loan and the bursary. In addition to the contribution formula for both the loan and the bursary, there are also the amounts for various calculation elements, such as estimated income and minimum contribution. The calculation rules, however, were not modified. There are three appendices attached to this section: Appendix I (Other Incomes) shows all other incomes considered and are accounted for 100% of the contribution, such as family allowance, alimony, orphan’s and disability pensions, etc.; Appendix II (Real Employment Income) lists all the income categories and are accounted for 60% of the contribution, such as gross income, income-replacement indemnities, employment insurance benefits, etc.; Appendix III (Reduced Minimum Contribution) includes the reduction table for the minimum contribution based on the student’s (academic) status for the periods of the year of allocation during which he did not receive financial assistance (or a period of work availability).

A few recommendations of the Government Orientations document were also implemented in this section. Recommendation 8 regarding the exoneration of birth allowances and those for young children in the “Other Incomes” Section were included in Appendix I:

Recommendation 8:

That the income generated from newborn-benefit plans and monthly allowances for preschool children not be considered.

Recommendation 9, exonerating a student with a dependent child under 14 from making a minimal contribution, was also implemented. The same applies to recipients of social assistance for periods prior to resuming their studies; Articles 4 and 5 of the Regulations contain traces of Recommendation 10:

Recommendation 9:

That a minimum contribution no longer be required when a student has a dependent child of preschool or school age.

Recommendation 10:

That, for the first year of study, social assistance incomes received during the period preceding their return to school not be taken into account—and that only incomes earned as of September and expenses incurred as of that date be considered—and that a former recipient of social assistance not be required to pay a minimum contribution.


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Finally, Paragraph 8 of Article 5 ("for the student who has not taken full-time course load during the winter term of the year of allocation preceding the current year of allocation") confirms that Recommendation 11 was implemented:

Recommendation 11:

That a candidate resuming his studies after two years on the workforce be asked to make a minimum contribution, as required by all students.

The second section lists the regulations regarding the contribution of the parent and the spouse who is not a student. This is also a new section. It establishes the elements calculated when determining these two categories of contributions. There is also the exemption for the preservation of family unit and for parents’ assets as well as the situations, in addition to the independence conditions, for which parents are not obligated to contribute. Three appendices are attached to this section: Appendix IV (Non-Taxable Incomes) identifies all the categories of non-taxable incomes which need to be added to the net income, such as social assistance benefits, income-replacement indemnities, family allowances, etc.; Appendix V contains the calculation table for the parental and spousal contributions; Appendix VI (Parents’ or Sponsor’s Net Assets) determines which assets are considered in the calculation.

This reform was an opportunity to correct many of the gaps between parental and spousal contributions, which were based on some of the recommendations in the Government Orientations document. Thus, to simplify the calculation for parents’ contribution, the government proposes in Recommendation 3 to no longer take into account the non-taxable portion of their capital gains, deducted mortgage regarding apartment buildings, capital losses and dividends received, when determining the parents’ net income:

Recommendation 3:

That the net income established by the tax authorities be used when calculating parental contribution for all categories of workers. The transfers of non-taxable income will, however, continue to be included in the net income.

The exemptions for dependent children were previously determined according to the target student’s residence status and level of education. For consistency between various social programs and to be more equitable, the government implemented Recommendation 1 which involved adjusting the amounts ($2,660 and $2,015) to consider the inflation rate between the time the Government Orientations were produced and the new regulations were adopted:

Recommendation 1:

That the exemption for the child in postsecondary education be raised to $2,440 and to $1,895 for each other dependent child.

The table for parental contribution, not regulated since 1974, had drastically increased the financial burden of parents with children pursuing postsecondary


53

studies. Recommendation 2 suggested indexing this table in order to consider the inflation accumulated since 1974. This new regulation exceeded the intentions of this recommendation. In fact, the table’s first bracket ($0 to $1,000) was abolished and it, henceforth, required parents have a minimum available income of $2,730 to contribute. Furthermore, once indexed, the table became more progressive.

Recommendation 2:

That the income brackets in the parents’ contribution table be indexed in a way that reflects the price increases accumulated since 1974 and that their contribution be divided according to the number of children in postsecondary education.

It has been a long time since the exemption amount for assets had been indexed. The purpose of implementing Recommendation 4 was to make for this gap:

Recommendation 4:

That the net asset exempted from contribution be raised from $50,000 to $90,000.

However, the new regulation went a step further, because it now distinguishes parents who have an agricultural- or fishery-based income; their asset exemption reaches $200,000.

Furthermore, the former regulation considered 50% of the spouse’s available income. A few other regulations helped change this contribution in cases involving dependent children. To make the spouse’s contribution more equitable, the government implemented Recommendation 6 of its Orientations, the purpose of which was to reduce this contribution within the parental contribution table. Nevertheless, the basic exemption is lower than that used for parents and equal to that for separated or divorced parents. This exemption has also been indexed since the recommendation ($10,790).

Recommendation 6:

That the spouse’s contribution be established based on his income of the previous calendar year, that there be a basic exemption of $9,890 and that a contribution table be used. That the contribution of the student’s spouse be continued to be based on the income of the current year and that it follow the same calculation formula used for students.

Section 3, which is new as well, deals with the contribution of the spouse who is a full-time student. It states all the elements determining this contribution which are practically identical to those used for parents’ contribution, but adjusted depending on the particular status of the spouse category. We find Recommendation 6, mentioned earlier, has been implemented.

Section 4 describes in detail the program’s categories of allowable expenses, which were not included in the previous regulations. There are academic fees, which include compulsory tuition fees, registration fees and compulsory ancillary fees as well as amounts allocated for the purchase of didactic material or specialized equipment.


54

We also have students’ living expenses, which are granted on a weekly basis depending on the student’s residence status and his education and/or work situation. It lists the conditions defining the student’s residence. A student is deemed resident of his parents when: he is in fact living with his parents (regardless of whether he receives any contribution from his parents); he is neither in school nor employed; his parents live in the same municipality as the educational institution; his parents live in an area without public transit service between his area and that of the educational institution (the last three cases are applied when parental contribution is considered). However, a student in her 20th week of pregnancy is not deemed to be resident. This section also mentions additional expenses for students in an internship outside their area of residence and for single-parent students.

Furthermore, some transportation fees are considered. This expense applies only to student residents to cover their transit cost between their residence area and educational institution (or workplace) and to intern students to cover their transportation costs when their internship is mandatory. For the first category, the Government Orientations proposed modifying the part dealing with students without access to public transportation. Before, an amount per kilometer was granted to these students. We would have preferred introducing a fixed weekly amount:

Recommendation 14:

That a student residing with his parents receives, as part of the transit cost, a one-way fare ($10.50/week) for those eligible to this expense and a two-way fare ($21/week) for the others.

Nevertheless, the measure implemented was far more “generous” than the one suggested in the recommendation; they were entitled to a weekly sum of $30.

Then, we have living expenses for children. This change was based on Recommendation 13 of the Government Orientations. Before, the program included allowable expenses of $1,365 for preschool child and $1,815 for a child at the elementary or high school level. These amounts were modified, both in terms of amount and nature of these recipients.

Recommendation 13:

That the amount for allowable expenses eligible per child be raised to $2,230 for the first child and to $1,895 for every other child.

Once again, these amounts were indexed ($2,330 and $2,015) to take into account last year’s inflation.

Daycare fees are also taken into account. Before the reforms, a student could receive $64 in aid for each preschool child and $21 per child of school age for daycare expenses. There was a limit of $89 per family. The government submitted, in its Orientations, a recommendation (#12) whose purpose was to standardize assistance for daycare costs with that of social assistance. This was fully implemented.

Recommendation 12:


55

That expenses for daycare fees be raised to $10 per day per child, which comes out to $50 per week, and that no maximum amount per family be fixed.

Additional fees are computed for students pursuing their studies in a peripheral region or whose parents live in such an area. These amounts take into account the various lifestyle levels of some regions as well as the transportation cost for moving in and out of these regions. These fees are applied to five administrative regions (Bas-Saint-Laurent, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine) and four MRC (Antoine-Labelle, Haut-Saint-Maurice, Pontiac, La Vallée-de-la Gatineau).

Interests on the computer loan and medical and chiropractic expenses exceeding $100 are also considered as allowable expenses.

Finally, before the reform, students resuming their studies and residing with their parents received a premium of $22 per week, under probable pretext of a pension payment. Recommendation 16 of Government Orientations, aimed at eliminating this premium, was confirmed by the absence of articles on this premium in the new regulations.

Recommendation 16:

That the premium of $22/week be withdrawn from the budget of the candidate who was on the job market if residing with his parents during his studies.

Section 5 lists the program’s various maximum eligibility periods for each level of education. Compared to the last regulations, there were only two minor changes: students of the music and dramatic arts conservatories in Quebec became eligible for the program for a maximum of 10 terms (for both the master’s and PhD levels); also, courses and exams of professional orders were henceforth recognized as corresponding to a master’s rather than a bachelor’s degree.

Section 6 includes the maximum loan amounts for each category of students. There were no other changes, except for the fact that they were increased once again.

Section 7 lists the maximum bursary amount for each level of education. There was a major change made by these reforms: we now consider the number of dependent children in order to provide a higher maximum bursary. Before, we offered a higher maximum bursary amount only when the student was married or if he had one or more dependent children, regardless of how many.

Section 8 determines which category/ies of student/s are deemed to be enrolled for the summer term even if this does not correspond to their real student situation. This clause allows these students, who are more likely to sometimes encounter difficult financial situations, to receive financial aid as of the summer term instead of waiting for fall. At the time of the reforms, students living alone with a child were entitled to this right, as stated in Recommendation 23 of the Orientations.


56

Recommendation 23:

That the head of a single-parent family receive his first payment as of June of the year of allocation. This speeding-up process will come into effect as of their second year registered for the program.

Section 9 defines what constitutes major functional deficiency. This is also new.

Section 10 describes the debt-reduction terms and conditions for graduate students. This debt-reduction is increased to 25% of loans contracted during their master’s and PhD studies, upon the condition that the student terminates his studies within the specified timeframe (respectively two and four years), and an extra three months if the student has to write or submit a thesis or a dissertation.

Section 11 follows Recommendation 15 of the Government Orientations. It introduces a two-year allocation of $175 for the purchase of visual aid (glasses, contact lenses).

Recommendation 15:

That grant recipients be reimbursed up to $175 per student and per student’s child for the costs of visual-aid purchases. They will only be entitled to this assistance every two years.

Section 12 deals with loan management. It contains more or less the same clauses as the previous regulations. A few changes, however, are worth mentioning. In terms of repayments, the former regulations’ table was withdrawn, the minimum monthly payment was raised to $50 and the maximum period was maintained at 10 years. As for the interest rate, the calculation determining the rate charged to the government, remains the same. The rate charged to students, however, is not longer fixed by the government, but based on a formula similar to the government’s. It is adjusted annually (on January 1st) and based on the average weekly rate of return of 5- to 10-year Canadian bonds, for the first six months of the calendar year preceding the year during which the rate is calculated, plus 1%. This calculation method was performed in a way that the rates reflected students’ real situation 6 to 18 months before the student’s loan consolidation date. Finally, there were also some modifications made to the deferred-payment plan. The monthly minimum income limit to be eligible was maintained at the arbitrary level ($900 per month) and the assessing of the borrower’s financial situation is now effective after six months rather than after each term, once (a part) of Recommendation 20 was implemented.

Recommendation 20:

That a student facing financial difficulties be eligible, for a period of 18 months, to register for the deferred-payment plan more than once. That the student’s financial abilities be reviewed and that he be allowed to pay his student debts every six months instead of every three months as it is currently.

Nevertheless, the first part of the recommendation was ignored. Thus, a student may not be eligible for the deferred-payment plan more than once.


57

Chapter 2 consists of three sections on the general provisions: 1) the conditions determining the residence status in Quebec; 2) the reference period during which the program’s regulations are applied; 3) the deadlines and penalties regarding late applications for financial aid and producing the documents required by the program after the deadline. The government wanted, with Recommendation 24, to ease the penalties for late applications. They however, took it a step beyond their "clemency": and the penalty was reduced to $150, rather than half of the aid allocated.

Recommendation 24:

That the late penalty be reduced from 50% to 25% and set March 31st of the year of allocation as the deadline after which a student cannot file for financial assistance application.

3.2.2. Major Changes from 1991 to 2011

1991

• Reduced number of eligibility period for the bursary

The main modification made to this decree (Decree 767-91, June 5, 1991) was based on Recommendation 22 of the Government Orientations of 1989. Two terms were removed from all maximum eligibility periods for bursaries, except for student in general education college (4 terms) and university master’s students (3 terms).

Recommendation 22:

That the current eligibility periods be maintained and that the accessibility periods for bursaries be set according to the following norms:

- General Education College: 6 periods

- Vocational College: 8 periods

- Bachelor's: 8 periods

- University Master’s: 6 periods

- University PhD: 10 periods

For college students enrolled at the National Theatre School of Canada or Rimouski’s Marine Institute (marine mechanical-navigation), assistance offered as bursaries would be limited to 10 terms.

For students enrolled in a co-op program or those pursuing bachelor’s studies after graduating with a bachelor’s degree or when they have accumulated 90 credits under one program, assistance offered as bursaries would be limited to 12 terms.

It was also recommended these changes be implemented as of the 1991-1992 academic year, which is what happened. This was a huge step backward for students. This cut,


58

whose main message to students was hurry up and finish your studies within the scheduled timeframe, also meant higher debts for those whose academic path did not follow a straight line. We can trace a direct link between this modification and the drop in the number of program recipients, in absolute terms, which took place since 1993.

This modification was exemplified in appendixes VI and VII which contained the tables determining the maximum eligibility periods for the college and university students.

New conditions defining the not residing with parents status were introduced. The student who falls under the Youth Protection Act, the Act Respecting Health Services and Social Services or the Youth Offenders Act, the student who is under the care of a guardian; the student who had to leave his parents’ residence, as well as the student whose parents reside in a visitor centre, residence centre, hospital centre, detention institution or penitentiary are all considered as not residing with their parents by the program.

1992

• Minor Modifications

There were more changes made to the maximum eligibility periods (Decree 647-92, April 29, 1992). On the one hand, the program recognized the specific length of vocational college co-op programs (12 semesters, 10 during which loans and grants are offered) and specialized master’s studies in veterinary medicine (13 semesters, 11 during which loans and grants are offered). On the other hand, there was a category removed, that of bachelor graduates pursuing additional studies at the bachelor’s level. The outcome of this withdrawal resulted in making it harder to get financial aid for bachelor graduates who wish (or need) to add a certificate or another bachelor’s to their resume in order to maximize their employment opportunities.

The program, however, will henceforth recognize as registered for the summer term any student who proves that he is in a situation that, according to Article 25 of the Act respecting income security, which threatens to leave him completely destitute. Finally, a change intended to improve the agreement of incomes transferred from social assistance to student financial aid was introduced.

1993

• Changes to the way student’s contribution is calculated

This new decree (Decree 761-93, June 2, 1993) led to more drawbacks to the maximum eligibility periods. There were two less terms for which general-education college students were eligible for a loan and one less semester for master’s students.

The major modifications involved the way the student’s contribution was calculated. First, a greater portion of students’ grant income was accounted in the student’s contribution. Instead of 50% of the amount exceeding the first $500, it now considered


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70%. They also accounted 50% of the incomes generated from paid co-op internships into the calculation (basically, they were considering 50% x 60% = 30% for the contribution calculation).

1994

• Changes to the basic income used to calculate students’ contribution

This decree (Decree 831-94, June 8, 1994) significantly changed the way students’ contribution was calculated. Beforehand, the program was calculating students’ incomes for the year of allocation (May 1st to April 30th). It was, therefore, difficult to examine these incomes since this basic income did not correspond to the one used by the tax authorities. Thus, the rate base was switched to current calendar year at the start of the year of allocation. There was a four-month difference with the previous base. This new base was more advantageous since it was possible to double check students’ income afterwards by comparing it with their income-tax reports. This really helped minimize the risk of “fraudulent” declarations. This base, however, presented a problem that still remains unresolved: when a student’s income drops, compared to his previous winter term, there are no corrective measures set up to compensate for this drop.

The calculation for the number of summer weeks during which a student is deemed to be working was improved. All annual (instead of just summer) incomes are considered and divided by a specific amount depending on the level of education ($235 for high school students, $255 for college students and $295 for university students) when determining the number of weeks a student is deemed to be working in the summer (until the maximum quota is reached). The advantage of this method is that it includes more weeks for which living expenses received are much higher. Nevertheless, the disadvantage is that it encourages students to work during the academic year, especially those who did not reach the quota of work weeks allowed (for a university student this translates to an annual income of $18 X $295 = $5,310).

In addition to these changes, this decree eliminated the measure adopted the previous year regarding incomes from co-op internships (these incomes were accounted for 60%, like all other categories of incomes). There were also a lot of changes made to the definitions of major functional deficiency (see explanations on the following page). Finally, another cut was made to the maximum eligibility periods: a student pursuing medical studies after obtaining a bachelor’s degree is no longer eligible for extra semesters.

• A loan and bursary plan is set up for students in vocational training at the secondary level

Bill 33, adopted on June 17, 1994, expanded the Student Financial Assistance’s field of application and created a loan and bursary plan for students in vocational training at the secondary level. The allocation terms are the exact same ones as those used in the student financial assistance plan for students at the postsecondary level; the amounts


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were adjusted accordingly. They were included in the regulations with the Decree 1071-94 of July 13, 1994.


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1995

• Changes to the interest rates used

In summer of 1995, the way interest rates were calculated changed substantially (Decree 1103-95, August 16, 1995). The Minister of Education at the time, Jean Garon, had to cut $25 million from the student financial aid program, but did not want students to pick up the tab. The only solution left involved the loan interest rates charged to the government. Thus, after long negotiations with financial institutions, the loan rates charged to the government were calculated as such: the rate of banker’s acceptance (1 month) charged on the first of each month, plus 80 base points (0.8%). This new base helped the government benefit from an interest rate slightly lower than the prime rate. Since this new rate generates losses for financial institutions, it was declared a "social contribution" by these institutions.

The interest rate charged on students’ debts was also modified and resembled more the rate being charged today (there is a difference of 6 to 18 months with the previous base). It is, henceforth, determined according to the exemption period deadline (i.e. three times a year) in the following manner: the 5-year Canadian bond rate, the first Wednesday of the month prior to the exemption period deadline, plus 125 base points (1.25%). This new rate, however, does not really help students save money.

Finally, for the first time the interest rate for all loan-repayment contracts was set at every five years (thus modified every 5 years), which really helped with the interest rate payments.

1996

• Shorter periods of eligibility • Eliminating the 10-year limit and the $50 minimum monthly payment

This is the first decree (Decree 537-96, May 5, 1996) that follows the report submitted by the Work Group on the Student Financial Assistance Program (MacDonald Report). The maximum periods of eligibility continued to be shortened, as a term for which students are eligible to receive a loan and a bursary is dropped for each category of students.10 This loss risks further aggravating students’ already high debts and reducing the number of the program’s recipients, in both absolute and relative terms. This modification was based on a recommendation of the MacDonald Report (MacDonald #3).

In this same report, we also assisted in eliminating two regulations regarding debt payments. The 10-year limit to pay back a debt was abolished (MacDonald #27), as was the minimum monthly payment of $50 (MacDonald #28). Two years later, however, 10 An extra loan term was granted the year after this modification due to pressure exerted from the FEUQ and the FECQ.


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financial institutions are still using the previous guidelines when establishing the debt-repayment agreement.

Finally, two last modifications: when financial assistance is granted only in the form of a loan, the aid amount corresponds to the total of amount the student should have received as a loan and as a bursary; the category of students deemed enrolled during the summer term is extended to include students corresponding to the definition of major functional deficiency (MacDonald #86).

Legal Modifications:

• Abolished the independence requirement for undergraduate students having accumulated more than 90 credits under a same program

• Abolished the debt-reduction plan for graduate students • Established the concept of maximum debt limit per education level • Introduced a system examining the Minister’s decisions Fall 1996 set the stage for a new student crisis involving higher tuition fees. The Minister of Education, Pauline Marois, was out to cut $30 million from expenses incurred at the postsecondary level. There were two possible choices: either raise tuition fees or squeeze the money out of the student financial assistance program. She opted for the second possibility which resulted in Bill 85, adopted on December 18, 1996 (and, later on, Decree 558-97, which finalized these modifications). Many measures, affecting various student categories, were carried out.

Adopting this Bill meant abolishing the independence requirement for students having accumulated over 90 credits for a bachelor’s degree (MacDonald #62). Although this measure appears to help reduce these students’ debts, it forces these students’ parents to contribute to the continuation of their studies for one or two extra years. Since the tricky issue of parents’ contribution payments has yet to be resolved and that quite a few students do not have (or have little access) to this contribution, students will have no choice but to further indebt themselves (to financial institutions) or work more while in school. In addition to this modification, we henceforth granted independence status to students resuming their studies at least seven years after having ceased their full-time studies since no longer being bounded by mandatory school attendance (MacDonald #63).

However, the measure which was likely to reduce the debt level of a specific category of students, the 25% debt-reduction for graduate students, was abolished (MacDonald #35). The arguments put forward stated that this measure did not have the anticipated effects (we will discuss this later on).

This bill also introduced the concept of the maximum debt limit per education level, for which loans are granted until a certain fixed quota is reach per level of education (MacDonald #24). The exemption period during which the government pays for the interests on student loans was also reduced by a month (MacDonald #31). Furthermore, the Minister also has a new power, that of providing the financial aid expected as a loan, to compensate for the fragile financial situations in which some students may find


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themselves while waiting for the scheduled aid installment. Finally, this legal modification also introduced a formal process examining the Minister’s decisions (re-examination requests) (MacDonald #122, #123).

1997

• Purchase of didactic material are standardized • Modifications made to internship fees • Modifications made to daycare fees • Withdrawal of capital payments in the deferred-payment plan

This decree (Decree 558-97, April 30, 997) followed the logical pattern paved by the previous legal modification. Thus, the provisions regarding the debt-reduction for graduate students were eliminated, the maximum debt limit per education level was set, as was the amount of financial assistance expected as a loan. There were other changes made as well.

In the allowable expenses chapter, the amounts for purchasing didactic material were standardized (MacDonald #68). Previously, these amounts were established according to the lists provided by educational institutions. Standardizing these purchases led to students from certain programs (ex: Applied Science) to obtain an amount incapable of meeting their real needs, whereas as other students (ex: Languages and Literature) received more than what they needed. Moreover, the transportation fees for compulsory internships were eliminated and the weekly allowance for these internships was increased from $39 to $50 (MacDonald #77).

Some types of fees were modified just to take into account new changes made to social programs. Daycare expenses were modified in accordance with the clauses laid out for the new family policy11 and medical expenses were adjusted according to changes to the medical-insurance plan.

Finally, two modifications affected the process of the deferred-payment plan. One, the borrower’s financial situation was once again being assessed each semester. Two, this Program only covered interest payments, whereas it used to cover the debt capital as well as debt interests when the borrowers in a precarious financial situation were unable to make any payments (MacDonald #34). We will talk about the impact resulting from this modification in the recommendations section.

1998

• Changes to the contributions of the student, his spouse and his parents • Changes to the assistance granted to SFA recipients • Improvements made to the deferred-payment plan

11 However, the Minister of Education never made any official commitments with regards to this topic.


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3.2.2.1. c) Recurring Changes: Indexations, Interest rates and the Deferred-Payment Plan

Since the new act and new regulations were introduced, the government has “indexed” the program’s various allocation parameters in a more or less regular fashion. The program’s parameters have not been indexed since 1994. Even though, there are practically no traces of inflation during this period, most parameters needed to be indexed in order to take into account the increase of living expenses, whereas at other times they were increased much more than needed.

Thus, had the parameters in 1989 followed the inflation pattern until now, students receiving SFA would have had lower loans and would have had to make smaller minimum contributions. However, they benefited from more generous grants for their living expenses, because their parents were able to pay a lower contribution. These gaps resulted in students having less purchasing power (we have but to think of the graduate student situation) and greater debt potential, and in the government transferring a portion of its responsibilities over to students’ parents.

Furthermore, we must also state that higher allowable expenses did not always follow a higher maximum loan. This was the case in 1991 and 1994. This was an obvious sign that they wanted to transfer a portion of the consecutive tuition hikes to the loan amounts offered to students, which had a certain impact on their debt level. It is, therefore, important that the main parameters be seriously adjusted by taking into account the inflation accumulated since the 1990 reforms.

1999

• Indexation of various parameters • Creation of an advisory council for financial accessibility to education i) Indexation

September 22, 1999, the government adopted the Act modifying the Act on Student Financial Assistance in order to set up an indexation of 0.9% of various parameters.

Here are the changes:

Weekly Living Expenses

Jumped from:

$27 to $28 (residing with their parents, neither in school nor working)

$53 to $54 (residing with their parents, in school or working)

$108 to $109 (not residing with their parents, neither in school nor working)

$152 to $153 (not residing with their parents, in school or working)


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Internship Fees

Jumped from:

$50 to $51 per week

$1,045 to $1,054 per year (maximum)

Allowance for Peripheral Regions

Jumped from:

$230 to $232 for a full-time semester

$460 to $464 for a year (two or three full-time semesters)

Annual Maximum Bursary

Jumped to:

$11,356 for high school education

$11,356 for college education

$11,588 for university education

The present regulation came into effect on the first summer semester of the year of allocation 1999-2000.

ii) Advisory Committee on the Financial Accessibility to Education

On June 17, 1999, the Assemblée Nationale adopted Bill 7, the Act modifying the Act on the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation in order to implement the advisory council for financial accessibility to education.

This Act modified the Act on the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation in order to implement the advisory council for the financial accessibility to education.

This advisory council was responsible for counseling the Minister of Education on any issue that he/she may have regarding the Student Financial Assistance, tuition fees, admission and registration fees for education-related services and other ancillary fees for such services as well as measures or policies that may affect financial accessibility to education.

This act included the Minister of Education’s obligation to submit to the advisory committee for their advice on any regulation relating to these financial aid programs as well as any condition proposed for the budget regulations or any directive that he/she agrees to give to educational institutions regarding these rights.


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2000

• Reduced maximum loan limit • Extended periods of eligibility for some programs • Indexation of the parameters

i) Reduced Loan Limit

In December 1999, the FEUQ played an active role in trying to find a solution to how to set up the Millennium Scholarship Foundation agreement across Quebec. The money from the millennium scholarships helped reduce the loan limits by 25% for all the admissible levels of education.

On April 12, 2000, the government adopted a regulation change officializing the agreement with the Millennium Scholarship Foundation.

The maximum college loan dropped from $2,605 to $2,005;

The maximum undergraduate loan dropped from $3,460 to $2,460;

The maximum graduate loan dropped from $4,255 to $3,255.

ii) Extended Eligibility Periods

This same regulation change also allowed for longer periods of eligibility for some programs in order to effectively match the real length of study.

Thus, there is now when considering loan and bursary eligibility, a subdivision taking into account:

• university programs of seven semesters; • university co-op programs of 11 semesters; • university co-op programs of 12 semesters; • economics programs and agro-food management; • optometry program.

These changes help students enrolled in these programs to fully benefit from Student Financial Assistance without being penalized for following a specific a program of study.


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iii) Indexation of the Parameters

On October 11, 2000, the government adopted various parameters indexed at 1.6%.

Here are the indexed parameters:


Jumped from:

$28 to $29 (residing with parents, neither in school nor working)

$54 to $55 (residing with parents, in school or working)

$109 to $111 (not residing with parents, neither in school nor working)

$153 to $156 (not residing with parents, in school or working)

Internship Fees

Jumped from:

$51 to $52 per week


Allowances for Peripheral Regions

Jumped from:



Annual Maximum Bursary

Jumped to:

$12,147 for high school education

$12,147 for college education

$12,789 for university education

2001

• Exemption from debt repayments for students who find themselves in exceptional situations


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• Re-introduction of the autonomy requirement of 90 credits • Lower contribution from students • Lower contribution from parents • Extended period to be eligible for a bursary for child-related expenses • Improved deferred-payment plan • Indexation of parameters


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i) Exemption from Debt Repayments for Students Who Find Themselves In Exceptional Situations

A student, who interrupts her full-time studies because she is pregnant, has given birth or adopted a child, or because he/she is temporarily incapacitated may carry over the student debt payments for a period of two semesters.

ii) 90-Credit Autonomy Requirement

A student is considered as independent, i.e. does not receive parental contributions, when he has been pursuing university studies in Quebec for at least three years, has been enrolled full-time for six terms and has accumulated 90 credits in the same program.

iii) Lower Contribution from Students

The student’s contribution, based on employment income, was reviewed and reduced. After the regulation change, the loans and bursaries program took into account only 50% of the employment income exceeding the minimum contribution, instead of 60% of all employment incomes.

The minimum contribution corresponds usually to $430 for students starting high school, $940 for those starting college and $1280 for those starting university or entering the workforce.

Here is an example of how an employment income of $4,000 is calculated

Before

Minimum contribution $1,280

Plus 60% of employment incomes (60% of $4,000) $2,400

Contribution $3,680

Now

Minimum contribution $1,280

Plus 50% of employment incomes exceeding

the minimum contribution

(50% of $2,720 (4,000 –1,280) ) $1,360

Contribution amount $2,640

Reduced contribution $1,040


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iv) Reduced Contribution from Parents

The parents’ or spouse’s contribution is taken into account when calculating the bursary offered to a student who is not deemed independent (for parents) or married (for the spouse). The percentage of this contribution is set according to the family’s financial abilities, i.e. the parents’ or the spouse’s income. These rates were modified and the parents’ and the spouse’s contribution was reduced by 10%. v) Extending the Eligibility Period for Receiving a Grant for Child-Related Expenses

Generally, a student may continue to receive a student bursary for one more term in addition to the normal length of his studies. To take care of their children, however, some students have to take fewer courses and, thus, extend the length of their studies and exceed the number of semesters for which they are eligible to receive financial assistance in the form of a grant.

These students, henceforth, receive assistance as a bursary until the end of the eligibility period of the financial assistance program. This bursary will cover child-related living expenses, additional costs for single-parent families as well as daycare fees.

Example:

Student with dependent children

90- credit bachelor’s degree, normal length: 6 semesters

Period eligible for student financial assistance

Before

7 semesters of loans and bursaries

2 following semesters, loans only

After

7 semesters of loans and bursaries

2 semesters following, loans and expenses related to family responsibilities, as previously mentioned, will be converted into grants

vi) Improved Deferred-Payment Plan

At the moment, a student is eligible for the deferred-payment plan when earning an employment income of $1,105 and less per month. This quota does not effectively take into account the situation of students with dependent children.


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To amend this situation, the eligibility limit of the deferred-payment plan will be indexed at $1,125 per month.

Furthermore, former students with children will be able to benefit from a higher eligibility limit.

vii) Indexation of Parameters

The government indexed a few of the Student Financial Assistance’s parameters at 2.5%

Here are the indexed parameters:


Jumped from:

$29 to $30 (residing with their parents, neither in school nor working)

$55 to $57 (residing with their parents, in school or working)

$111 to $114 (not residing with their parents, neither in school nor working)

$156 to $160 (not residing with their parents, in school or working)

Internship Fees

Jumped from:

$52 to $54 per week


Allowances for Peripheral Regions

Jumped from:



2003

• Modified the minimum contribution • Suspended the computer loan plan • Changes to the loan and bursary installments

There were some changes introduced to SFA program when Bill 19 was adopted in 2003.


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i) Modified the Minimum Contribution

Students’ contribution for the program was modified. A minimum contribution is no longer required. The student no longer has to provide $1,280, even he has never earned them. Nevertheless, the financial assistance program offers exemptions and reduced contributions in order to be consistent with the student’s economic condition since there is now no allowable expense provided in the summer (except, of course, if the student is studying full-time in the summer). Therefore, this modification does not really change the amount of the student’s contribution. This measure was set up in order to encourage students to work in the summer.

ii) Suspended the Computer Loan Plan

The computer loan program was suspended. The ministry declared that it did so in order to examine its relevance. Students’ demands, however, showed the Ministry of Education the relevancy of this plan and it was reintroduced.

iii) Modified the Loans and Bursary Installments

Installments are now made on a monthly basis. As explained in the beginning of this document, the total amount of a loan is directly deposited each month of study directly to the student’s bank account. The installments are higher for the first months of each academic semester in order to cover costs related to tuition fees and school supplies. The bursary is directly deposited to the financial institution at the end of the semester in order to reduce the student’s loan. Also, the student’s incomes are checked by SFA to make sure that they are accurate.


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2004

(Contact Project) In order to modernize its operations, SFA implemented the Contact Project in April 2004. SFA thus summarizes the main objectives of this program.12

Ø Improvement of client services; Ø Adoption of an integrated mode of functioning; Ø Participation of students and partners; Ø Simplification of certain elements of the program; Ø The modification and optimization of our ways of proceeding.

Based on a modification of the circulation of information and client services resting more on electronic services, this project aimed to accelerate the processing of applications by increasing the intervention capacity of the SFA personnel and by permitting a real partnership between educational institutions, SFA offices in each educational institution and the SFA department of MELS. The elements of the program that were modified following the establishment of Contact Project are especially found in the circulation of information, the terms of granting aid, the management of loans and a manifest will to maximize the potential of the new information technologies.

As for students, the implementation of Contact project especially had repercussions on the terms of the issuance of aid. In fact, aid is now issued on a monthly basis, rather than by term. SFA considers this practice is more supple and adapted to the studies and the personal situation of students. It is also the opinion of the Ombudsman, which had suggested this modification for some time already. Furthermore, aid is now given in the form of a monetary advance, rather than a direct deposit. As they are rather technical, these differences have little effect on the student. They are more concerned with the management of loans.

12 Voir : Aide financière aux études. La modernisation et le projet Contact. http://www.afe.gouv.qc.ca/connaitre/colloque/presentations.asp


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Table 3-1 - Differences between direct deposit and monetary advance

Direct deposit Monetary advance Bank information provided by the student

(adherence) Bank account information provided by

financial institution

Amount deposited in the chequing account of the student

Each authorization increases the value of the loan account

Amount paid by the government (bursary) Amount transferred to the chequing account of the student

Debt remission corresponding to the bursary after verification of income with MRQ

(Revenue Quebec) Source : AFE, Présentation de l’architecture du projet Contact

Aid is issued each month of the period of studies and is conditional on the verification of academic information. Each third week of the month, the exchange of academic information is made automatically between the educational institution and SFA. Then, at the beginning of the fourth week, SFA issues its authorization for the advance of funds and the aid is paid into the student account. It is particularly in these terms that the partnership between the educational institution, the SFA offices and the ministry is essential. We will see further on that this partnership is inserted into the written agreements.

Table 3-2 – Academic information exchanged between the educational institution and SFA.

The maintenance of the student status

The program of studies

The level of education

The number of units (based on the 2002 level of university study) or the number of course hours

The dates of the beginning and the end of the period of studies

The dates of the beginning and end of a period where the student is recognized full-time

The dates of the beginning and end of the internship Source : AFE, Architecture du projet Contact

An interruption of the student status or a drop in the number of units followed under the minimal bar of full-time studies involves an adjustment or an interruption of aid as of the next month.

Cuts in $103 million to SFA

During the last Séguin Budget tabled on March 30, 2004, we found out, with a mixture of anger and disappointment, that the Quebec Ministry of Education was going to cut $63.5 million from its Student Financial Aid (SFA) program’s budget. In fact, the new


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announced budget would actually increase the current loan limit for all education levels and disable the bursary program.

The FEUQ was outraged by the announcement of this measure which it considered as regressive and unfair to students in Quebec coming from modest backgrounds or who cannot rely on financial support from their parents. Furthermore, we believed that the increased maximum loan will have a direct impact on young Quebecers’ accessibility to education. These cuts, which are shocking since they are taking place at a time when the current government is making lowering taxes its main theme, will not only strongly penalize students receiving student financial aid, but also Quebec society as a whole.

Increase in the maximum loan

If all the study networks were concerned, university students were the most adversely affected by the average increase in loans by $2,438 per year, namely an increase in the maximal loan of 88% for undergraduate students and an increase of 74% for graduate students. The following table illustrates this increase.

Table 3-3 - Evolution of the maximum loan limits in the collegial and university networks

Before 2000 Since 2000 2004-2005

Current (addition of $35 million from Millennium Scholarships)

After the $64 million cuts

Collegial $2,605 $2,005 -23% $3,150 + 57 %

University

Undergraduate $3,260 $2,460 -24% $4,630 + 88%

Graduate $4,255 $3,255 -24% $5,680 + 74,5% Source : Calculs FEUQ

We should specify, however, that the amounts divulged by the Minister were only average amounts. In short, the maximal loan could be more or less higher than the figures, according to certain situations. Here are some examples:

• If an undergraduate student studies full-time (5 courses per semester) for one academic year, his maximum loan will amount to $4,688. ($315 X 8) + (2 X $834 + 2 X $250)

• If an undergraduate student studies full-time (4 courses per semester) for one academic year, his maximum loan will amount to $4,354. ($315 X 8) + (2 X $667+ 2 X $250)

• If an undergraduate student studies full-time (5 courses per semester) for one academic year including the summer semester, his maximum loan will amount to $7,032. ($315 X 12) + (3 X $834 + 3 X $250)

The same calculation was used for graduate students as well; however, their maximum loan is $415 per month instead of $315. Also, since graduate students generally study on a full-time basis, this increases


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their months of studies (12 months in total) and the total of their tuition fees (3 semesters). Their loans are, thus, much higher (more exceeding $8,000). Table 3-4 – The maximum loans, as they would have

been following the SFA reform

Level of studies Month of studies

Maximum monthly loan Tuition fee TOTAL

maximum loan Bachelor’s 8 315 $ 2 000 $ 4 520 $

Master’s 12 415 $ 3 000 $ 7 980 $

Doctorate 12 415 $ 3 000 $ 7 980 $ Source: Calculs FEUQ

Increase in the maximum indebtedness limit

The maximum debt level was modified in order to be consistent with the new loan limits.

Table 3-5 – Level of indebtedness as it would have been after the reform

Level of studies Before cuts After cuts Undergraduate: less than 7

semesters 7 semesters and more

$25,000 $30,000

$30,000 $36,000

Master’s: less than 5 semesters and more

$35,000 $40,000

$42,000 $48,000

Doctorate $45,000 $48,000

Outside Canada $60,000 $70,000

2005

Progressive return of the $103 M

An intense student mobilization combine with strong support from Quebec society for the cause allowed students to escape the cuts. A series of rounds of negotiations took place between the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec and the government, notably through the Minister of Education at that time, Jean-Marc Fournier. The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation (CMSF) also joined this group. The result produced was the progressive return of the $103 million in the Quebec loans and bursaries system ($70 million in 2005-2006, then $103 million for the following years). It is important to note that the major part of these amounts came from interest revenues that the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation produced. In fact, the agreement included $342 million over five years from


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the provincial government, to which was added $40 million from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and $100 million (beginning in 2006-2007) from the Canada Student Loans Program. These are new amounts that reduced the SFA maximum loan limit.

Decrease of the maximum loan

It goes without saying that with the agreement obtained between the government, students and the CMSF, the main aspect was to decrease the maximum loan limit. Now, beginning in 2006-2007, the maximum loan limit has returned to what it was before the 2003 cuts, namely $2460 for an undergraduate student and $3255 for a graduate student or having completed an undergraduate program.

Decrease of the maximum debt limit

The maximum debt limit was modified to be consistent with the new loan limits. Here is a table showing the new maximum debt limit.

Tableau 3-6 – Level of maximum indebtedness

Level of studies 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 and following

Undergraduate: less than 7 semesters

7 semesters and more

$30,000 $36,000

$26 600 $31 900

$25 000 $30 000

Master’s: less than 5 semesters 5 semesters and more

$42,000 $48,000

$37 240 $42 660

$35 000 $40 000

Doctoral $48,000 $46 000 $45 000

Outside Canada $70,000 $63 200 $60 000

Sources Calculs FEUQ

Abandonment of the creation of income contingent repayment (ICR)

Another measure that was taken following the student mobilization campaign is the abandonment by the Ministry of Education of the program announced as the income contingent repayment, which had been announced earlier. Although various amendments were proposed by the government regarding this, the project was abandoned.


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2007

Adjustment of the financial assistance amount to the hike in tuition fees

The Minister of Education at the time of the lifting of the tuition freeze, Michèle Courchesne, modified certain parameters of Student Financial Assistance to try to adapt it to the lifting of the freeze. She improved certain amounts in allowable expenses and the parental contribution. She also established an allocation whose aim was to absorb the tuition hike. This allocation will follow the tuition hike until 2011-2012. However, she introduced a difficult distinction to understand between two categories of recipients. In fact, for the recipients of a loan and a bursary supplementary assistance will be paid in the form of a bursary. As for recipients of a loan only, they will see their allocation paid in the form of a loan, which leads to an indirect increase in their maximum loan limit and a direct increase of their indebtedness.

Increase in allowable expenses

Here are the increases announced by the Minister:


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Table 3-7 – Increase in monthly allowable expenses of SFA following the lifting of the tuition freeze

Monthly expenses

Type of expense Amount before announcement 4. New amount

Monthly difference

Living expenses (including public transit expenses)

Student studying or in an internship full-

time (except cooperative

internship) and residing with parents

$325 per month $332 per month $7

Student studying or in an internship full-

time (cooperative internships excluded) and not residing with

their parents

5. $715 per month 6. $730 per month $15

Student reputed enrolled and residing

with parents

7. Per month: $125 + 10% of job income

Maximum: $325 per month



9. $7

Student reputed enrolled and not

residing with parents



Per month: $526 + 10% of job income Maximum:

$730 per month $15

Living expenses for children

1st child $217 per month $221 per month (for each

child)

$4 to $21 per

child Other children $200 per month

Expenses for head of a single-parent family

With minor child $58 per month $59 per month $1

Without minor child $166 per month $169 per month $3

Expense for absence of public transit

$83 per month $85 per month $2

Expense for short duration internship (internship that is shorter than the period of studies)

$243 per month 13. $248 per month

$5


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11. Maximum: $1,128

12. Per year

14. Maximum: $1,152 per year

Source : Comité consultatif sur l’accessibilité financière aux études, Hausses des droits de scolarité des résidents du Québec, des étudiants canadiens et des étudiants étrangers : modifications au Règlement sur l’aide financière aux études , 2007

Table 3-8 – Increase in monthly allowable expenses in SFA following the lifting of the tuition freeze

Monthly expenses

Type of expense Amount before announcement New amount

Allocation for a city, region or MRC called peripheral

$63 per month Maximum: $504 per year

This expense is recognized the 1st month of each period of

studies.

$64 per month Maximum: $512 per year

This expense is recognized the 1st month of each period of

studies. Source : Comité consultatif sur l’accessibilité financière aux études, Hausses des droits de scolarité des résidents du Québec, des étudiants canadiens et des étudiants étrangers : modifications au Règlement sur l’aide financière aux études , 2007

Furthermore, MELS proposes to increase the maximal amount paid in the form of a bursary


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Table 3-9 - Modification of the maximal amount paid as a bursary

Financial aid that can be granted relative to an allocation year Maximal amounts

Amount before announcement New amounts

Financial aid corresponding to a bursary $12,800 at the secondary and collegial

$14,850 at university plus

$3,450 if the student has a child $4,365 if the student has two children

$5,285 if the student has three children or more plus

Financial aid corresponding to a loan Maximal amount that can be granted according

to the level of education and the type of program

Financial aid corresponding to a bursary $13,069 at the secondary and collegial level

$15,262 at university (in 2007-2008)* plus

$3,522 if the student has a child

$4,457 if the student has two children $5,396 if the student has three or more

children plus

Financial aid corresponding to a loan Maximum amount that can be granted

according to level of education and the type of program



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Increase in the amount for the purchase of school material

Table 3-10 – Increase in the amount for the purchase of school material following the lifting of the tuition freeze

Expense for school material per period of studies Amount before

announcement New amount

Programs of architecture, visual arts (plastic),

chiropractic, physical education, occupational

therapy, medicine, veterinary medicine, music, speech

therapy, audiology, optometry, pharmacy,

physiotherapy and engineering

$375 $415

Master’s and doctoral programs, when these periods

of study are devoted to writing a thesis.

$150 $190


Reduction of the parental contribution Table 3-11 – New exemption amounts for the parental or sponsor’s contribution following the lifting of the tuition freeze

Exemptions

Amount before the announcement New amount

Maintenance of family unity

Parents living together $13 885 $15 274

Not living together $11 755 $12 931

Dependent children

First $2 660 Same amount

Following $2 400 $2 650

Student that makes an application and has a major

functional deficiency $2 200 $2 250

Second parent having an income 14% of income up until $2,100

14% of income up until $2,310


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Table 3-15 – New amounts of exemptions for the spousal contribution following the lifting of the tuition freeze

Exemptions

Amount before announcement New amount

Basic exemption $11,755 $12,931

Supplementary exemption granted if student has a

major functional deficiency $2,200 $2,250


Harmonization of the eligibility threshold for the Deferred Repayment Program

This measure makes it such that Deferred Repayment Program (DRP) of SFA corresponds more to the real situation of Quebecers who work for the minimum wage. Henceforth, eligibility to DRP will be made according to the rate of the minimum wage in effect during registration to this program. This measure should persist in time by following the increases in minimum wage.

Exclusion of the income of the Social Assistance and Support Program- Réussir from the calculation of the student contribution

To calculate the amount of assistance that will be granted to the student, we have to take into account his contribution, which is established on the basis of his financial resources. By virtue of the new regulation, the amounts received for the program Social Assistance and Support Program- Réussir, implemented by the ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, will no longer be part of the student income that is taken into consideration to determine his contribution.

Furthermore, the benefit recipient of the Social Assistance and Support Program- Réussir could, even if he does not have a major functional deficiency in the sense meant by Student Financial Assistance, benefit from the measures destined for the clientele that presents such a deficiency. This person could thus eventually be eligible for the Loans and Bursaries Program, even if he is studying part-time. He could also be eligible for financial assistance during the summer period, even if he is not studying then.


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2008

Since the year of the defreeze, the minister has committed to indexing the loans and bursaries program. This year will not be an exception.

2009

This year is a crucial year for the Quebec student financial assitance program. In fact, in January 2010, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation died, not being renewed by the Conservative government. For the moment, a good part of the amounts of the Foundation allocated to Quebec are used to lower the maximum loan limit to reduce indebtedness. The CMSF allows Quebec to lower the maximum loan limit by about $35 million.13

Furthermore, an indexation of allowable expenses of 0.4% was made.

2010

In Janary 2010, the federal governmemnt confirmed its withdrawal of Quebec from the new Canada Student Grants Porgram (CSGP).14 The cash transfers will be made in January 2011. From now until then, despite the presence of additional amounts in the transfer amounts, the provincial government still refuses to announce an improvement of the student financial assistance program.

The year 2010 is also marked by an indexation of of allowable expenses of 2%.

2011

In April 2011, the Mimnister of Education Line Beauchamp published changes to SFA concerning alimony, changes flowing from the Plan gouvernemental pour la solidarité et l’inclusion sociale. Thye are still far from responding to the demand for a complete exemption of alimony formulated by the FEUQ and numerous social groups. Beginning in the 2011-2012 academic year, the exemption of child support alimony will go from $100 per month ($1,200 per year) to $100 per month per child ($1,200 per child). In June will follow a partial indexation of allowable expenses at the rate of 2.7%, as presented in Appendix I.

The saga of the CSGP was also pursued, culminating in the month of February 2011. The federal government announced the transfer of $275 M to Quebec for the withdrawal from the program for 2009-2010, namely $70 M more than for the previous school year. While all eyes were turned to it, the provincial government explained in the public place that it considered these amounts compensation for the financial effort it was already

13 Nous vous renvoyons à la section 2 du présent document pour une explication plus exhaustive de l’entente avec la FCBEM 14 RHDCC, Le gouvernement du Canada annonce son soutien financier annuel au Québec pour l'aide financière aux étudiants, Communiqué de presse, Ottawa, 3 février 2010


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putting into supporting students and that these amounts would go directly in the consolidated fund of Quebec.

Decisive factor for 2011, the government of Quebec announced different improvemnts to student financial assistance totaling $118 M at the same time it made public its plan to increase tuition fees. It emerges that:

Ø 35% of the new hike will be reinjected into student financial assistance

Ø this new tuition fee hike will be covered in the same way by the SFA as in the last 5 years: students receiving loand and bursaries will see their bursaries increase, while students receiving only loans will benefit from a speacial allowance, namely an additional loan

Ø the parental and spousal contribution threshold will rise slightly to $35,000 in 2016-2017 (Table 3-12)

Ø Studeents benefiting from the Loans program for part-tiem studies will have an allowance of $89 per month if they live with their parents and attend an educational institution that is not serviced by a public transit network

Ø The deferred repayment program will be enlarged to 10,000 students that currently do not have access to it (Table 3-13)

Tableau 3-14 – Contribution based on income – family where 2 parents live together with only one child

Parent income * 2010-2011 Over time Gap 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0$

30 000 $ 346 $ 0 $ - 346 $

35 000 $ 1 256 $ 0 $ -1 256 $

40 000 $ 2 206 $ 950 $ -1 256 $

50 000 $ 4 106 $ 2 850 $ -1 256 $

60 000 $ 6 006 4 750 $ -1 256 $ Source : MFQ, Un plan de financement des universités équitable et équilibré, 2011.

• Chaque conjoint gagne 50 % du revenu familial

Table 3-15 – Monthly reimbursement to make based on income of ex-student – Celibate person and without children having a student debt of $15,000 *

2010-2011 Beginning 2013-2014


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Income ex-student Payment ex-student

Payment government

Payment ex-student

Payment government

0 $ 0 $ 63 $ 0 $ 63 $

5 000 $ 0 $ 63 $ 0 $ 63 $

10 000 $ 0 $ 63 $ 0 $ 63 $

15 000 $ 0 $ 63 $ 0 $ 63 $

20 000 $ 159 $ 0 $ 43 $ 63 $

25 000 $ 159 $ 0 $ 68 $ 63 $

30 000 $ 159 $ 0 $ 159 $ 0 $ Source : MFQ, Un plan de financement des universités équitable et équilibré, 2011.

* En supposant un taux d’intérêt de 5 % sur 10 ans

The federal government aimed to promote the establishment of health care personnel in the remote regions that are badly serviced. The measure consists of renouncing “amounts to be received from Canadian loans that new family doctors have to repay, nursing personnel in badly served rural areas, such as those health services offered to First Nations and Inuits.”15 In the case of doctors, the government will thus cancel the repayment of $8,000 per year in loans up to $40,000 of the year 2012-2013 while nursing personnel will be freed from repaying $4,000 per year up until $20,000. The amount of the measure is estimated at $9 M. At present, little information is circulating on how Quebec will benefit from the new program.

14.1.1. Recurring observations

Since the coming into force of the new law and regulation, the government has “indexed” the different parameters of the allocation of the program in a more or less regular way. We have to immediately note, upon reading table 14, that no indexation has been made to the parameters of the program since 1994. Although inflation over this period is practically null, it nevertheless remains true that various parameters had not been previously indexed to follow the cost of living, while others were increased much more than they should have been.

Thus, if the amounts of the parameters in 1989 had followed the course of inflation up until today, the student recipients of the program would obtain lower loans and would have a lower contribution to make. On the other hand, they would benefit from more generous living expenses and bursaries, and their parents would have to pay a lower parental contribution. These gaps make it such that students are subject both to a drop

15 Ministère des finances Canada, Budget 2011-2012.


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in their purchasing power (we only have to think of graduate students) and a greater potential for indebtedness, and that the government transfers a part of its responsibilities into the hands of the parents of students.

Moreover, we must also state that the hikes in maximum loan limits were not always accompanied by increases in allowable expenses. This was the case in 1991 and 1994. This way of proceeding is an obvious sign that we wished to transfer a part of the successive hikes in tuition fees into the loan amounts granted to students, which results in a certain impact on their indebtedness. It is thus important that the main parameters be the object of a real readjustment that takes into account the effects of inflation since the reform of 1990.


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4. Gains obtained

Here is an overview of the gains concerning student financial assistance obtained thanks to the sustained pressures of the Fédération Étudiante Universitaire du Québec.

1994 Tuition fee freeze 1995 Reduction of interest rates for student loans guaranteed by the government

1997 Setting up of a workgroup on the problem of student indebtedness Granting of a tax credit of 23% on student debts to students having been granted a loan in the program of student financial assistance of Quebec.

1998 Maintaining the tuition fee freeze

1999 Creation of the Comité consultatif sur l’accessibilité financière aux études (six students sit on it) Agreement on the millennium scholarship program: $70 million and more in financial assistance for Quebec university students and a freeze on the maximum loan limits.

2000 Conversion of 25% of the loan into a bursary following an agreement with the Millennium Scholarship Foundation; INDEXATION OF PARAMETERS Increase of $15.8 million in grants from the granting agencies

2001 Decrease of 10% in the student contribution; Abolition of the student double contribution; Decrease of 10% in the parental contribution; Reintroduction of the autonomy criteria of 90 credits; Improvement of the deferred repayment program by taking into account dependent children; Extension of the eligibility period for a bursary for expenses related to children; Introduction of the program for part-time students; Indexation of parameters. Fiscal exemption of bursaries/grants at the provincial level: graduate students no longer have to pay federal taxes for the grants they receive.

2003 Maintenance of the tuition fee freeze

2004 Right for international students to work off-campus

2005 Progressive transfer of $103 million of loans into bursaries at the end of the historic mobilization of winter 2005, the FEUQ makes the government backtrack and obtains the necessary reinvestment for the lowering of the maximum loan limit and the reconversion of $103 million into loans and bursaries. Also, $482 million are injected to fight student indebtedness.


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2006-2010

Indexation des dépenses admises

2011 Improvement of the exemption applicable for child support alimony, going from $1,200 per year to $1,200 per child per year


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5. Demands of the FEUQ

Since the 1960s, thanks to Student Financial Assistance, hundreds of thousands of Quebecers benefited from support that enabled them to obtain one or several diplomas. The importance of such a program does not need to be demonstrated. Ensuring that it promotes a maximum access to postsecondary studies and student success without leading to the indebtedness that represents a much too heavy handicap at the end of studies is, however, a perpetual concern.

Student Financial Assistance, as we know it, is at the crossroads. For many years, the loans and bursaries program of SFA has become less and less adapted to the real situation of students of the 21st century. This judgment rests on various causes:

Ø The absence of an automatic indexation mechanism of allowable expenses has led to a lack of correspondence between the real expenses of students and the levels of expenses considered by SFA. Living expenses taken into account by SFA are among the lowest of all programs of student financial assistance, according to the Auditor General (2006);

Ø The obligation of the parental contribution begins at a much lower level in Quebec than the rest of Canada. This means that students whose family income are passably modest (around $30,000 per year) are deprived of student financial assistance, which is a major obstacle to accessibility of studies and the equality of opportunity to succeed;

Ø Family-studies integration by a much too low level of allowable expenses for student-parents, notably in regard to living expenses, daycare expenses and transportation expenses;

Ø Student heads of single-parent families continue to see a large part of their child support calculated in their contribution.

Ø The maximum duration of assistance is not adapted to the real average duration of studies, in particular for graduate studies;

Ø Assistance paid in the form of a loan leads to overly high levels of indebtedness for the real situation of the job market in regard to graduates;

Ø The method of reimbursing loans is not adapted to the real situation of graduates.

5.1. Impact of university studies on the individual and the community Two visions of the benefits of university studies confront each other in our society and have impacts on the sources of financing of these studies and the mechanisms promoting accessibility.

On the one hand, some emphasize the advantages the individual who possesses a university degree will enjoy. Their arguments often rest on the fact that university graduates would benefit from better job opportunities and higher income.


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It is true that more and more available jobs are demanding a higher level of education. Between 1990 and 2009, the percentage of jobs requiring university studies increased 110%, while jobs requiring a high school diploma decreased by 45%.

Chart 1 – Rate of variation of jobs in Quebec from 1990 to 2009, according to the highest level of education attained

Source : MELS, Indicateurs de l’Éducation 2010, graphique 6.1, p. 111.

The effect of the diploma on income is especially felt at university. In 2009, a university diploma procured, on average, a salary that is twice higher than a person not having a secondary diploma and 43% higher than workers having postsecondary studies but no university diploma.

Table 5-1 – Average hourly and weekly pay according to the level of education, 2010

Education Hourly wage ($) Weekly wage ($) No high school diploma 15,15 522,34

High school diploma 17,99 639,84

Postsecondary studies 20,29 715,29

University diploma 28,32 1002,36 Source : Institut de la statistique du Québec, 2011

For these reasons, some will have a tendency to weigh the responsibility of the financing of the project of studies on the individual, since he is the main beneficiary of the diploma. The advocates of this vision will generally have a tendency to promote an important increase of tuition fees and put the accent on the education offered by much better financed universities. This vision is nevertheless a bit shortsighted, since it does not grant enough importance to the enormous advantages that postsecondary education represents for our society.

There are important advantages in having a highly education population. On the one hand, the acquisition of knowledge and the development of the capacity for critical


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thought would be vital to ensure the continuity and the dynamism of our democratic society. A recent study conducted in seven countries shows well that the level of participation in the activities of a society increases in a proportional manner to the level of education of its citizens. For the partisans of this vision of education, the economic benefits are also an advantage for the community. Thus, education reduces the risk of unemployment and particularly prolonged unemployment and thus reduces the pressure on social programs.

Table 5-2 – Unemployment rate according to level of study, Québec, 2010

Level of study Unemployment rate (%) Without high school diploma 15,8

DES (high school diploma) 8,6

Postsecondary studies 7,0

University diploma 4,9

All 8,0 Source : ISQ, Annuaire québécois des statistiques du travail, 2011.

In paralle, higher job incomes are translated into higher tax contributions, which increase the possibility of government to finance access to a greater number of social programs, as well as health care and quality education. Having said this, here is the social contribution of postsecondary graduates: a university graduate will have paid more than 900 000$ in taxes during his active life. It is more than double the total calculated for a high school diploma. The university diploma is an asset for the Quebec state.

Table 5-3 – Total taxes paid by a typical person during his active life according to level of education

Level of study Total ($) Without high school diploma 271 766

High school diploma 412 375

Colle studies diploma 536 856

University diploma 916 043 Source : DEMERS, Marius. (2008). « Taux de rendement du baccalauréat : pour les diplômés et pour l’État ».

Finally, companies and thus the Quebec economy overall, largely benefit from a very educated workforce, which is better able to participate in the necessary innovation effort to ensure the survival of companies in the current market and capable of working in cutting-edge sectors.


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5.2. Allow the pursuit of full-time studies and promote success

The FEUQ believes it is essential that the financial assistance program allow students to devote themselves full-time to their studies. Healthy study conditions promote success and the reduction of the duration of study projects. Now, financial support is a key element that allows us to meet these study conditions. Student Financial Assistance must allow students to reduce the number of work hours that they devote to a job, while enjoying an adequate level of financial support.

5.2.1. Adapting the program to the real duration of studies

The adjustment of the duration of aid to the real duration of studies has been a concern for many years. We mentioned earlier that recipients use assistance for longer periods. However, a significant number of students see the duration of their studies exceed the maximum duration of assistance. This situation particularly affects graduate students and compromises the chances of success of some of them, by depriving them of financial means in the last lap of their studies.

Furthermore, students should not be penalized in the choices of their study paths. “A typical horizontal-type school path makes possible the obtainment of two diplomas for the same level of education”16 while “[…] the typical vertical path, the one that currently exists only permits the obtainment of one single diploma by level of education.”17 Thus, student financial assistance must adapt to allow students to choose a horizontal or vertical school path.

Recommendation 1 That Student Financial Assistance develop a more flexible formula of the calculation of the number of eligible semesters, allowing the student to choose a horizontal or vertical course of studies.

This situation particularly affects graduate students, who often exceed the prescribed time for their studies, and compromises the chances of success of some of them, by depriving them of the financial means in the last lap of their studies. Consequently, the FEUQ is of the opinion that it is necessary to raise the maximum duration of assistance. In the second cycle (master’s), assistance should be available for an additional period of five months, and thirteen months for the doctorate. Thus, we arrive at 3 complete years for the master’s and five complete years for the doctorate.

In order to ensure the better pursuit of studies, the FEUQ recommends:

16 L’aide financière aux étudiants : un équilibre à maintenir. Rapport du groupe de travail sur le Régime d’aide financière aux étudiants, [Québec], Gouvernement du Québec, ministère de l’Éducation, septembre 1995, p. 33. 17 Ibid.


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Recommendation 2 That the period of eligibility of student financial assistance be increased by five months at the master’s and thirteen months at the doctorate, in order to ensure a better harmonized financing for the real duration of studies and that this aid can be paid in bursaries.

5.2.2. Filling the gap between the real cost of living and the level of financial assistance.

At the current time, the program is not adapted to the real needs of students. This shortfall causes a proliferation of part-time work during study semesters. In the study conducted by CNCS-FEUQ on the sources of funding graduate students, we observe that nearly one graduate student in two, among the student interrogated, believe that their job delays the moment of the obtainment of the diploma.18 The research Sources and Modes of Funding Undergraduate Students reveals that more than 25% of full-time students work more than 20 hours per week (FEUQ, 2010). Furthermore, according to the last SFA study on the living conditions of students, the main reason for the interruption of studies is insufficient finances (22.3% for the student recipients of SFA and 19.1% for non-recipients).19 Numerous studies, such as that of the CCAFE (2003), have shown that there exists a close link between financial problems and the difficulties of the typical progression of the student. These difficulties, underlines the committee, “(…) can be manifested in absenteeism in courses, in failures and the interruptions of studies (CCAFE: 2004a, page 18).”

Thus, the FEUQ demands an adjustment of the real needs of the student of the amount of various allowable expenses (monthly expenses and specific expenses). Allowable expenses are the expenses of the student deemed normal and necessary for the pursuit of studies. They are of various natures, but two types of expenses (the most important) applies invariably to all recipients of the program, it consists of tuition fees and living expenses.

From this amount allowable expenses established for each student, we subtract the contributive part of the program, namely the student contribution and, if applicable, the parental contribution or the spousal. The result of this operation is the financial assistance amount granted to the student. This amount will be divided into loans and bursaries.

Living expenses are one of the elements of allowable expenses. They cover food, housing and clothing. Currently, they are fixed at $778 per month of studies for a student who does not reside with his parents. This implies that a non-resident student without children must house, feed, clothe and assume all expenses of daily life during a period of eight months with a total amount of $6,224. Now, if we rely on studies 18 VENNE, Jean-François. 2007. Les sources et modes de financement des étudiants aux cycles supérieurs. Montréal : CNCS-FEUQ, p. 74.

19 MEQ, Enquête sur la condition de vie des étudiants, 2003, p.49.


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conducted on university students, the real level of expenses during the period of studies is rather $1 036,48 per month, of which $594,78 is to pay for housing. On the side of student-parents, who benefit from a supplementary amount of $240 per child per month, the gap is even bigger. The latter declare in fact real living expenses of $1 327,45 per month, of which $663,43 dollars is for housing and $594,30 is for food.

In 2006, a report of the Auditor General underscored that living expenses taken into account in Quebec are the lowest in Canada.20 Over a period of eight months, New Brunswick and Ontario granted respectively $758 and $2,572 more. For its part, the Comité consultatif sur l’accessibilité financière aux études (CCAFE) confirms that student expenses are systematically under-evaluated: “the amounts granted remain insufficient, which will oblige recipients to administer their own monthly budget by showing great rigor” (CCAFE, 2004b, p. 4).

According to the Auditor General, the level of living expenses recognized in Quebec by Financial Assistance is the lowest in Canada. By basing ourselves on the reports made by students themselves regarding their monthly expenses, the CNCS-FEUQ demands an increase of $278 per month in living expenses for recipients without children. This increase would allow us to fill a part of the shortfall created by the non-indexation of these expenses over the course of the last years. Furthermore, we have to remember that financial worries are one of the main causes of the interruption and the abandonment of studies, especially at the master’s and doctoral levels. We can certainly think that a part of the increase demanded here reimburses itself by a reduction in the duration of studies. This would reduce the amounts disbursed by SFA (bursaries) and student debt (loans).

Furthermore, it seems completely unrealistic to think that students who do not live with their parents can house at a rather limited distance from their university to do without public transit. We ask SFA to grant an amount of $75 per month to non-resident students. This corresponds to the current cost of a monthly bus and metro card (CAM) in Montréal. It would seem logical that this amount be adjusted according to the real cost of public transit in the place of residence of the recipient. In the same manner, we could determine a minimal reasonable distance between the university and the place of residence as access criteria to this supplementary amount.

Transportation costs for students that cannot benefit from public transit seem to us abnormally low. In the current context, an amount of $91 per month only covers a very minimal part of the real costs of the possession and maintenance of car (payment of the car, insurances, gas, maintenance). In the best of cases, we can estimate such an expense of $200 per month. The amount demanded of $158 represents 75% of this minimal amount.

Finally, access to an Internet connection has no longer been a luxury for a long time for university students. It seems to us that this reality should be taken into account by SFA. 20 VÉRIFICATEUR GÉNÉRAL DU QUÉBEC. 2006. Rapport du Vérificateur général du Québec à l’Assemblée nationale pour l’année 2007-2008. Tome I. Québec : auteur, p. 45


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The amount of $31 demanded here represents an average monthly price required by the two main Internet providers in Quebec.

Table 5-4 – Demanded increases for allowable monthly expenses in SFA for recipients without dependent children.

Current amount New amount

Living expenses $778 $1 036

Transportation expenses if there is no public transit $9 $158

Transportation expenses for non-residents - $75

Internet - $31 Source: CNCS-FEUQ Une aide financière adaptée aux coûts réels des études aux cycles supérieurs,2008

Furthermore, international students wishing to make a stay in Quebec must procure a certificate of acceptance from Quebec (CAQ). One of the criteria for the obtainment of the CAQ is the demonstration of the capacity to assume various expenses (tuition fees, transportation expenses, health insurance and hospitalization, etc.). Now, among these expenses we find living expenses. Immigration-Québec requires that the international student prove that he can assume costs of $11,000 per year for a person over 18 years of age.21 We thus recognize that we minimally have to have $916 per month for a student to live. We also note that the amounts of living expenses are indexed each year in the month of January. It is thus clear that allowable expenses in SFA are exceeded.

In order to promote full-time studies, the FEUQ recommends

Recommendation 3 That student financial assistance increase the amount of allowable expenses for recipients of student financial assistance without dependent children, notably by an increase of living expenses and transportation expenses for students who do not have access to public transit. Transportation expenses for non-residents and Internet expenses should also be included in allowable expenses. (CASP-19 (7.2))

21 Ministère de l’immigration et des communautés culturelles. Instruction pour remplir le formulaire : demande de certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ) pour études. p.2


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5.2.3. Indexation of allowable expenses

Allowable expenses are an important issue for student recipients of loans and bursaries. In fact, it is these amounts that are allocated to students to allow them to live on a daily basis during their studies. Yet, these amounts still today lack realism.

This is even more serious in that the indexation of living expenses remains highly random, since they were only indexed five times since 1994-1995. Over the course of the decade 1994-2004, these fees were only indexed four times, three of which were 1999 (+0.9%), 2000 (+1.6%) and 2001 (+2.5%). They were again a fifth time with the defreeze in 2007, then in 2008, 2009, 2010 and will be in 2011. They were a fifth time with the lifting of the tuition freeze in 2007 and there is a likelihood of a sixth indexation for the next year, 2008-2009. Clearly, there exists no automatic indexation mechanism of living expenses in SFA, which considerably harms the capacity of the financial assistance program to suitably meet the needs of students while the cost of living increases. This last element thus only rests on the good will of the government to see to it that the gap is filled between the real cost of living and the level of financial assistance.

The Minister of Education, Michelle Courchesne, herself admitted in a parliamentary commission of June 13, 2007, that the SFA program had thus “saved” nearly $71 million thanks to the non-indexation between 2003-2004 and 2007-2008. Thus, indexation is nonetheless not an increase in financial assistance, but rather a desire to avoid that its real value decrease de facto due to the annual increase in the cost of living especially when we consider that the cost of living increased by nearly 36.5% between 1994 and 2001022 In Canada!

Furthermore, since 2008, MELS uses the provisional indexation rate of the Ministry of Finances presented in its budgetary plans. Before, MELS used the indexation rate used by the Régie des rentes du Québec. The new system uses provisions of the inflation rate for the current year in Quebec. Now, as underlined by CCAFE, “in 2008, the real CPI was higher than 0.6% of the provisional CPI (CCAFE, 2009). We easily observe that a lag can accumulate in allowable expenses if the provisions are too conservative. The FEUQ thus recommends the introduction of an annual mechanism of the readjustment of indexed amounts whenever necessary.

Table 5-5 – Allowable monthly expenses for SFA, 2011-2012

Living expenses (including transportation costs23)

22 Banque du Canada, page consultée en juillet 2011. banqueducanada.ca/fr/taux/inflation_calc-f.html

23 Les frais de transport ne sont pas pris en compte pour les étudiants ne résidant plus chez leurs parents, car l’AFE présume qu’ils peuvent choisir de se loger près de leur établissement d’enseignement. Il faudrait voir dans quelle mesure cette présomption est réaliste ou pas, notamment en vertu du prix des loyers dans certains quartiers universitaires. Par ailleurs, même chez les étudiants résidant chez leurs parents, ces frais de transport ne sont pas toujours pris en compte. La demande est compliquée à remplir et souvent rejetée, même pour des personnes restant parfois à plus d’une heure trente de leur lieu d’études.


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Ø Students studying or in a full-time internship (cooperative internships excluded) and residing with parents

$354 / month

Ø Student studying or in an internship full-time (cooperative internships excluded) and not living with parents

$778 / month

Ø Student reputed enrolled and residing with parents

Each month: $147 + 10% of job income. Maximum: $354 / month

Ø Student reputed enrolled and not residing with parents

Each month: $571 + 10% of job income. Maximum: $778 / month

Living expenses for children

Ø Expense for child $240 / month

Daycare expense

Ø Subsidized space in a daycare $151 / study month

Ø Non-subsidized space $279 month of studies

Supplementary expense for a single-parent family

Ø With minor child Ø Without minor child

$64 / month $180 / month

Expense for the absence of public transit $91 / month

Expense for a short duration internship (internship that is less long than the period of

studies)

$264 / month Maximum: $1,228 / year

Source : AFE, Une aide à votre portée, 2011-2012 et MELS, Proposition de modifications au règlement sur l’aide financière aux études.

In order to allow the pursuit of studies full-time, the FEUQ recommends: Recommendation 4 That the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports introduce an annual automatic indexation mechanism of all the allowable expenses in the calculation of Student Financial Assistance, and that this indexation be equivalent to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the year concerned.

Recommendation 5 That the ministry of Education, recreation and Sport provides a mechanism for annuel adjustment of the estimated indexing rate to the observed reality for the reference year. (CASP-467(7.2))


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Recommandation 6 That the shortfall in the indexation of the student financial aid is filled in order to remain relevant. (CASP-437 (7.2))

Recommandation 7 That the calculation of allowable expenses is weighted according to the area of residence of the student (CASP-21 (7.2))

5.2.4. The parental contribution

The parental contribution is only calculated in the case where the student is recognized as a dependant of the parents. This contribution is voluntary, the parents are not legally obliged to pay. Furthermore, it does not necessarily consist in a monetary contribution. It is possible that this contribution is summarized by “room and board” when the student lives with his parents.

We saw above the calculation of the parental contribution. We also saw that a part of the income of the parents was exempt from this contribution. However, the levels of exemption are not high enough to subtract from the parental contribution of students whose families are low-income. As an example, a good number of students with combined gross incomes of $23,000 to $50,000 can theoretically benefit from a parental contribution.

Two indicators highlight the lack of correspondence of the exemptions. Thus, for a family of four persons, in a city of 500,000 inhabitants and more, the low-income cutoff before taxes rises to $40,259.

Table 5-6 – Low-income cutoff of Statistics Canada, before tax, 2008

30,000 to 99,999 inhabitants


500,000 inhabitants and more

1 person $18,976 $19,094 $22,171

2 persons $23,623 $23,769 $27,601

3 persons $29,041 $29,222 $33,933

4 persons $35,261 $35,480 $41,198 Source : Statistique Canada : recensement 2008

Table 5-7 – Low-income measure after tax, 2007

Number of children

Adults 0 1 2 3

1 $16,025 $22,435 $27,243 $30,050

2 $22,435 $27,243 $32,050 $36,858


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Source : Statistique Canada. recensement 2008

The CCAFE is also of the opinion that the establishment of the contribution poses a problem in this respect: “To relieve lower middle class families, it is necessary to decrease the required parental contribution: for example, by adjusting this contribution grid to that in force in the rest of Canada, which only requires a financial contribution from families whose income exceeds $45,000 per year. The threshold is about $30,000 in Quebec” (CCAFE, 2004, p. 5). It thus proposes to adjust the parental contribution grid to that in effect in the rest of Canada. It also proposes an original mechanism, by which the parental contribution would diminish with the course of the years studied. Thus, it could count for 100% the first year, for 80% the second, etc. Furthermore, according to a study by the Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports published in 2009, 61% of student recipients of loans and bursaries at all levels of study did not receive a parental contribution.24

In order to allow the pursuit of studies full-time, the FEUQ recommends:

Recommendation 8 That the exemption amounts for the maintenance of family unity be established at $45,000 and indexed thereafter.

5.3. Student indebtedness The absence of the automatic indexation of allowable expenses as living expenses and, consequently, the level of financial assistance granted to students has had a tendency to decrease the real financial resources students have. Also, indebtedness has become an important problem.

5.3.1. Evolution of the average debt

The assistance given by SFA includes a portion reserved for tuition fees. It can be useful to subtract this portion to have a better idea of the amount of the assistance that serves to cover the other expenses of students. Furthermore, the adjustment in constant dollars allows us to visualize the real value granted from year to year and its variations. In the following table, we show that the average aid granted, once tuition fees are removed, has decreased by 29% between 1995-1996 and 2008-2009. However, by adjusting these amounts in constant dollars (by eliminating the fluctuations in purchasing power), we observe that it is a decrease of 45% that has eroded the average financial assistance granted to the recipients of SFA over a period of fourteen years.25

24 MEQ, Enquête sur la condition de vie des étudiants 2003, page 162

25 Les montants ont été ajusté en fonction de l’Indice des prix à la consommation pour le Québec, 2001=100, calculé selon l’année universitaire (septembre à août).


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Table 5-8 – Evolution of the assitance granted by SFA from 1995-1996 to 2008-2009 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 05-06 06-07

Average aid 7 636 $ 7 727 $ 7 614 $ 7 430 $ 7 467 $ 7 078 $ 7 379 $ 7 537 $ 5 038 $ 6 013 $ 5 829 $

Tuition fees 1 667 $ 1 667 $ 1 667 $ 1 667 $ 1 667 $ 1 667 $ 1 667$ 1 667 $ 1 667 $ 1 667 $ 1 767 $

Adjusted average aid 5 969 $ 6 060 $ 5 947 $ 5 763 $ 5 800 $ 5 411 $ 5 712 $ 5 870 $ 3 371 $ 4 346 $ 4 062 $

In 2011 dollars 6 775 $ 6 771 $ 6 550 $ 6 257 $ 6 203 $ 5 648 $ 5 829 $ 5 870 $ 3 289 $ 4 065 $ 3 737 $

07-08 08-09 Average

aid

6 214 $ 6 194 $

Tuition fees

1 867 $ 1 967 $

Adjusted average aid

4 347 $ 4 227 $

In 2011 dollars En

3 938 $ 3 751 $

Source : MELS, Aide financière aux études, Rapports statistiques 1995-1996 à 2008-2008 et ISQ, Principaux indicateurs du Québec 2011

* Il y a peu de statistiques disponibles pour 2004-2005. L’AFE a publié un rapport assez ténu pour cette année-là, en raison de changements au programme de prêts et bourses.

To better understand the evolution of the aid granted, it is important to separately examine the elements of this aid, namely loans and bursaries. Beginning in 1981, governments chose to annually increase the amounts of the maximum loan. This leads to an increase of 38% for undergraduates and 159% for graduate students between 1988-1989 and 1999-2000 (FEUQ: 2002). The agreement on the Millennium Scholarships must procure a truce of ten years to students, namely until 2010.

To this end, the following table depicts the evolution of the university student debt average since 1999-2000. We note that the average debt decreased from 2000-2001 before beginning again to progress.

Tableau 5-9 - Évolution de la dette moyenne universitaire (1996-1997 à 2008-2009)

Source : AFE, Rapports statistiques, 1999-2000 à 2008-2009

This evolution of indebtedness casts light on the precarious situation of a high number of students caught up with an accumulated debt exceeding $15,000. In 2008-2009, they were 10,131 recipients finding themselves in this situation, nearly 40% of those that had

Année 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 1er cycle 11 987 $ 11 674 $ 10 814 $ 10 170 $ 9 845 $ 10 612 $ 11 467$ 12 846 $ 13 022 $ 2e cycle 15 949 $ 16 170 $ 14 562 $ 13 741 $ 12 881 $ 13 810 $ 15 034 $ 16 184 $ 16 304 $ 3e cycle 19 406 $ 20 753 $ 18 517 $ 18 700 $ 18 358 $ 19 265 $ 21 376 $ 22 196 $ 23 405 $


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to assume the repayment of their loan that year. In total, the average debts of university students to reimburse was more than $13,000 dollars to SFA. The prolongation of studies is also a determining factor in student indebtedness. Now, the number of semesters used in student financial assistance is now higher than it was in the 1990s. In 1994, on average, students who assumed their loan after undergraduate studies had received aid of 6.3 semesters (25.2 months). Since the beginning of the 2000s, this duration has increased, on average, by one semester. In fact, it was 7.5 semesters (30 months) in 1999-2000, and 7.2 semesters (28.8 months) in 2005-2006.

We would be wrong to consider the prolongation of studies as the result of laziness or lack of seriousness. The duration rests in part on financial difficulties, but this can also be the result of a normal progression, since a student can revise his plans and change fields, or again alternate between studies and the job market. Moderating the impact of the duration of studies on the chances of success is an important criteria of a good system of student financial assistance, according to the CCAFE:

As for the issue of the studies project, it depends on the capacity to make a vocational choice, in other words to know where we are going. This is more and more complex if we take into account the very large range of study programs offered to youth. It is not easy to make a good choice at the outset, especially without parental or professional support. Many must change programs of study, even abandon them, with the financial consequences that flow from this. There is a necessity to attenuate the financial effects that are due, for example, to a change in program.26

In order to reduce student indebtedness, the FEUQ recommends:

Recommendation 9 That the increase of allowable expenses and their annual indexation is manifested by an increase in bursaries and the number of recipients that have a right to a bursary, and that it have no impact on the current maximum loan limit.

5.3.2. The lifting of the tuition freeze

The level of tuition fees has an undeniable impact on accessibility to university studies. In October 2007, a study made for MELS by the researcher Valérie Vierstraete, of the department of Economics of the Université de Sherbooke confirmed that all tuition fee hikes necessarily resulted in a drop in student population for the upcoming years. A study by Statistics Canada, conducted by Marc Frenette, analyzes the impact of the deregulation of tuition fees in professional programs in Ontario. According to the researcher, youth from more economically disadvantaged families were very affected by these changes: “The results suggest that the socioeconomic trends regarding enrolments changed significantly in Ontario, where the deregulation of professional programs was most pronounced. In provinces such as Québec and British Columbia, where tuition fees

26 COMITE CONSULTATIF SUR L’ACCESSIBILITE FINANCIERE AUX ETUDES. 2004. L’accessibilité financière à la réussite de son projet d’études. Mémoire déposé à la Commission parlementaire sur la qualité, l’accessibilité et le financement des universités. Québec : auteur, p. 4.


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remained stable, no change was observed in regard to trends concerning enrolments” (Frenette : 2005).

The government of Quebec chose to disregard these clear data. Aftre having proceeded to a substantial increase of tuition fees in 2007 ($100 per term over 5 year, namely $500 more per eyar in 2011-2012 in relation to 2006-2007), the Liberal government started again in March 2010with the highest fee hike since 1990. In fact, beginning in 2012-2013, tuition fees will increase $325 per year, for a total of $1,625 in 2016-2017. This increase of 75% of tuition fees will bring tuition fees to nearly $3,800 per year over a fixed period without counting mandatory institutional fees or ancillary fees that make up 20% of the average student bill.

This situation increases student indebtedness even more. In fact, according to a study commissioned by MELS itself, this hike will, on completion, prevent 6,000 to 13,000 students from accessing university education, a catastrophe in a knowledge-based society like that of Quebec, which cannot allow itself to lose one single student before the challenges a globalized economy will place in our path. Also, we mention that this hike in fees will, within the student recipients of loans and bursaries, create two classes. Those who are recipients of a loan will not see this hike integrated in the form of bursaries but rather in loans. They will thus have a right to additional indebtedness. This situation is inequitable for those who cannot have bursaries and as we have seen above, many of them do not have the necessary parental resources to have access to bursaries even if this should be the case.

In the case of foreign student, the hike is even more pronounced. MELS increased by 5% the differntial fees paid by foreign students, both in colleges and universities, in 2007-2008. Furthermore, universities now have the right to increase differential fees by an additional 10%. These hikes are added to the increase of $3.33 per credit that affects them also.

WE should also mention the specific subject of international students who, since September 2008, have seen six families of the undergraduate level be progressively deregulated and that will be completed in 2014-2015 by fees imposed on international students of the undergraduate level (CCAFE 2008). Studetns from the faculties of administration, engineering, law, computers, mathematics and pure siciences are seeing that little by little theur fees are completely managed at the discretion of university administrations.

In order to reduce the indebtedness of students, the FEUQ recommends:

Recommendation 10 That a special allocation to cover the increase in tuition fees be given in the form of bursaries to all recipients without exception, and that it not lead to any increase in loans.

5.3.3. The deferred repayment program

According to article 60 of the regulation on financial assistance, an ex-student without dependent children can be eligible for the deferred repayment program if he earns less


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than $1,546 monthly. For an ex-student with only one child, we increase this amount by $240 per month (in 2011-2012) and we add $240 for additional children. Furthermore, if we are dealing with a single-parent child, we add $120 per month (in 2011-2012), which brings us to $1,786 for a dependent child and $1,906 if the student is the head of a single-parent family.

Despite everything, we should mention that there is a gap between the maximal income to have a right to a deferred repayment program and the low-income cutoff of Statistics Canada. In this case, it would be relevant to increase the suppleness towards student-parents in regard to accessibility to this program.

Ex-recipients that assume the repayment of their debt generally make payments spread out between $250 and $350 per month. We are thus talking about $3000 to $4200 per year. This is therefore saying that an ex-recipient finding himself close to the threshold making him eligible for deferred repayment must devote 20.5% and 28.7% of his annual income to the repayment of his debt. By considering that a person that has a lower income will be closer to the lowest monthly payment, is thus saying that one-fifth of the income of this ex-recipient will go to the repayment of his student debt. This risks being the case for many years, based on the level of indebtedness. This poses a real problem.

It would be preferable to increase the eligibility for the deferred repayment program to the ex-recipients in such a manner as to ensure that repayment does not exceed 10% of the gross annual income in order to prevent payments from being too heavy a burden on the finances of a household caught up in financial difficulties. Furthermore, this amount should be indexed annually based on the low-income cutoff.


Recommendation 11 That the program of deferred repayment be made more accessible to student-parents, notably by increasing the maximum income to the low-income cutoff of Statistics Canada

5.3.4. The debt remission program

The Debt remission program has as its objective to reduce indebtedness at the moment of obtaining the diploma. He must therefore in principal constitute an incentive motivating students to graduate in a normal framework and also break the prolongation of studies. At the undergraduate level, the program addresses itself to students that have completed in 24 months a study program spread out over three years and 32 months for programs spread out over four years.

On the basis of certain conditions, the current program, in force since 1999-2000, offers a debt remission of 15%. However, the eligibility criteria are very restrictive and make it such that very few students have access to the program. Debt remission is only granted to students that have indebted themselves in a continuous manner. One of the eligibility conditions is thus to have obtained a bursary each year, which presupposes that only those that have obtained the maximum loan limit each term are eligible. Only the


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months in which the student is enrolled full-time is taken into consideration for the evaluation of timeframes.

Before choosing a prolongation of studies to ensure good marks or a more difficult course of studies in the “required” time, students are increasingly likely to choose the first option, especially in highly competitive programs. We thus put aside students that choose a path that allows them to perform. We also do not do justice to those students whose path has been disrupted by a temporary interruption of studies due to pregnancy for example.

In order to make this program more accessible, we would have to change the notion of “bursary recipient each university year” with that of “recipient of financial assistance each university year.” A second modification would be to separate the levels of study, thus procuring to graduate students a greater facility to access the debt remission program. The remission of the debt should be applied automatically as soon as the eligibility conditions are attained, thus allowing us to attenuate administrative problems, forgetfulness or the lack of information in the student. Finally, in order to reduce student indebtedness and encourage students to graduate in a normal timeframe, the portion of the remission of the debt allocated at the time of graduation should be increased from 15 to 25%, as was the case until 1997. Thus, whoever finishes his studies with a debt will be able to see it reduced and allow the ex-student to be able to finance his other life projects. Tabke 5-10 summarizes the costs of a simple increase of 15% to 25% of the debt remission program.

Table 5-10 - Adjustment of the debt remission program to 25%

Year Overall amount of aid allocated Amount increased Cost of the measure

2006-2007 1 614 048 $ 2 690 080 $ 1 076 032 $

2007-2008 1 570 564 $ $ 2 617 606 $ 1 047 042 $

2008-2009 1 476 042 $ 2 460 070 $ 984 028 $ Source : AFE, Rapports statistiques 2006-2007 à 2008-2009, FEUQ, calculs internes

Recommendation 12 That the remission of the debt be automatic as soon as the diploma is obtained, regardless of the progression of the student (horizontal or vertical) and take into account the interruption of studies because of pregnancy.

Recommendation 13 That the debt remission program apply to all students that have been recipients of financial assistance in each of the university years;

5.3.5. Ancillary fees

The FEUQ means by ancillary fees “the fees required from students by universities, which are inherent to the presence of students in universities but that are not tuition


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fees.” MELS describes them as “obligatory institutional fees” (OIF) and defines them thus:

Mandattory institutional fées (MIF) are defined as being all the mandatory fees imposed by universities on their students, with the exclusion of tuiiton fees, which are regulated by the budgetary 3.1. MIF encompass general fees (admission, enrollment, exam, internships, etc.), technological fées, student services, contributions ot studetn life, copyright fées, writing fees, premiums for certain insurances, fées related to sports and recreation and various other fees (transcripts, delivery of diploma, laboratories, uniforms, etc.). Also part of the perimeter of MIF, fées imposed for certain recourses such as révision of notes. Fees are considered mandatory when:

• Sthey are imposed and billed directly on the studetn by the university or on eof its components (faculty, department, teaching unit);

• Affect all students from a defined group, without possibility of being exempt. Are not considered MIF:

• Fines, fées for late payments or other penalties applicable to certain students that derogate from the requirements of the financial and administrative management of the institution;

• insurance premiums paid by foreign students; • purchase of equipment and durable goods that remain the proprty of the student.

Investment expenses in the accounting sensé, that can be the object of subsidies in the five-‐year plan of university investments or by virtue of the présent budgetary rules, must not be funded by MIF.

These fees have increased by 350% increase over a period of fifteen years!, namely since 1993-1994. These fees also involve a significant difference of the real costs of studies between various universities. Thus, McGill University, for example, imposes much higher ancillary fees than the Université du Québec network. In certain cases, this can represent up to 46% of the total bill of a student. These ancillary fees, to which is now added the lifting of the tuition freeze, reduces accessibility to university studies.

Table 5-11 Automatic charge billed to a student enrolled full-time bachelor's (30 credits / year) by year of attendance and the institution

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10p

2010- 2011p

Variation (07-08 to 08-09)



Bishop’s 761,00 $ 781,40 $ 938,40 $ 958,30 $ 20,40 $ 157,00 $ 19,90 $ Concordia 836,50 $ 851,80 $ 855,70 $ 879,92 $ 15,30 $ 3,90 $ 24,22 $

ÉNAP - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ ETS 313,00 $ 346,00 $ 346,00 $ 378,50 $ 33,00 $ - $ 32,50 $ HEC 820,80 $ 859,90 $ 882,38 $ 958,30 $ 39,10 $ 22,48 $ 75,92 $ INRS - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ Laval 428,10 $ 477,60 $ 499,56 $ 524,46 $ 49,50 $ 21,96 $ 24,90 $

McGill 912,70 $ 956,30 $ 993,00 $ 996,00 $ 43,60 $ 36,70 $ 3,00 $ Poly 400,00 $ 420,00 $ 455,30 $ 480,30 $ 20,00 $ 35,30 $ 25,00 $

Sherbrooke 396,90 $ 404,40 $ 412,50 $ 475,08 $ 7,50 $ 8,10 $ 62,58 $ UdeM 372,30 $ 423,90 $ 482,70 $ 511,35 $ 51,60 $ 58,80 $ 28,75 $


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UQAC 372,50 $ 377,98 $ 382,38 $ 383,78 $ 5,48 $ 4,40 $ 1,40 $ UQAM 384,14 $ 387,96 $ 406,90 $ 433,60 $ 3,82 $ 18,94 $ 26,70 $ UQAR 330,30 $ 335,22 $ 342,23 $ 394,90 $ 4,92 $ 7,01 $ 52,67 $ UQAT 324,90 $ 329,40 $ 364,40 $ 400,00 $ 4,50 $ 35,00 $ 35,60 $ UQO 403,10 $ 405,20 $ 406,70 $ 422,30 $ 2,10 $ 1,50 $ 15,60 $

UQTR 346,10 $ 356,38 $ 358,82 $ 359,96 $ 10,28 $ 2,44 $ 1,14 $ Average * 533,50 $ 562,57 $ 589,62 $ 624,25 $ 29,07 $ 27,05 $ 25,20 $

Growth 5,45% 4,81% 4,56% Source : FEUQ, Avis sur les frais institutionnels obligatoires, 2011

Note : Pour les fins de calcul de la moyenne, les données ont été pondérées en fonction des effectifs de premier cycle prévus par le MELS pour chaque établissement (MELS, 2008b et CREPUQ 2010a). Les données présentées pour l’année 2009-2010 et 2010-2011 sont préliminaires.

Tableau 5-13: Fees automatically billed to a student enrolled full-time (30 credits /year), according to the year of attendance and the institution.

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10p 2010- 2011p Variation (07-08 to

08-09)

Variation (08-09 to

09-10)

Variation (09-10 to

10-11) Bishop’s - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $

Concordia 836,50 $ 851,80 $ 855,70 $ 879,92 $ 15,30 $ 3,90 $ 24,22 $

ÉNAP 257,60 $ 269,60 $ 281,60 $ 281,60 $ 12,00 $ 12,00 $ 0,00 $

ETS 313,00 $ 346,00 $ 346,00 $ 378,50 $ 33,00 $ - $ 32,50 $

HEC 603,04 $ 624,94 $ 640,52 $ 710,84 $ 21,90 $ 15,58 $ 70,32 $

INRS 131,10 $ 131,10 $ 131,10 $ 180,00 $ - $ - $ 48,90 $

Laval 428,10 $ 477,60 $ 499,56 $

524,46 $ 49,50 $ 21,96 $ 24,90 $

McGill 912,70 $ 956,30 $ 968,00 $ 971,00 $ 43,60 $ 11,70 $ 3,00 $

Poly 400,00 $ 420,00 $ 455,30 $ 480,30 $ 20,00 $ 35,30 $ 25,00 $

Sherbrooke 396,90 $ 404,40 $ 412,50 $ 473,28 $ 7,50 $ 8,10 $ 60,78 $

UdeM 372,30 $ 423,90 $ 482,70 $ 511,35 $ 51,60 $ 58,80 $ 28,65 $

UQAC 372,50 $ 377,98 $ 382,38 $ 383,78 $ 5,48 $ 4,40 $ 1,40 $

UQAM 384,14 $ 387,96 $ 406,90 $ 433,60 $ 3,82 $ 18,94 $ 26,70 $

UQAR 330,30 $ 335,22 $ 342,23 $ 394,90 $ 4,92 $ 7,01 $ 52,67 $

UQAT (Profil B)

444,90 $ 449,40 $ 484,40 $ 550,00 $ 4,50 $ 35,00 $ 65,60 $

UQO 403,70 $ 405,20 $ 406,70 $ 422,30 $ 1,50 $ 1,50 $ 15,60 $

UQTR 346,10 $

356,38 $ 358,38 $ 359,82 $ 10,28 $ 2,00 $ 1,44 $

Average * 513,94 $ 542,91 $ 564,80 $ 603,50 $ 26,70 $ 21,89 $ 29,68 $


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Growth 5,64% 4,03% 5,33%

Source : FEUQ, Avis sur les frais institutionnels obligatoires, 2011

HEC : les montants présentés sont ceux de la maîtrise. Les montants exigés au doctorat présentent des différences inférieures à 1 $/année.

Note : Pour les fins de calcul de la moyenne, les données ont été pondérées en fonction des effectifs de 2e et 3e cycles prévus par le MELS pour chaque établissement (MELS, 2008b et CREPUQ 2010a). Les données présentées pour l’année 2009-2010 sont préliminaires. De plus, comme nous ne connaissons pas les différences d’effectifs entre les profil A (professionnel) et les profil B (recherche) aux cycles supérieurs à l’UQAT, nous avons choisit le profil B afin de souligner l’importante augmentation de FIO qu’ils ont subit.

In February 2008, the Minister of Education announced a regulation that would limit the annual increases in ancillary fees. Let us specify that, from the beginning, this is not a freeze in fees. They will continue to increase from year to year, but the increases will be defined in a more precise manner, for the next three years. Let us also note that the ministry hoped to let student associations and universities negotiate between them the increase in ancillary fees that exceeded the permitted limit. This means that the regulation only applies in cases where such an agreement would not have been possible. The regulation stipulates that the increase limits will be based on already billed amounts by the universities as obligatory institutional fees. Thus, the higher these fees in a university, the lower the increases will be. This promotes the leveling of differences between universities. The regulation establishes three increase levels:

Ø $50 per year for universities that billed less than $555 in 2006-2007; Ø $25 per year for universities that billed between $555 and $699 dollars in 2006-

2007; Ø $15 per year for universities that billed more than $699 in 2006-2007.

The CCAFE has written a notice on this regulation. Generally favorable to the project, it nevertheless issued three main recommendations:

Ø Clarify the regulation proposal, notably by specifying the definition of obligatory institutional fees and the rules of application;

Ø Ensure the best possible concordance between the definition of obligatory institutional fees and the fees covered by SFA programs.;

Ø Introduce a follow-up and evaluation mechanism of the implementation of the regulation of obligatory institutional fees.

Whatever the case, the next three years will allow us to evaluate the effectiveness of the mechanism introduced by the ministry, as well as the goodwill of university institutions. These fees also had to be taken into account by SFA in the calculation of student expenses. However, we will not shrink from the resolution that ancillary fees be regulated by a law, one which could regularize the nature and application of ancillary fees. Let us not forget that these fees, if their existence is due to the freeze in tuition fees, now lack legitimacy since the lifting of the freeze:


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Recommendation 14 The adoption by the government of a framework law on the regulation of ancillary fees

5.4. Improve the difficult situation of student parents

5.4.1. Enlarge the eligibility criteria for the program

For the time being, an undergraduate student who has family responsibilities can be considered a full-time student despite the fact that he is part-time. Only, this measure is applied up until the time the dependent child reaches the obligatory age to attend school. Only, the expenses of the parent are precisely going to increase once the child starts attending school and the schedule of the parents will have to adapt to this new situation. We will see more precisely below that the costs non-directly associated to studies such as food and housing increase dramatically for student parents and that they have to reduce their expenses for school material to ensure quality of life for both parents studying and dependent children.

In order to ensure a better work-studies-family campaign, the FEUQ recommends: Recommendation 15 Thatstudents who have family responsibilities, notably single-parent students, be considered full-time students beginning with their eligibility to the part-time program regardless of their level of study.

Student-parents experience particular problems in regard to indebtedness. They indebt themselves more than others, due to high supplementary expenses, such as daycare expense and traveling, as well as rent and food expenses, which are much higher than for students without dependent children. For them, the repayment of loans at the end of their studies is a very heavy burden. In a world where the job market is precarious and the obtainment of a full-time position can require years of mobility (something students with dependent children do not often have), the current mode of reimbursement is nonsense. These student-parents must make high monthly payments, while earning enough to make their families live. They have less facility traveling where jobs are offered to gain experience and must often wait years before obtaining a full-time position and reasonable working conditions. This is a nightmare when study debts are high, particularly for single-parent families that can only count on one income.

For these student-parents, prolonging the period of eligibility to bursaries somewhat reduces indebtedness. Currently, the student only receives a loan when his eligibility period to bursaries is reached.

In order to ensure a better work-studies-family integration and reduce the indebtedness of young families the FEUQ recommends:


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Recommendation 16 That the period of eligibility to Student Financial Assistance be increased according to the needs of student-parents that are caught up with higher expense due to the presence of dependent children.

5.4.2. The cost of living of student-parents

Studying while being responsible for one or more children is not an easy task. Student –parents have expenses that are not related studies. They have much less time to devote to the advancement of their studies. It is particularly difficult for graduate students, where studies are more and more demanding.

The maximum loan (of which a part will be reconverted into bursaries) of the SFA for a university student is $16,668. Added to this are the supplemental amounts for dependent children of $3,756 (1 child), $4,753 dollars (2 children) or $5,755 (3 children and more). In 2008, for a city of 500,000 inhabitants or more, the low-income cutoff of Statistics Canada was evaluated at le $22 171 dollars for a single person. This rate varied from $18,976 and $19,094 dollars for smaller cities. For two persons, in a city of 500,00 inhabitants and more, the LIC was assessed at $27,601 dollars, and at $33,933 for three people. In considering the maximum income in terms of loans and bursaries of a student with a child will be $20,424 per year, we observe a lack of $7,177 per year in the situation where the student lives in a big city.

Table 5-12 – Low-income cutoff of Statistics Canada, before tax, 2008.



500,000 inhabitants and more

1 person $18 976 $19 094 $22 171

2 people $23 623 $23 769 $27 601

3 people $29 041 $29 222 $33 933

4 people $35 261 $35 480 $41 198 Source : Statistique Canada. (2009). Les seuils de faible revenu de 2008 et les mesures de faible revenu de 2007. Ottawa : Statistique Canada, 37 p

Statistics Canada also uses the after tax Low-Income Measure (LIM). This measure is a fixed percentage (50%) of the “adjusted” median family income taking into account family needs. The adjustment based on size takes into account the fact that the needs of the family vary according to the number and age of its members.27

27 STATISTIQUE CANADA. 2007. Les seuils de faible revenu de 2006 et les mesure de faible revenu de 2005. Ottawa : auteur, 37 p.


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Table 5-13 – Low Income Measure after tax, 2007

Number of children Adults 0 1 2 3

1 $16 025 $22 435 $27 243 $32 050

2 $22 435 $27 243 $32 050 $36 858 Source : Statistique Canada. (2009). Les seuils de faible revenu de 2008 et les mesures de faible revenu de 2007. Ottawa : Statistique Canada, 37 p.

This index takes into account the lack of correspondence between allowable living expenses in SFA in relation to the real costs of daily life, in particular in the case of student-parents. For a student with a child, the LIM is situated at around $22,435, namely $1,870 per months. SFA, let us not forget, admits a total of $1,018 in living expenses for a student head of a single-family. In the case of a couple with a child, the LIM is situated at $27,243, namely $2,270 per month.

The amounts indicated in the following tables as expenses for food, transportation, etc., come from a study on Financial Assistance. These data concern 2006. They have been indexed on the basis of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) so that they reflect the current cost of living.

As for tuition fees and ancillary fees, we have used the official data of MELS. In the case of ancillary fees, the tables present an average of fees required in all Quebec universities We must nevertheless know that these fees vary enormously from one university to the next. For example, McGill University represents an extreme, with total ancillary fees of $1,097, while the Université du Québec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue only requires $206.90. In order to have a more specific idea of these variations, we can consult the table to this effect in the appendices.

In the first table, the costs are established for a student without dependent children. A second table presents the costs for a student with dependent children. The comparison between the two tables brings out highly important differences between the two groups, in particular in terms of basic expenses (food, housing, transportation) and, of course, in regard to daycare expenses.


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Table 5-14 – Average monthly expenses and annual total , student without depemdent children, in 2010 dollars

Living expenses Monthly ($) Annual ($)

1er cycle (8 months) 2e cycle (12 months)

Housing* 351,89 2 815,08 4 222,62

Food 284,58 2 276,60 3 414,90

Clothing and shoes 75,02 600,15 900,23

Vacations, sports and recreation 188,92 1 511,36 2 267,04

Sub-total 900,40 7 203,19 10 804,79

Specific expenses Monthly ($) Annual ($)

Materiel and textbooks 58,28 466,23 699,35

Tuition fees** 246,00 1 968,00 2 952,00

Ancillary fees*** 73,70 589,62 884,40

Sub-total 377,98 3 023,85 4 535,75

Not included in SFA - Monthly ($) Annual ($)

Transport 137,02 1 096,15 1 644,22

Internet**** 31,00 248 372,00

Debts***** 64,7 517,6 776,40

Sub-total 232,72 1 861,75 2 792,62

Total ($) 1 511,10 12 088,79 18 133,16 Source : Aide financière aux études, 2009, p. 183 et 184 (montants indexés à l’IPC).

* Moyenne pondérée des dépenses effectuées par les non-bénéficiaires et les bénéficiaires de l’AFE. ** Selon le MELS, pour un étudiant à temps plein (15 crédits / session) *** FEUQ. 2009. Avis sur les frais institutionnels obligatoires. Montréal. p. 11 **** Moyenne du tarif avant taxes pour le service de base des deux principaux fournisseurs Internet au Québec. ***** Selon la Fondation canadienne des bourses du millénaire et non ventilées selon la variable des enfants à charge.

Thus, a comparaison of expenses of students without dependent children and students with dependent children makes appear an important difference of more than $9,000 per year. This means that the student with a dependent child must spend 50% more than a student without a dependent child during one single year spent studying. The expenses corresponding to living expenses in the language of SFA (namely excluding tuition fees and ancillary fees, school material, Internet, transportation and debts) represent, on average, real expenses of $10,804.79 for students without children and $19,557.77 for students with dependent children.


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Furthermore, we see that additional expenses go to items that are not related to studies. The student with a dependent child pays $3,700 more (+ 70 %) in housing expenses and $3,700 more (+ 80 %) per year in food than the student that does not have a dependent child. He also pays $1,000 more per year (+ 50 %) in transportation fees. To this, is added $1,812 in daycare expenses.

In the case of expenses related to studies (material and school books) they were below both in the cases of student parents and students without children.

Table 5-15 – Monthly average expenses and total annual l, student with depedennt child, in 2009 dollars

Frais de subsistance Mensuel ($) Annuel ($) 1er cycle (8 mois) 2e et 3e cycles (12 mois)

Logement* 663,43 5 307,49 7 961,24

Alimentation 594,31 4 754,55 7 131,67

Frais de garde** 151,00 1 208,00 1 812,00

Vêtements et chaussures 69,71 557,64 836,46

Vacances, sports et loisirs 151,37 1 210,93 1 816,40

Sous-total 1 629,82 13 038,61 19 557,77

Dépenses ponctuelles Mensuel ($) Annuel ($) Matériel et livres scolaires 61,40 491,16 739,74

Droits de scolarité*** 246 1 968 2 952

Frais afférents**** 73,70 589,62 884,4

Sous-total 381,1 3 048,78 4 576,14

Non-inclus dans l’AFE Mensuel ($) Annuel ($) Transport 216,82 1 734,56 2 601,84

Internet***** 31 248 372

Dettes****** 64,71 517,68 776,52

Sous-total 312,53 2 500,24 3 750,36

Total ($) 2 323,15 18 587,63 27 884,27 Source : Aide financière aux études, 2003, p. 90 et p. 92 (montants indexés à l’IPC prévisionnel de 2009).

* Moyenne des dépenses effectuées par les non-bénéficiaires et les bénéficiaires de l’AFE avec enfants à charge. ** Moyenne basée sur les services de garde à 7 $. ** Selon le MELS, pour un étudiant à temps plein (15 crédits / session) *** FEUQ. 2009. Avis sur les frais institutionnels obligatoires. Montréal. p. 11 ****Moyenne du tarif avant taxes pour le service de base des deux principaux fournisseurs Internet au Québec.


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******Selon la Fondation canadienne des bourses d’études du millénaire et non ventilées selon la variable des enfants à charge, pour 2003-2004.

In the case of recipients with dependent children, the gap between real needs and allowable expenses in SFA is even greater than for students without children. These students declare on average monthly expenses of $1,766 for those who benefit from daycare services at seven dollars. To this is added an average expense for transportation of $132,26 per month. SFA recognizes living expenses of $758 per month, plus $233 per month per child, for a total minimal of $971. To this is added an amount varying from $151 and $279 for daycare expenses. Single-parent families that have a minor child receive a surplus of $61 per month…

The amount of $1 018 dollars demanded in the following table as living expenses reflects the real costs indicated by university students with a dependent child in different recent studies, and excludes daycare centers. These studies reveal that student-parents have much higher expenses than others for rent and food. This must be reflected in living expenses and expenses for dependent children in SFA. An increase in $240 per month in living expenses would be manifested, according to the 2005-2006 data, by a supplementary expense of $688,080 dollars per month for SFA.

The current allowable amount for the heads of single-parent families is derisory. They are the most impoverished among the recipients of SFA and they represent a very small percentage of recipients. In 2005-2006, there were 524 gradate recipients in this situation. This represents 3.2% of master’s recipients and 4.3% of doctoral recipients. That year, the increase proposed by the CNCS would be manifested by an additional expenditure for SFA of $47,684 per month.

Daycare expenses for recipients who do not have access to daycare at modest rates does not represent the reality of the market. SFA must make an effort to help students to assume this prohibitive expense. We must also encourage universities to develop efficient daycare networks having a large hosting capacity.


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Table 5-16 – Increases demanded by monthly allowable expenses in SFA for recipients with a dependent child.

Current amount New amount Living expenses $778 $1 018 Living expenses

Expense for dependent child $240 $314 Expense for

dependent child

Head of a single-parent family $69 $158 Head of a single-

parent family

Daycare expense Daycare expense

Public $151 $151 Public

Private $279 $408 Private

Transportation expense if no public

transit $91 $158

Transportation expense if no public

transit

Transportation expense for non-

residents - $152

Transportation expense for non-

residents

Internet - $31 Internet Source : CNCS-FEUQ : Une aide financière adaptée aux coûts réels des études aux cycles supérieurs,2008

In order to allow better family-studies integration, the FEUQ recommends:

Recommendation 17 That student financial assistance increase the amount of allowable expenses for recipients of student financial assistance with a dependent child, notably by an increase of living expenses and expenses for dependent children over 18 years of age. The heads of single-parent families should see this amount increase for minors. As for daycare expenses, allowable expenses should be raised, paid in the form of a bursary for parents who do not have access to a public daycare service. Transportation expenses must be increased for those who do not have access to public transit and for non-residents. Finally, Internet expenses must also be included in allowable expenses. (CASP-26 (7.2))

5.5. The treatment of support payments in various social programs

In the present system, one of the data that the SFA, welfare, housing assistance and legal aid take into account when making the calculation of eligibility and the level of assistance, is the amount of support payments (alimony) that a / the single parent gets to meet the needs of children. Thus, the amount of child support is calculated in the income column despite the fact that child support has not been considered as taxable income in the tax return at the federal and provincial governments since 1997. Note that


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child support is an income to meet the basic needs of the child and not for the parent who has custody. So we are seeing a double standard that it undermines the student-single parents who are women in the great majority of cases.

Some community organizations, student organizations and government agencies have denounced this situation. Simply think about the ombudsman who wondered how to justify this state of affairs because "the coverage of the needs of children is independent of social assistance" (VGQ 2006). Also, the Council on the Status of Women and the Council of Family and Children gave their votes in the opposition to this fact.

Unfortunately, it often happens that ex-spouses, for good or bad reasons, do not give the amount in child support. Nevertheless, this alimony is still regarded as income. In the case of judicial proceedings that could allow a return of support payments by the former spouse, student parents may not qualify for legal aid because it also considers support payments as income.

This subject has been discussed in the media for many years and has been the subject of two appeals before the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec - in 2005 and 2009. Both the governing party and the official opposition party have a position in the sense of a withdrawal of support in the calculations. In addition, countless social groups are claiming the same thing. In the perspective, to help two different generations and to allow better access to education, the FEUQ will surely ask the MESS to include this measure in the next plan against poverty.

In the last governmental plan for solidarity and social exclusion,28 the government of Quebec offered a quite partial response to this problem. In fact, beginning in 2011-2012, the treatment of alimony for children will be changed in the calculation of student financial assistance. The regulation included an annual exemption of the first $1200 of child support (everything that is received beyond this threshold is considered parental income). Beginning in 2011-2012, the exemption will be $1200 per child per year. This is an improvement of the situation of single-parent families with more than one child, but maintains the status quo for those who only have one child. Given the economic precariousness of single-parent students and the fact that child support is money destined for the child, it is imperative that student financial assistance completely exempt child support from the calculation of loans and bursaries.

Recommendation 18 That Student Financial Assistance exclude the child support payments to the head of a single-parent family from the calculation of the loans and grants and other affected social programs. (CASP-27 (7.2))

28 MESS. Plan d’action gouvernemental pour la solidarité et l’inclusion sociale. Québec :MESS. 2010.


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5.6. The program for part time students

Part time students who receive financial aid program find themselves in an ambiguous situation. Indeed, they must start paying their debts six months after completing their full-time studies forcing them to incur this debt while studying part time. Thus, we ask these students to pay their debts as they go into debt.

To reduce student debt, FEUQ recommends :

Recommandation 19 That students enrolled fulltime that subscribes partime be exempted of paying interest during their studies. (CASP-35(7.2)).

5.7. The amounts transferred by the federal programs of student financial assistance

In its 2008 budget, the government of Canada announced its intention to not renew the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation (FCBEM) after its initial mandate was terminated. Consequently, the ability of the Foundation to award grants to students expired in January 2010. The Foundation distributed $350 million dollars annually throughout the country. $80 million (in 2008-09) was directly paid to the government of Quebec, which used these amounts to lower the maximum loan limit of student financial assistance (thus lowering by nearly 25% student indebtedness). To remedy the shortfall engendered by the end of the mandate of the Foundation as well as to give Canada a more educated and better qualified workforce, the federal government announced, in the same 2008 budget, the putting in place of anew program: The Canada Student Grants program (CSGP). This program brings together, in only one administrative structure, all the federal grants paid to students through the Canada Student Loans Program as well as through the defunct Millennium Scholarship Foundation. Furthermore, the program was improved by the government, notably because the money of the former Student Loans Program for low-income students was injected into grants in the first envelope of the Canada Student Grants Program– namely in the Canada Grants Program for Students from Low-Income Families. This envelope becomes by far the most imposing of the CSGP and alone represents $319 million. The CSGP came into force beginning in 2009-2010 and made available to students seven grant programs. Some of these grants replace those granted by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, while other are completely new. The costs of this program are estimated at $507 million, an amount that increases each year from now until 2012-2013. Since it came into force in the beginning of autumn, this program has benefited nearly 245,000 students throughout Canada, with the exception of Quebec. The reason is that Quebec opted out with full right, from this program.


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On Febraury 4, 2011, Human Resources and Skills Canada (HRSDC) announed the transfer of $275 M in compensation payments for the CSGP. In its press release announcing the news, HRSDC signaled that this is an increase in transfers of $150 million in relation to 2008-2009 from CSGP.29

These figures are unequivocal: if we withdraw $80 M that Québec received from the CMSF before, the provincial government obtains 70 million additional dollars. Well invested, these new amounts allow Quebec to improve the student financial assistance pogram.30 As soon as the news was out, the Ministre de l’éducation reated via the media by explaining that ni improvement would be made to SFA with the additional amounts, that they would be directly transferred to the consiolidate fund of th government of Quebec.

The true history is that the government of Quebec has always granted more than the federal government granted to Québec,” she added, noting that her government had increased tuition fees, while committing to improve the loans and bursaries program in the coming years, “regardless of what the federal government did.”31

In this perspective, the FEUQ demands that the government of Quebec allocate this amount to student financial assistance in order to catch up in part the years of non- indexation of the program. This shortfall represents more than $70 M in allowable expenses recognized by the Minister of Education, Michelle Courchesne, in a parliamentary commission.32 Such a measure would also ensure the maintenance of amounts planned for student grants given that the vast majority of additional amounts granted in allowable expenses are in the form of student grants. Recommendation 20 That the amounts allocated to Quebec for the Canada Student Grants Program serve to improve the Quebec Student Financial Assistance program through the maintenance of the amount of bursaries as bursaries. (CASP-468 (7.2))

29 RHDCC, Le gouvernement du Canada annonce son soutien financier annuel au Québec pour l'aide financière aux étudiants, Communiqué de presse, Ottawa, 3 février 2010 30 CARON, Régys. (2010). «Ottawa au secours des étudiants». Journal de Québec. En ligne. 14 octobre. <http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/quebeccanada/archives/2010/10/20101014-222943.html>. consulté le 24 octobre 2010. 31 RICHER, Jocelyne. (2011). « Étudiants: Ottawa verse 275 millions $ à Québec». La Presse. En ligne. 4 février. <http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/education/201102/04/01-4367101-etudiants-ottawa-verse-275-millions-a-quebec.php>. consulté le 18 juillet 2011.


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5.8. The allocation program for specific needs Students with a major functional disability at present benefit from the loans and bursaries program if they do not have sufficient financial resources. If they correspond to the categories defined by SFA, these students receive the totality of their financial assistance in bursaries and benefit from different types of support: specialized resources, allowance for adapted transport costs to housing, adapated material resources. These categories, as defined by the Regulation on student financial, assistance are:

Ø Severe visual impairment: visual acuity in each eye, after correction by means of appropriate ophthalmic lenses, excluding special optical systems and additions greater than 4.00 dioptres, is not more than 6/21, or the field of vision in each eye is less than 60 degrees in the 180-degree and 90-degree meridians and, in either case, the person is unable to read, write or move about in an familiar environment;

Ø Severe hearing impairment: the ear having the greater hearing capability is affected by a hearing deficiency evaluated, according to 1992 Standard S3.21 of the American National Standard Institute, to be an average of at least 70 decibels, in aerial conduction, on any of the 500, 1,000 or 2,000 Hertzian frequencies;

Ø Motor impairment, if it leads ot signficant and persistent limitations for the student in the accomplishment of his daily activities: loss, malformation or abnormality in the skeletal, muscular or neurological systems responsible for body motion;

Ø Organic deficiency if it leads to significant and persistent limitations in the accomplishment of his or her daily activities: Disorder or abnormality in the internal organs forming part of the cardio-respiratory, gastrointestinal or endocrine systems.33

The internet site of student financial assistance specifies that other types of functional deficiences are admissible, namely students with an auditive capacity whose minimal level is 25 decibels, a paralysis affecting one single member, paralysis affecting one or various members or a deficiency in language or words.34

These categories seem limited, particularly at a time when MELS is working at breakneck speed to integrate handicapped students or those in adaptation or leanring difficulty (EHDAA) at the primary, secondary as well as CEGEP levels. The nomenclature of the EHDAA, such as define by MELS, seems better suited to a definition of the different types of existing handicaps. It includes:

Ø Grave behavioural problems; Ø Profound intellectual deficiencies;

33 Gouvernement du Québec (2011), Règlement sur l’aide financière aux études, En ligne. 1er juin. <http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=%2F%2FA_13_3%2FA13_3R1.htm>. Consulté le 18 juillet 2011 34 MELS (2011), Programme d’allocation pour les besoins particuliers - Adultes, En ligne. <http://www.afe.gouv.qc.ca/fr/autresProgrammes/deficience.asp>. Consulté le 18 juillet 2011


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Ø Average to severe intellectual deficiencies; Ø Light motor deficiencies; Ø Organic deficiencies; Ø Language deficiencies; Ø Serious motor deficiencies; Ø Visual deficiencies; Ø Auditive deficiencies; Ø Troubles invading behaviour; Ø Troubles arising from psychopathology; Ø Atypical deficiencies.35

The student deeming he or she should have a right to the Program for the allocation of specific needs but who was refused can contest the decision at the Revision Office or make an exemption application to the Comité d’examen des demandes dérogatoires. In the two cases, the decision can take up to 28 days before being made and the steps to take rest entirely on the student.

It seems clear that many of these students are put aside at the present time and that reflection must be made on the role of student financial assitance in this file, which the FEUQ will be working on during the 2011-2012 mandate.

35 MELS. (2006) L’organisation des services éducatifs aux élèves à risque et aux élèves handicapés ou en difficulté d’adaptation ou d’apprentissage (EHDAA). En ligne. <http://pedagogie2.cssh.qc.ca/IMG/pdf/Definitions_handicapes_2006.pdf>. Consulté le 18 juillet 2011


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Conclusion

Our notice poses the question of the adaptation of Student Financial Assistance of the government of Quebec to the real financial and academic conditions of university students. The first goal of SFA is to ensure accessibility to studies. The program must also promote the success of studies in a reasonable timeframe. Presently, numerous obstacles have emerged before the attainment of these objectives.

The main obstacle is that of the lack of correspondence between allowable expenses as living expenses and the rapidly rising real expenses of students. This is especially the case in the absence of an annual automatic indexation mechanism of living expenses. This lacuna must at all costs be corrected. However, this will not suffice. The expenses have not been indexed for so many years that they are currently so behind that a simple indexation will not fill them. They must be the object of a turnaround. The present notice has presented the conclusions of the FEUQ regarding what constitutes more acceptable levels of living expenses in the calculation of allowable expenses of the loans and bursaries program.

Moreover, the question of indebtedness is also a problem that demands an urgent solution. Indebtedness particularly strikes students who attend university over a long period, notably those completing master’s and doctoral studies. This is a situation that largely complicates the integration of graduates into the professional world, impedes access to the family and puts a heavy burden on the shoulders of the ex-recipients of SFA. Our notice presents solution paths to come to terms with this problem. A greater part of the aid paid in the form of bursaries and a more accessible and generous program of debt remission would be a great start. We have to conceive of financial assistance as an investment in a prosperous future for the entire community, and not as a support for an individual studies project where the individual is the sole beneficiary.

This notice is an invitation to the Quebec government to consider the question of support to the least well-off students under a new eye. We must imagine original solutions that take into account social costs and the abandonment and prolongation of university studies. No Quebec citizen wins in seeing university students living in conditions imperiling the success of their studies. No Quebec citizen has an interest in a tuition fee hike or financial assistance that is not adapted, which closes the door to promising young candidates. The FEUQ is of the opinion that a farsighted government, through solidarity and lucidity, must make a real effort to correct the lacunae that challenge a prosperous future for Quebec.


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6. Lexicon

Calendar year: period stretching from January 1 to December 31.

Allocation year: a school year including 12 months of a duration of four months each.

Bursary: Non-reimbursable government financial assistance allocated to students when the maximum loan is not sufficient to fill the gap between allowable expenses and contributions.

Calculation of assistance: operation allowing to determine the amount of financial assistance allocated according to the allowable expenses of the student, his contribution and, if need be, that of his parents or spouse.

Spouse: Person with whom the student is married or with whom he or she lives maritally and lives with one or more dependent children from one or the other (in the last case, the spouse of the same sex is also recognized).

Contribution: Participation of the student, his parents or spouse in the financing of studies.

Date of assuming interest payments: date beginning at which the student, at the end of his full-time studies, must assume the interest of his student debt, without, however, having to repay the capital.

Declaration of the real situation: confirmation by the student of his income for the calendar year and his occupations during his availability for work (most often the summer).

Allowable expenses: all of the expenses normally related to the pursuit of studies.

Borrower: student to whom one or more loans were granted and who must repay them at the end of his studies.

Student: person who does secondary studies (professional training), collegial or university studies.

Parents: persons who must financially support the student in accordance with the allocation rules of student financial assistance. In the brochure, the term also designates the sponsor who sponsors a student.

Exemption period: lapse of time during which the student does not have to repay his student debts.

Loan: financial assistance guaranteed by the government and on which students that attend full-time a secondary (vocational training) or postsecondary educational


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institution do not pay any interest to financial institutions as long as they have not finished their full-time studies.

Cooperative program: program of studies, in addition to courses, of full-time internships in the workplace.

Sponsor: person other than parents or a spouse that has sponsored the application of a permanent student in Canada, by virtue of the Immigration Act. In the present brochure, the term parents includes the sponsors.


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ISQ. (2011). Annuaire québécois des statistiques du travail 2000-2010, Volume 7. Québec : ISQ, 22 p.

LEPAGE, Francine. (2004). Maintenir le soutien financier aux études et s’adapter aux nouvelles réalités. Québec : Conseil du statut de la femme, 68 p.

L.R.Q. c. A-13.3, Loi sur l’aide financière aux études.

L.R.Q., c. A-13.3, a. 57. Règlement sur l’aide financière aux etudes.

MFQ. (2011). Un plan de financement des universités équitable et équilibré : Pour donner au Québec les moyens de ses ambitions. 589 p.

MELS. (2011). Projet de règlement modifiant le règlement sur l’aide financière aux études. 3 p.

MELS. (2009). Enquête sur la condition de vie des étudiants de la formation professionnelle au secondaire, du collégial et de l’université 2007. 378 p.

MEQ. (2003). Enquête sur la condition de vie des étudiants de la formation professionnelle au secondaire, du collégial et de l’université. 351 p.

MEQ. (2004) Projet de règlement, aide financière aux études.

MEQ. (2004). Programme de prêts et bourses : le calcul de l’aide, un nouveau programme en 2004-2005. 23 p.

Ministère des finances Canada. (2011) Budget 2011-2012 – La prochaine phase du plan d’action économique du Canada : Des impôts bas pour stimuler la croissance et l’emploi. 408 p.

STATISTIQUE CANADA. (2008). Indicateurs de l’éducation au Canada. Manuel pour le Rapport du Programme d’indicateurs pancanadiens de l’éducation 2007. Ottawa : auteur, 177 p.


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Statistiques

Tableau A- 1 - Répartition des prêts par cycle d’étude

Période* Niveau Nombre bénéficiaires (N) Proportion (%) Montant moyen ($)

2008-2009

1er cycle 53 271 77,1 % 3 398 2e cycle 13 387 19,4 % 4 862 3e cycle 2 409 3,5 % 5 450

Total 69 067 100,0 % 3 754

2007-2008 1er cycle 53 402 77,1 % 3 476 2e cycle 13 279 19,2 % 4 914 3e cycle 2 537 3,7 % 5 680

Total 69 218 100,0 % 3 833

2006-2007 1er cycle 52 580 76,8% 3 114 2e cycle 13 386 19,5% 4 575 3e cycle 2 477 3,7% 5 377

Total 68 443 100,0 % 3 482

2005-2006 1er cycle 51 737 77,2 % 3 737 2e cycle 12 842 19,2 % 5 288 3e cycle 2 453 3.6 % 5 769

Total 67 032 100,0 % 4 108


Total 67 668 100,0 % 2 934


Total 63 973 100,0 % 2 911


Total 59 496 100,0 % 2 871


Total 57 291 100,0 % 2 780 Source : AFE, Rapport statistique 2000-2001 à 2008-2009.

*En raison de changements administratifs, l’AFE n’a pas publié de statistiques détaillées pour la période 2004-2005.


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Tableau A- 2 - Répartition des bourses par cycle d'étude

Période* Niveau Nombre bénéficiaires (N) Proportion (%) Montant moyen ($)

2008-2009

1er cycle 35 322 76,2 % 4 666 2e cycle 9 576 20,7 % 4 580 3e cycle 1 432 3,1 % 4 917

Total 46 330 100,0 % 4 656


Total 47 516 100,0 % 4 515


Total 47 346 100,0 % 4 304


Total 42 772 100,0 % 4 066


Total 42 487 100,0 % 4 594


Total 39 007 100,0 % 4 502

2001-2002 1er cycle 25 868 76,4 % 4 346 2e cycle 7 155 21,1 % 4 351 3e cycle 844 2,5 % 4 642

Total 33 867 100,0 % 4 355

2000-2001 1er cycle 20 623 77,4 % 4 087 2e cycle 5 334 20,0 % 4 018 3e cycle 699 2,6 % 4 524

Total 26 656 100,0 % 4 085

Source : AFE, Rapport statistique 2000-2001 à 2008-2009.



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Tableau A- 3 - Répartition des prêts et bourses par cycle d'études

Période* Niveau Nombre bénéficiaires Montant moyen ($)

2008-2009

1er cycle 53 908 8 003

2e cycle 13 550 9 308

3e cycle 2 441 10 323

2007-2008

1er cycle 53 966 7 986

2e cycle 13 423 7 914

3e cycle 2 566 9 335

2006-2007

1er cycle 53 089 7 423

2e cycle 13 504 8 818

3e cycle 2 498 9 866

2005-2006

1er cycle 52 254 7 986

2e cycle 12 935 9 295

3e cycle 2 474 10 299

2003-2004

1er cycle 52 765 7 413

2e cycle 13 256 8 216

3e cycle 2 095 8 792

2002-2003

1er cycle 50 236 7 260

2e cycle 12 354 8 343

3e cycle 1 745 8 607 Source : Rapports statistique de l’AFE, 2006-2007 et 2008-2009



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Tableau A- 4 - Nombre d'emprunteuses et d'emprunteurs qui devaient prendre en charge à la fin de leurs études le remboursement des prêts obtenus selon le montant de la dette d'études, 2001-2002 à

2008-2009

Dette d’études

Année*

Cycle d’études

1 $ à 5 000 $

5 001 $ à 10 000 $

10 001 $ à 15 000 $

15 001 $ et plus Total

Montants de la dette d’études

2001-2002

1er cycle 3 683 4 901 4 078 4 379 17 041 10 814

2e cycle 740 962 893 2 196 4 791 14 562

3e cycle 81 95 118 479 773 18 517

2002-2003

1er cycle 4 648 4 498 3 691 3 864 16 701 10 170

2e cycle 782 1 080 807 1 887 4 556 13 741

3e cycle 66 84 96 436 682 18 700

2003-2004

1er cycle 5 243 4 769 3 594 3 594 17 200 9 854

2e cycle 988 1 380 912 1 909 5 189 12 881

3e cycle 66 94 97 397 654 18 358

2005-2006

1er cycle 4 225 5 183 4 268 3 944 17 620 10 612

2e cycle 671 1 605 1 233 2 177 5 686 13 810

3e cycle 53 136 113 432 734 19 625

2006-2007

1er cycle 3 729 4 579 4 725 4 808 17 481 11 467

2e cycle 717 1 369 1 464 2 804 6 354 15 034

3e cycle 70 130 146 616 962 21 376

2007-2008

1er cycle 3 054 4 240 3 969 6 247 17 510 12 846

2e cycle 550 1 329 1 509 3 256 6 644 16 184

3e cycle 52 126 135 578 891 22 196

2008-2009

1er cycle 2 921 4 427 4 266 6 275 17 889 13 022

2e cycle 578 1 407 1 467 3 171 6 623 16 304

3e cycle 56 125 136 685 1 002 23 045 Source : AFE, Rapports statistiques 2001-2002 à 2008-2009.



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132

Annexe I - Sommaire des paramètres de l’AFE indexés pour 2011-2012

Type de dépense 2010-2011 2011-2012

Dépenses mensuelles

Frais de subsistance (y compris les frais de transport en commun) Étudiant aux études ou en stage à temps plein (stages coopératifs exclus) et résidant chez ses parents Étudiant aux études ou en stage (stages coopératifs exclus et ne résidant pas chez ses parents Étudiant réputé inscrit et résidant chez ses parents Étudiant réputé inscrit et ne résidant pas chez ses parents

345 $/mois

758 $/mois Par mois : 138 $ + 10 % du revenu d’emploi Maximum : 345 $/mois Par mois : 551 $ + 10 % du revenu d’emploi Maximum : 758 $/mois

354 $/mois

778 $/mois

Par mois : 147 $ + 10 % du revenu d’emploi Maximum : 354 $/mois Par mois : 571 $ + 10 % du revenu d’emploi Maximum : 778 $/mois

Frais de subsistance pour enfants (par enfant)

234 $/mois

240 $/mois

Supplément pour chef de famille Avec enfant mineur Sans enfant mineur

62 $/mois

175 $/mois

64 $/mois

180 $/mois

Frais pour l’absence de transport en commun

89 $/mois

91 $/mois

Frais de stage de courte durée (stage moins long que la période d’étude)

257 $/mois

Maximum : 1 196 $/année

264 $ par mois

Maximum : 1 228 $/année

Dépenses ponctuelles Frais de subsistance accordés aux étudiants arrivant de l’aide sociale

174 $ au premier mois

d’études

179 $ au premier mois

d’études


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Allocation relative à une ville, une région ou une MRC dite périphérique

67 $/mois

Maximum : 536 $/année

69 $/mois

Maximum : 552 $/année

Frais de matériel scolaire Formation professionnelle (secondaire) Formation préuniversitaire (collégial) Formation technique (collégial) Enseignement universitaire Programmes d’architecture, d’arts visuels (plastiques), de chiropratique, d’éducation physique, d’ergothérapie, de médecine, de médecine vétérinaire, de musique, d’orthophonie, d’audiologie, d’optométrie, de pharmacie, de physiothérapie et de génie Programmes de deuxième ou de troisième cycle, lorsque la période d’études est consacrée à la rédaction d’un mémoire ou d’une thèse

171 $/période d’études












Montants maximaux pouvant être accordés Aide financière (bourse) Secondaire ou collégial Université

13 571 $

16 152 $

13 937 $

16 688 $

Majoration pour enfant à charge Un enfant Deux enfants Trois enfants ou plus

3 657 $

4 628 $

5 604 $

3 756 $

4 753 $

5 755 $

Aide financière (prêt) Selon l’ordre

d’enseignement et le type de programme

Selon l’ordre

d’enseignement et le type


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de programme

Exemptions pour enfants à charge dans le calcul de la contribution des parents ou du conjoint

Chaque enfant 2 805 $

2 881 $

Si l’étudiant est atteint d’une déficience fonctionnelle majeure

2 380 $

2 444 $

Programme de prêts pour les études à temps partiel

Majoration par enfant 2 805 $

2 881 $

Majoration pour famille monoparentale

2 101 $

2 158 $

Dépenses admises Formation professionnelle Collégial (public) Collégial (privé) Université

2,08 $/heure

3,11 $/heure

10,38 $/heure

101,90 $/unité

2,14 $/heure

3,19 $/heure

10,66 $/heure

107,98 $/unité

Programme de remboursement différé

Majoration par enfant 234 $ mensuel

240 $ mensuel

Majoration pour famille monoparentale

117 $ mensuel

120 $ mensuel

Source : MELS, Projet de règlement modifiant le règlement sur l’aide financière aux études, 2011.

En - Student Financial Assistance (SFA) Kit 2011-2012

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