Record delays in Alberta student aid applications leave students in financial uncertainty

By Vama Saini, October 9 2024—

Alberta post-secondary students are grappling with significant delays in processing student aid applications, creating financial uncertainty as they begin the new academic year. A record number of applications has overwhelmed the system, prompting widespread concerns from students and university representatives alike.

In a statement to the Gauntlet, Alberta Advanced Education acknowledged the challenges posed by these delays.

“Alberta Student Aid delivers the Canada Student Financial Assistance program to Alberta students. Students submit one application to Alberta Student Aid and are assessed for their eligibility for both Canada and Alberta student grants and loans,” read the statement.

“Currently, approximately three per cent of applications are exceeding our 45-day service standard for processing. About 90 per cent of all applications are currently being processed within 30 days, and of those, the majority are completed within three days. Advanced Education is processing an all-time record high number of applications for student aid so far this academic year. Additional internal department resources are being allocated to address the application backlog, and we expect to meet our service guideline before the end of September,” the statement continued.

Students’ Union (SU) Vice President External Masteusz Salmassi expressed his concerns regarding the impact of the delays.

“It’s caused a lot of uncertainty for many UCalgary students who are worried that they won’t be able to pay for tuition by the tuition deadline or a deep worry because they don’t know whether they’ll be able to pay for the basics, like groceries or rent, because they couldn’t get their aid on time,” he said.

Salmassi emphasized that the current situation is not new.

“This is the second year in a row that we’ve seen student financial aid delays. Last year, tens of thousands of applications were unprocessed by mid-October.”

He criticized the province for not adequately preparing for the surge in applications.

“The province is aware that enrollment in post-secondary is increasing rapidly, so the need for more resources for processing offices should not come as a surprise,” said Salmassi.

These delays might disproportionately affect students with disabilities or dependents, who often rely on timely financial assistance to manage their educational and living expenses.

“We don’t have a breakdown on whether students in [vulnerable] populations have seen their applications get delayed at a higher rate. However, anecdotally, we have heard from students with more complicated aid applications to submit that might prompt the ministry to ask for additional information.”

Salmassi reflected on the ministry’s statement regarding processing times.

“We have heard from the university registrar that the pace of application processing has picked up. That being said, we’ll still be watching closely to see whether the pace of the approval of these applications is happening at the rate that the province says it is,” said Salmassi.

The SU has taken proactive steps to address the crisis, collaborating with student associations across Alberta to demand improvements.

“The SU has been working closely with our counterparts across the province,” said Salmassi. “We have actually released an open letter to the ministry signed by quite a few other student associations that collectively represent over 150,000 students across Alberta, where we call on the ministry to make the necessary changes to the student financial aid system to prevent delays like this from happening again.”

Looking ahead, the SU is prepared to escalate their efforts if delays persist beyond the anticipated resolution date.

“We will work with our counterparts to increase pressure on the ministry if we have to,” said Salmassi. “We would also push the ministry to work with post-secondary institutions to see if there can be a system-wide solution.”

As students continue to navigate this challenging landscape, the SU encourages those facing delays to contact Enrollment Services Advisors for assistance.