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Allowable expenses: Overall expenses allowed for each month of study.

Assessment: Procedure by which the amount of financial assistance to be awarded to a student is determined on the basis of his or her allowable expenses and expected contribution (plus that of the parents or spouse, if any).

Award year: The period starting September 1 and ending August 31.

Biological or adoptive parent of a child: You have or had a child of your own (whether the child is living or deceased). You are the adoptive parent of a child if you have legally adopted a child.

Bursary: Financial assistance awarded to a student by the government when the amount that may be granted in the form of a loan for an award year does not cover the difference between the student’s allowable expenses and the contributions expected in his or her case. This type of assistance does not have to be repaid. The bursary amount corresponds to the portion of financial assistance that the government repays the financial institution at the end of the award year.

Calendar year: The period of January 1 to December 31.

Civil union: Commitment made by two persons who consent to live together. The civil union is contracted openly before a competent celebrant and is witnessed through a civil union act.

Confirmation of financial resources: Form on which students must confirm or update the income they reported on their application for financial assistance. This form must be completed twice during the award year (i.e. in September and January). If students fail to complete and return this form on the dates indicated, payment of their financial assistance will be suspended.

Contribution: Amount provided by a student, or the student’s parents or spouse toward the cost of the student’s education.

Cooperative program: Program of study which, in addition to courses, includes paid full-time practicums (periods of practical training in the workplace).

Course withdrawal: Situation whereby a reassessment of the financial assistance award is required because a student is no longer studying full-time during a study period.

Debtor: Student who has taken out one or more student loans and who must repay them at the end of his or her studies.

De facto separated: You are legally married or in a civil union and are now separated but have not obtained a court judgment.

De facto spouse: You are a de facto spouse if you are living with a partner of the opposite sex or the same sex without being married or in a civil union, and with at least one dependent child (either your own or your partner’s).

Dependent child: A dependent child is single, does not have any children of his or her own and is:

• under 18 years of age
• 18 years of age or over, studying full-time and deemed to be living with his or her parents
• 18 years of age or over, studying full-time and not living with his or her parents if they are expected to contribute toward the cost of his or her education

Financial assistance overpayment: Amount added, if applicable, to a student’s loan debt in accordance with certain terms and conditions.

Full exemption period: Grace period during which students are not required to repay their student debt, nor the accruing interest.

Guarantee certificate: Document given to a student by the financial assistance office of his or her educational institution, usually at the beginning of the first study period. The student needs this document in order to open a loan account at a financial institution and receives it only once for the duration of his or her studies, unless he or she interrupts his or her studies for more than six months.

Interest assignment date: Date on which students become responsible for the interest on their student loans once they are no longer full-time students. They are not required to start making payments on the principal at this time. This date corresponds to the beginning of the partial exemption period.

Legally separated: You were once legally married or in a civil union but have obtained a court judgment granting you a legal separation.

Loan: Government-guaranteed financial assistance issued by the financial institution directly into a student’s account by way of loan authorizations. The student pays no interest to the financial institution during the full exemption period.

Loan authorization: Electronic transaction performed by AFE on a monthly or periodic basis to enable the financial institution to pay the planned amount to a student.

Loan-to-bursary conversion: Electronic transfer of funds to the financial institution for the purpose of reducing a student’s loan debt. This transfer is performed at the end of each school year once the student’s income has been verified with Revenu Québec.

Parent: Person, father or mother, who has legal custody of one or more children. In this brochure, the term “parent” also applies to the student’s sponsor.

Partial exemption period: Grace period during which students become responsible for the interest on their student loans after completing their studies. Students are not required to start making payments on the principal during this period.

Program withdrawal: Temporary interruption of studies during a study period followed by a resumption of studies at the next study period or a complete withdrawal from studies for the rest of the award year.

Repayment postponement: Grace period granted to students during a temporary interruption of their full-time studies. They are not required to make payments on their student loans during this time.

Single parent: You do not have a spouse and have custody of at least one dependent child (your own), who is living with you. You cannot be a single parent if you are not a biological or adoptive parent.

Sponsor: The sponsor is the person who agreed to provide for the basic needs of the student when he or she obtained status as a permanent resident, refugee or protected person. He or she is not a guardian, but rather a sponsor within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The sponsor who has a spouse must send us a duly-completed declaration of change form in order to inform us of his or her marital status. An additional exemption will therefore be subtracted from the sponsor’s income during the assessment of his or her contribution.

Spouse: Person to whom a student is married or with whom the student is living in a civil union or living as though married, along with a child, who may be either the student’s or the spouse’s (the latter part of this definition also applies to samesex partners).

Student: Person pursuing secondary (vocational training), college or university studies.

Study period: Period usually lasting four months. In the case of a college program ending in May, the winter study period lasts five months. The duration of a study period may vary according to the educational institution’s school calendar.