Eligibility Criteria

Citizenship and Immigration Status   

To be eligible for the New Beginnings Bursary, 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.

Program Eligibility

To be eligible for the New Beginnings Bursary, a student must:

• Have a family income from the previous tax year at or below the low-income threshold. For more information see, Income Thresholds for Canada and Alberta Eligibility.
  
  
• Be enrolled in one of the following high demand programs at a public post-secondary institution in Alberta:
  • Airframe mechanics and aircraft maintenance technology/technician
  • Airline/commercial/professional pilot and flight crew
  • Civil engineering
  • Computer and information sciences
  • Computer engineering technologies/technicians
  • Computer science
  • Data modelling/warehousing and database administration
  • Electrical and electronics engineering
  • Engineering physics/applied physics
  • Industrial production technologies/technicians
  • Information technology
  • Materials engineering
  • Mechanical engineering
  • Physical sciences
  • Licensed Practical Nurse
  • Registered Nurse

The post-secondary institution must confirm the student’s enrolment in one of the above programs.

• Preference will be given to students attending a study period at least two semesters in length.
  
  
• Students enrolled in apprenticeship classroom instruction, integrated training, pre-employment or non-credential programs are not eligible.

Application Process

Recipients are selected from applications received for full-time student loans in the current academic year. A separate application is not required. 

Students enrolled in a Combined Degree, where they will receive two different degrees upon completion, must apply with the program of study eligible for the New Beginnings Bursary. If the program of study used on the application is not eligible for the New Beginnings Bursary, the application will not be considered.

Selection Process

Alberta Student Aid will select recipients by looking at the pool of student loan borrowers who have completed applications for full-time loans for the current loan year and by applying the bursary eligibility criteria.

Eligible completed applications will be selected in the order they were received.

An individual may receive a lifetime maximum of two bursaries.

Payment

The bursary payment will be made by the end of December after Alberta Student Aid confirms the recipient’s eligibility.