• On-Line Access to Your File!  
• Student
  Father
  Mother
  Spouse
  Sponsor
• Assessment simulator

• Availability of your on-line services

Updating Your Information

• Mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address.

How to Proceed

• Your first application
• Subsequent applications

Items of Interest

• Loans and Bursaries Program
  • Eligibility requirements
  • Eligibility period and debt limit
  • Dates to remember and repayment terms
  • Change in circumstances
  • Balancing studies and family obligations
  • Serious health problem
  • Costs related to the purchase of computer equipment
  • Appeals
• Assessment – Loans and Bursaries Program
  • Amount of loan
  • Amount of bursary
  • Allowable expenses
  • Student contribution
  • Student category
  • Parental or sponsor's contribution
  • Spousal contribution
  • Assessment parameters
• Loans Program for Part-Time Studies
  • Eligibility requirements
  • Eligibility period and debt limit
  • Change in circumstances
  • Guarantee certificate
  • Appeals
  • Exceptional cases of eligibility under the Loans and Bursaries Program
• Assessment – Loans Program for Part-Time Studies
  • Student category
  • Loan eligibility
  • Amount of loan
• Other programs
  • Work/Study Program
  • Allowance for Special Needs Program - Youth
  • Allowance for Special Needs Program - Adults
  • Loan Remission Program
  • Deferred Payment Plan
  • Explore Program
• Print forms
  • All forms
  • Loans and Bursaries Program
  • Declaration and attestations
  • Exceptional cases
  • Loans Program for Part-Time Studies
  • Other programs
• Publications
  • Loans and Bursaries: Answers to Your Questions
  • Student Financial Assistance
  • Survey of student living conditions (French only)
  • Statistics (French only)
  • Reports by the Expert Committee on Student Debt Repayment (French only)
  • Administrative documents (French only)
• Glossary
• Organization
  • Mission
  • History
  • Administrative structure

Parents, Sponsor,
Spouse

• Overview
• Parental contribution
• Spousal contribution
• Declaration of parents
• Declaration of spouse

Appeals

Are you dissatisfied with a service you received? You have a right of appeal.

The Direction de l’accès à l’information et des plaintes is comprised of the Bureau de révision, the Secrétariat du Comité d’examen des demandes dérogatoires and the Bureau des plaintes, overseen by the highest levels of the ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport.

Appealing a Decision

If you believe that a decision rendered by Aide financière aux études does not comply with the Act respecting financial assistance for education expenses and its Regulations, you are entitled to an appeal under Section 43.1 of the Act.

Prior to lodging an appeal, you should consult with your student financial assistance officer to discuss your issue and be certain that you have a case.

Carefully read the notice of decision you received from Aide financière aux études. You may be able to resolve the matter yourself by submitting any missing documents that could change the decision that was taken.

Your appeal must be made in writing, and include all of the following information:

• Your name
• Your mailing address
• Your permanent code
• The reason for your appeal
• Copies of all documents you submitted to Aide financière aux études that are related to your appeal

Bureau de révision
Direction de l’accès à l’information et des plaintes
Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport
Édifice Marie-Guyart
1035, rue De La Chevrotière
Québec (Québec)  G1R 5A5

The Bureau de révision will examine your appeal and contact Aide financière aux études should any changes to your file be warranted. Appeals are normally processed within 28 business days.

Exceptional Cases

You may request a waiver from the Comité d’examen des demandes dérogatoires if you are in one of the following exceptional situations that compromise the pursuit of your studies:

• You are no longer eligible for financial assistance for education programs because you have reached the maximum number of months of eligibility or the allowed debt limit

  OR

• You believe that the amount of financial assistance that was granted you is insufficient to allow you to pursue your studies.

In either case, you will need to demonstrate the exceptional nature of your situation or the extraordinary expenses that you must incur during the award year and that are not foreseen in the financial assistance for education plan.

Firstly, you will need to read the Exceptional Case Application Guide (available on-line in the Print Forms section under Items of Interest). You should also seek the opinion of your educational institution’s financial assistance office, to ensure that you have all the help you need in the preparation of your request.

Your request, once complete, should be mailed by your financial assistance for education officer to the following address:

Secrétariat du Comité d’examen des demandes dérogatoires
Direction de l’accès à l’information et des plaintes
Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport
Édifice Marie-Guyart
1035, rue De La Chevrotière
Québec (Québec)  G1R 5A5

Save special circumstances, you will receive a response to your exceptional case appeal within two to three weeks from the date of the committee meeting. The committee’s meeting schedule can be found in the Exceptional Case Application Guide.

Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with any aspects of the services provided by Aide financière aux études, you can file a complaint with the Direction de l’accès à l’information et des plaintes. The following is a partial list of reasons that could justify a complaint:

• Reliability of information provided
• Courtesy of personnel or confidentiality
• Quality of service or processing time
• Availability of telephone services
• Availability of publications and/or forms

All complaints are handled with diligence, remain confidential and are not shown in your file.