University of Calgary
PA-7: Affordability and Access

Hundreds of awards and bursaries offered annually with financial need considered one of the primary criteria. Some of the programs available for students are: • Bookstore book loan program where students can apply to have the bookstore lend them books at no cost • Students with documented disabilities can be considered full-time students while taking a reduced course load so they are eligible for student awards and loans. • The Students’ Union Volunteer Tax Program coordinators, Client Relations / E-file / General and Audit Team Leads, along with over 100 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) trained volunteers, assist members of the campus community in completing and filing their tax returns for free (either by e-filing or providing a mail-in tax return to clients). The Volunteer Tax Program is specifically designed to help low income individuals. • The Students’ Union Hardship Fund was created to assist students who demonstrate financial need. The SHAF is a fund of last resort which provides short term financial help due to unexpected and emergent circumstances encountered by the applicant and its purpose is to help the applicant to remain enrolled at the University of Calgary. • Jobs available for students which are flexible and fit a student schedule. • Bursary programs available for undergraduate students to assist with covering the cost of tuition.

The University’s Student Success Centre provides programs and services that enhance learning and personal development from inquiry to degree completion. The Thrive Priority Support Network identifies students who are having academic difficulty early. Through the Thrive program, faculty can submit a confidential form to inform the team that a student may be having academic difficulty. From there, Thrive staff offer to connect students with resources and provide support. The Thrive program streamlines the referral process by reducing the need for faculty to keep track of every service and support available to students, and connects students with the timely, high-quality support offered across campus. By combining information from aggregate grade data and voluntary faculty report forms, Thrive is designed to be responsive to the University of Calgary’s varied teaching and learning contexts, and provides instructors with multiple avenues to participate. Thrive supports faculty by helping less academically prepared students develop the learning and personal skills to tackle academic content.

As part of its recruitment efforts, the University of Calgary presents at high schools and admission fairs. Some of the schools have students from low income backgrounds. All students and parents can receive help with the application and registration process through workshops which are open to students and their parents. In January 2018 a dedicated community outreach recruiter was hired to provide further support to students.

The university offers over 2405 internal bursaries to students demonstrating financial need. The university also funds the Student Refugee Program for two students annually, via the World University Service of Canada. This funding has supported students from refugee camps from the following countries: Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, South Africa, Malawi and Thailand. The program provides funding for each student throughout the four years of their undergraduate degree. The university also sponsors the cost of admission, tuition fees, textbooks and accommodations for first year students.

The Recruitment and Admissions Office presents at Canadian high schools and attends education or career fairs which are attended by students with low-income backgrounds.

1. University of Calgary bursary program awards financial assistant to 943 students in 2017 2. Emergency loan and bursary programs-providing interest-free loans and bursaries to students with identified financial need 3. Muttart Emergency Loan: available through the Native Centre. 4. International Student Emergency Loans: available through CISSA. 5. Graduate Students Association: emergency funding options. 6. Faculty of Law: Emergency funding for law students. 7. The Financial Aid office administers loan funding for US students through the US Direct Loan program, private funding offices and the Veterans Affairs benefits.

The university offers a broad range of scholarship and bursaries designated for mature students and single parents. Part-time students remain eligible for a significant portion of the university’s internal scholarships and bursaries.

The University Child Care Centre has two locations. The Main Campus Child Care Centre gives priority to full-time students of the university and contains seven classrooms to meet the needs of the approximately 86 children enrolled there. The West Campus Child Care Centre gives priority to full-time staff and faculty of the university and contains eight classrooms to meet the needs of the approximately 108 children enrolled there. Both facility provide a certified Kindergarten program.

The Mature Student Programming Peer Helpers are responsible for connecting mature students at UCalgary with resources, and to build a sense of community. The Mature Student Programming Peer Helpers recognizes that the interest and need of mature students may differ from those entering university directly from high school. The Mature Student Peer Helper program schedules monthly Meet and Greet events during the Fall and Winter terms, issues a mailing list and also plans community events such as elective sessions during orientation week and a community kickoff.

• http://www.ucalgary.ca/registrar/loans_otherfunding • http://www.ucalgary.ca/studentfinance/ • http://www.calgarybookstore.ca/bookloan.asp • http://www.su.ucalgary.ca/page/quality-student-life/health-life-admin/campus-food-bank • http://web.ucalgary.ca/futurestudents/node/496/ (general FAQ about financial assistance)