B.C. loan forgiveness program frequently asked questions
- What is the B.C. loan forgiveness program?
- Which professions qualify for the loan forgiveness program? Are graduates from any year eligible?
- Why were speech language pathologists, audiologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists added to the list of eligible professions?
- What is an underserved community?
- How will loan forgiveness be applied?
- If a B.C. student loan is converted into a line of credit or a private loan, will this new loan be considered for loan forgiveness under this program?
- Will Canada student loans be forgiven?
- Do I have to make payments on my loans ?
- What happens if I do not stay in an underserved community for three years?
- Do my three years have to be in a row?
- What is an anniversary date?
- Do I have to spend the three years in the same underserved community?
- What if the community that I am working in is no longer eligible as an underserved community?
- Can graduates from any designated university in Canada be eligible for B.C. student loan forgiveness?
- Which employers are eligible under the program?
- How do I apply for the program?
- Who pays the interest on my B.C student loan while I am registered in the program?
- What happens to my interest-free status if I don’t meet the program requirements?
- When and how will my loan forgiveness be paid?
- Do graduates in a residency program qualify for loan forgiveness?
- If I am a doctor or midwife with a private practice in an underserved community, do I qualify for this program?
- What if I am not employed directly at a public facility but I am working on contract or employed by a contractor? Am I eligible for the loan forgiveness program? What do I have to do to register?
- I have a part-time / casual position in one of the eligible professions working with children. To make ends meet I have had to take on similar work with adults, bringing me to full-time work status. Will this affect my eligibility in the program?
- I work on a First Nations reserve. Do reserves qualify as underserved communities?
- I am in the loan forgiveness program. What happens if I change jobs within the year?
- If I am in the program and then move to a different underserved community to find similar work, can I have a break in the program and return to it later?
- Are Aboriginal health authorities publicly funded?
- Why was the loan forgiveness program expanded to include technology education teachers?
- What are the technology education teaching areas?
Answers
1. What is the B.C. loan forgiveness program?
The program gives B.C. student loan forgiveness to graduates in certain professions as an incentive for working in underserved communities in British Columbia.
The program was originally announced in December 2002.
2. Which professions qualify for the B.C. loan forgiveness program? Are graduates from any year eligible?
Graduates from accredited medical, midwifery, pharmacy and nursing schools (including licensed practical nursing) qualify for the program, but to be eligible the borrower must have begun their final year of study on or after Aug. 1, 2000.
Students graduating after April 1, 2007, in school psychology or teaching for the visually impaired of deaf/hard of hearing – and who will be working with children in a publicly funded facility or school district –are also eligible Nurse practitioners have been eligible since Aug. 19, 2005.
Students graduating on or after Dec. 1, 2004, in audiology, speech language pathology, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, and who will be working with children in underserved communities, are also eligible for the program.
Students graduating after April 1, 2007, in school psychology, teaching for the visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing or technology education who will be working with children in a publicly funded facility or school district can qualify under the program.
3. Why were speech language pathologists, audiologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists added to the list of eligible professions?
There is a shortage of professionals to help children with special needs. Speech language pathologists, audiologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists are needed in rural communities, and incentives like loan forgiveness are helping to attract these professionals.
4. What is an underserved community?
Urban areas have an advantage over smaller, more remote centres in attracting and retaining skilled professionals. The following communities are excluded from the list of underserved communities. Communities not listed below can be considered underserved.
5. How will loan forgiveness be applied?
B.C. student loan debt will be reduced by 33 1/3 per cent for each of the three years that eligible graduates work in an underserved community. Those graduates who work for three years in an underserved community will have all of their outstanding B.C. student loan forgiven.
6. If a B.C. student loan is converted into a line of credit or a private loan, will this new loan be considered for loan forgiveness under this program?
No. Only B.C. student loans are eligible for loan forgiveness.
7. Will Canada student loans be forgiven?
No. Only B.C. student loans are eligible for loan forgiveness.
8. Do I have to make payments on my loans?
You do not have to make principal or interest payments on your B.C. student loan while you are in the loan forgiveness program.
9. What happens if I do not stay in an underserved community for three years?
If you do not work a full year in your underserved community, you will lose your eligibility for loan forgiveness. As a result, the interest on your B.C. student loan debt for that year will be capitalized into the principal, and you will be responsible for payment.
10. Do my three years have to be in a row?
No, the three years do not need to be in a row. You may take breaks in between. However, if your application for the next year of loan forgiveness is not received within six weeks of your anniversary date, we will send a letter to your lending institution advising them that you are no longer registered in the program and that you will be responsible for resuming payment on your outstanding B.C. student loan (principal and interest).
If you decide to reapply to the program after taking a break, your remaining B.C. student loan will be forgiven over three more years, at 33 1/3 per cent per year.
11. What is an anniversary date?
Your anniversary date is one year from the date your completed application was received by StudentAid BC. You will be asked to send documentation from your employer that confirms you have worked for one year in an underserved community to continue in the next year of the program. This must be received within six weeks of your anniversary date. Your application may be cancelled if you do not send the updated information within the six-week deadline.
12. Do I have to spend the three years in the same underserved community?
No, you can spend each year in a different underserved community.
13. What if the community I am working in is no longer eligible as an underserved community?
Once you are confirmed in the loan forgiveness program and have submitted the confirmation that you have worked for one full year in an underserved community, you can continue in the program even if your community ceases to be eligible.
14. Can graduates from any designated university in Canada be eligible for B.C. student loan forgiveness?
Yes. Applicants with B.C. student loans can graduate from any designated Canadian university and be eligible for loan forgiveness.
15. Which employers are eligible under the program?
For nurses, doctors, midwives and pharmacists:
Graduates must be employed in a public health-care facility (such as a hospital or medical centre) that is receiving funds through the regional health authority. Retail outlets such as pharmacies or private walk-in clinics are not considered public health-care facilities and are not eligible.
For speech language pathologists, audiologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists:
Graduates must be employed by or contracted with the B.C. Ministry of Education, a B.C. school district, the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development, the B.C. Ministry of Health, a public health-care facility, or a B.C. regional health authority.
16. How do I apply for the program?
You can get an application one of two ways:
17. Who pays the interest on my B.C student loan while I am registered in the program?
If you are eligible for loan forgiveness, your B.C. student loan will be placed in interest-free status at the beginning of each year of your practice or employment, after StudentAid BC has received your completed application and confirmation of employment.
We pay the interest on your B.C. student loan starting from the first day of the month after your completed application was received at StudentAid BC, or your consolidation date, whichever is later.
18. What happens to my interest-free status if I don’t meet the program requirements?
If you do not complete a full year of practice or employment in an underserved community, the interest that has accumulated on your B.C. student loan will be capitalized into principal, and you will be responsible for paying the higher balance.
19. When and how will my loan forgiveness be paid?
After StudentAid BC receives the documentation from your employer, your B.C. student loan debt will be reduced by 33 1/3 per cent for the year you have just completed. It is your responsibility to send the employer documentation. Be sure to include these documents with your application.
Within 30 days of your anniversary date, you must send StudentAid BC documentation from your employer confirming that you have completed 12 months of work. StudentAid BC will calculate the principal payment and the interest accumulated for that year, and transfer these funds electronically to the lender(s) holding your B.C. student loan account.
We will notify you in writing about the amount of loan forgiveness you have been approved for, and the effective date of the payment we will be making on your behalf.
20. Do graduates in a residency program qualify for student loan forgiveness?
Graduates employed in a residency program can qualify for the loan forgiveness program if they have met all eligibility criteria.
21. If I am a doctor, midwife or nurse practitioner with a private practice in an underserved community, do I qualify for this program?
Yes. To qualify for the loan forgiveness program, doctors and midwives must register with a health authority in B.C. before setting up their practices.
Include your practitioner number on the loan forgiveness program application and an original letter from the health authority confirming you have been authorized to set up your practice in the particular underserved community.
If you are a midwife, you must send a letter from the Association of Midwives confirming your registration when applying for the loan forgiveness program.
22. What if I am not employed directly at a public facility but I am working on contract or employed by a contractor? Am I eligible for the loan forgiveness program? What do I have to do to register?
You must be paid through a publicly funded agency, but this can be on a contract basis. If you are a professional under contract with the provincial government, your letter of employment confirmation for the loan forgiveness program must also include the contract number, as well as the name of the facility and underserved community you are working in.
23. I have a part-time / casual position in one of the eligible professions working with children. To make ends meet I have had to take on similar work with adults, bringing me to full-time work status. Will this affect my eligibility in the program?
No. In many cases, positions for speech language pathologists, audiologists and occupational and physiotherapists in underserved communities are part-time. To be eligible for this program, you can be working full-time, part-time or casual in your field.
24. I work on a First Nations reserve. Do reserves qualify as underserved communities?
Federal and provincial funding supports many health and educational facilities on reserves. If you are hired by a publicly funded health or educational facility, and the reserve is in an underserved area of the province, you will be eligible for the program if you meet all other criteria.
25. I am in the loan forgiveness program. What happens if I change jobs within the year?
Changing jobs within the year is acceptable if:
- There is no time break between when you finish one job and start the next. When your anniversary date arrives, you must send proof of a full year of employment, even if that means submitting more than one letter of employment from different employers. The dates of employment must be clearly indicated on each letter.
- All of your employment while in the loan forgiveness program must be at publicly funded institutions in underserved B.C. communities. If a break occurs in your employment or if you are between jobs, you will be taken off the program and must re-register. Once you have re-registered, your B.C. student loan outstanding balance at the time of re-registration will be paid out at 33 1/3 per cent per year by the provincial government.
26. If I am in the loan forgiveness program and then move to a different underserved community to find similar work, can I have a break in the program and return to it later?
Yes. However, you must reapply for the loan forgiveness program each time you take a break from it.
If you move to another underserved community and your B.C. student loans have not been paid in full, you may continue in the loan forgiveness program if you submit a new application and applicable documentation within 60 days of the anniversary date of when you first registered.
27. Are Aboriginal health authorities publicly funded?
If the Aboriginal community is within the boundaries of an underserved community, it is considered publicly funded for the purposes of this program.
28. Why was the loan forgiveness program expanded to include technology education teachers?
The loan forgiveness program has been expanded to include technology education teachers in response to a shortage in this specialized area of teaching and the increasing demand for skilled trades people in the labour force. Including technology education teachers will encourage mature tradespeople to return to university to qualify as technology education teachers. It will also give young people another reason to choose careers as technology education teachers.
29. What are the technology education teaching areas?
Teachers must be working as Technology Education teachers either delivering Ministry curriculum in one the five core areas (woodworking, metal work, mechanics, drafting, electronics) or delivering Industry Training Authority trades programs related to one of the technology education teaching areas to qualify under the loan forgiveness program.
The related ACE IT trade areas include automotive service technician, cabinet maker, carpenter, construction electrician, electronics technician (consumer products), heavy duty equipment technician, industrial electrician, industrial mechanic (millwright), machinist, metal fabricator, motor vehicle body repairer, outdoor power equipment technician, plumber, sheet metal worker, truck and transport mechanic and welder.
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