Eligibility Criteria

SFA Reg.: Schedule 2, s. 23

Citizenship and Immigration Status

To be eligible for the Jason Lang Scholarship, a student must be a:

• Canadian citizen, or
• permanent resident of Canada, or
• protected person, as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada).

A student must have a valid Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN) to be eligible for financial assistance from Alberta Student Aid. Students with questions about applying for a SIN may contact Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218.

Protected persons must be able to document that their protected person status is valid at the start of their current study period.

Protected persons must provide copies of the following documentation:

• a temporary Social Insurance Number (SIN) card or confirmation of SIN letter showing a 900 series SIN number, and
• a Notice of Decision issued by the Immigration and Refugee Board or Verification of Status document issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Protected Persons Status Documents issued prior to January 2013 are acceptable as well.

Students with only a study permit or a work permit (e.g., visa students) are not eligible.

Students must also meet Alberta residency criteria and other eligibility requirements to be eligible.

Residency

To be eligible for the Jason Lang Scholarship, a student must be an Alberta resident.

To be considered an Alberta resident, one of the following conditions must apply:

• one parent or legal guardian has maintained permanent residence in Canada for at least 12 consecutive months immediately prior to commencing post-secondary studies and be residing in Alberta, or
• Alberta is the last place the student has maintained permanent residence for 12 consecutive months immediately prior to commencing post-secondary studies, or
• the student’s spouse/partner has maintained permanent residence in Alberta for 12 consecutive months prior to the person attending post-secondary.

Program Eligibility

SFA Reg.: Schedule 2, s 9

Course Load Requirement and Course Delivery

To be eligible for the Jason Lang Scholarship, a student must:

• be enrolled full-time in the second or subsequent year of an undergraduate program (including professional programs) at a publicly funded post-secondary institution in Alberta, and
• have achieved a minimum Grade Point Average of 3.2 on a 4.0 point scale and attending at least 80% of a full course load in the previous fall and winter terms.

A term is defined as a study period of up to 17 weeks in length. Co-op work terms, internships or exchange programs may be eligible as long as these programs are a mandatory component of the undergraduate or professional program.

A professional program means:

• a program of study at a post-secondary institution in medicine, law, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic studies, or any other program that exceeds a total of four years of post-secondary education and is designated by the Minister as a professional program.

Eligibility Restrictions

Students are not eligible for a Jason Lang Scholarship if they:

• Are enrolled in a one-year certificate program,
• Do not return to a publicly funded post-secondary institution in the fall or winter terms of the next academic year,
• Are recipients of a Louise McKinney Scholarship for the same period of study, or
• Have received the lifetime maximum of three Jason Lang Scholarships.

Application Process

Students should confirm the application process at the Student Awards Office at their post-secondary institution.

Students who meet the eligibility criteria are nominated by the Student Awards Office at the Alberta post-secondary institution where they currently attend. If the student has transferred from another publicly funded post-secondary institution, the institution they currently attend will confirm the previous year’s eligibility criteria.

To issue a cheque, Alberta Student Aid requires the student’s full legal name, Social Insurance Number, Alberta Student Number, date of birth and current mailing address. If a student has changed their name since receiving any type of funding from Alberta Student Aid (e.g., student loan), a copy of their legal name change is required.

Nomination Deadline

The nomination deadlines for the Jason Lang Scholarship is October 31 for the fall term and January 31 for the winter term.

Nominations are forwarded to Alberta Student Aid for final approval and payment.

Any additional requested documents required to confirm the student’s eligibility must be received by Alberta Student Aid by March 1. Any documents received after this date will not be considered. If the requested information is not received by March 1, the student’s application will be closed and will not be considered to receive the scholarship.

Payment

The scholarship payment will be made by the end of December for October nominations and by the end of March for January nominations.