Reasons for Suspension

When you are "suspended" from the SFA Program, it means can no longer receive funding for a period of one year, and may have to repay some of what has already been provided to you. You can be suspended from the program if you do not successfully complete your semester(s) within your academic year (did not pass the required NWTSFA course load, were considered part time by your institution or withdrew/were asked to withdraw from your studies).

Grace Period

The SFA Program has a grace period for students who have been suspended from the Program. If you received a Remissible Loan, you are eligible for remission for 1 semester, even if you do not successfully complete that semester. The grace period is valid for 1 semester during your lifetime and you would be required to repay any subsequent semesters not successfully completed. This grace period came into effect on July 14, 2000 and cannot be applied to a semester prior to July 14, 2000.

Length of Suspension

A suspension lasts for one year. Your suspension begins on the day you became part time, withdrew, or did not successfully complete the required course load. For example, your semester starts on January 10, 2000 and ends on April 28, 2000 and you withdraw on January 31, 2000, you would be suspended from January 31, 2000 until April 28, 2001. (You may not have to reimburse any funding as long as you attended classes.)

If You Dropped a Few Classes

The SFA Program provides funding for students in full time studies. If you decide to drop a class or stop attending your classes, you may fall below your institution's full time student course load. You will not be able to pass the required 60% of a full course load in your first 4 semesters and 75% in subsequent semesters. (The passing mark of 75% noted here and throughout this guide may mean that you have to take 80% of a course load. For example, if you are attending an institution where it considers 5 courses to be a 100% full course load, you would have to take 4 of the 5 courses. The 4 courses equal 80% of a 100% course load.) Please contact your Student Case Officer if you are thinking about dropping classes.

Repayment of NWTSFA

Once we receive confirmation that you are no longer considered full time by NWTSFA, you will be suspended and the SFA Program will stop providing you with funding. If this confirmation occurs during your semester, you will no longer be eligible to receive your monthly living allowance. And, depending on when you withdrew from your classes, you may owe us money.

For example, you are attending school during a winter semester but you withdrew from a class in early January. Because you withdrew right after the semester started, you were entitled to a reimbursement of a portion of your tuition by your institution. You will have to repay that portion you got back from your institution to the SFA Program. Also, if you withdrew in January but did not tell us until March, or if we did not find out until March, we will ask you to reimburse us the living allowance for February and March. Depending on when you withdrew in January, we may ask you to reimburse a portion of your living allowance.

Getting "Unsuspended"

Once you are suspended, there are four options available to you to become eligible for NWTSFA again:

1. Attend a 12 to 26 continuous week semester in an accredited, NWTSFA approved institution at no cost to the NWTSFA Program. (At no time will these costs be reimbursed.) While attending these studies, you must meet the following NWTSFA requirements:

• pass at least 60% of a 100% full, postsecondary course load in the 1st to 4th semesters (beginning in the fall of 2000), or pass at least 75% of a 100% full, postsecondary course load in all subsequent semesters (beginning in the fall of 2000).

2. Repay, within 60 days of the last day you attended the program of studies, the full amount of NWTSFA the you received for the semester in which you were suspended.

3. Provide an assessment from a qualified, acceptable professional stating that your performance was significantly affected because of illness, physical injury or extraordinary circumstances.

4. Wait 1 year from the end date of the semester in which we provided you with funding.

Please keep in mind the following: although you are under suspension, you must always follow the NWTSFA deadlines. Please refer to Section 7: Important Deadlines. And, you can appeal the decision to suspend. Please refer to Section 15, Appeals.