Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart is calling on the territorial government to cover late fees incurred by post-secondary students whose financial assistance payments were delayed this fall.
In August, the territorial government warned students to expect significant delays in receiving their Student Financial Assistance payments.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment said a surge in applications had created a backlog – slowing both assessments and payment processing.
At the Legislative Assembly this week, Testart asked what barriers exist to paying off late fees that he said some students have ended up paying because their SFA did not arrive in time.
Education minister Caitlin Cleveland said reimbursing students for late fees is not something for which the department has budgeted, though she “would go back to the department and find out what kind of economic cost this would have to our Student Financial Assistance.”
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“It is not expected that Student Financial Assistance covers the entire cost of post-secondary for our students,” she said.
The minister said “it is expected that students have from their summer student jobs some dollars that they can afford to pay” enough of their fees to avoid charges for late payment.
She added that this year’s delays were not a regular occurrence and said the department is working to ensure its processes are “as efficient as possible.”
Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins asked the minister whether ECE has a policy ensuring that if students apply by the deadline, their funding will be available when they need it – as is the case for income support.
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Cleveland responded that while both income support and SFA are managed by the same department, they serve different purposes.
She said that under income support, which is intended to cover residents’ basic needs, it is expected that applicants may not have the funds to cover late fees, and in those cases, late fees are covered. However, she believes there is “no mechanism for that to happen through the Student Financial Assistance stream.”
Hawkins also asked how many students have been charged late fees despite submitting their applications on time.
“The Department of Education, Culture and Employment would not have information about late fees from every student, and every institution also doesn’t operate the same way,” Cleveland replied, adding that while some institutions might charge late fees, not all do, and not every student would have incurred a late fee.
“Not all applications are in on time, and not all applications are received complete, and they’re not considered fully received and on time unless they are complete. So it’s really important that if students do have questions, they reach out to their case officer and make sure they’re asking those questions so we can give them support, too.”
Testart asked whether the department will have enough capacity to process applications to ensure there are no more late payments, and that all students receive the resources they need on time to succeed at school.
“We’re focusing on getting those dollars out to students, even students who had their applications in late. I know that stuff comes up, and it is my number-one priority to see those payments flow and those applications be processed,” Cleveland said.
Cleveland said her second priority will be to review the entire SFA application process, identify efficiencies, and ensure the department is well prepared for next year.
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Testart inquired about the surge in applications this year that overwhelmed resources. Cleveland confirmed there was almost a 20-percent increase and the department had added five more staffing positions this summer.
“We’ll make sure we’re reviewing the efficiencies of the process to ensure we’re doing our part to ensure we’re prepared, because we want to see students go to post-secondary, and we want to see more and more students using post-secondary,” she said.
Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon asked the minister if late fees would be covered for Indigenous students, noting that education is a treaty right. Cleveland said she would seek more information from her department.
