Student Access Guarantee

The Government of Ontario, in partnership with the province's colleges and universities, delivers the Student Access Guarantee. The Student Access Guarantee’s goal is that no qualified Ontario student should be prevented from attending our public colleges and universities because of a lack of financial supports.

For most students, OSAP grants and loans will cover their full assessed financial need for tuition, books, supplies and living costs. However, in some situations, a student’s financial need may be above what OSAP can provide. That’s when the Student Access Guarantee can help.

Through this guarantee, the Government of Ontario requires that every public college and university in Ontario provide enough financial aid to cover students’ assessed needs for tuition, books and mandatory fees if these are not fully met by OSAP.

If you are in a first-entry program, meaning a program that you can enter directly from high school, you will be automatically considered for Student Access Guarantee aid based on your OSAP application, whether or not you also apply to your postsecondary institution for financial aid.

The ministry will assess whether you qualify for additional aid for tuition, books and mandatory fees, and if you do, your institution will automatically provide it to you.

Ontario's public colleges and universities provide this financial aid to postsecondary students through a combination of:

• Bursaries
• Scholarships
• Work study programs
• Summer employment programs

If you are in a second-entry program (graduate or professional university programs and some high-demand, post-diploma college programs) you will have to submit an application to your financial aid office to be considered for this type of support.

In addition to aid specifically to cover tuition, books and mandatory fee needs, public colleges and universities also strive to assist students who are having trouble meeting their basic costs to stay in school for other reasons, or who are experiencing unusual or emergency situations.

Learn More

Learn more about:

• Types of Student Access Guarantee Aid
• Eligibility Requirements
• Other Institutional Aid

Types of Student Access Guarantee Aid

Colleges and universities must provide Student Access Guarantee aid in a non-repayable format for students attending first-entry programs – meaning programs you can enter directly from high school.

The aid can include:

• Bursaries
• Scholarships
• Work study programs
• Summer employment programs

Colleges and universities can also direct students attending second-entry programs (graduate or professional university programs, and some high-demand, post-diploma college programs) to access a line of credit from a financial institution.

The decision about what combination of non-repayable and repayable resources it will provide to a student in a second-entry program is based on the institution’s detailed evaluation of the student’s debt, costs, and resources.

Contact your institution’s financial aid office for more detail about Student Access Guarantee aid and other financial assistance available through Ontario public colleges and universities.

Eligibility Requirements

To be considered for Student Access Guarantee aid, students have to complete an OSAP Application for Full-Time Students, fill out their OSAP Confirmation of Enrolment Form, and meet the criteria to be eligible for OSAP assistance.

Following submission and approval of your OSAP application, the ministry uses your information about costs and resources to determine how much OSAP support you qualify for. Based on that information, the ministry will also assess whether you should receive additional financial support from your institution for your tuition, mandatory fees, books, equipment and supplies.

If the OSAP assessment shows that you qualify for additional Student Access Guarantee aid, the ministry will notify your institution, and will identify the amount to them.

This year, the ministry will work with postsecondary institutions to have them provide the identified aid automatically to their students in first-entry programs.

If you are a student attending a second-entry program and you require additional financial support, you will still have to apply to your financial aid office. The institution needs to collect additional information from you to evaluate what mix of repayable and non-repayable aid it will provide.

Other Institutional Aid

In addition to aid they are required to provide to meet remaining financial needs due to tuition, book, and mandatory fee costs, institutions also strive to help students who are experiencing other types of financial difficulties.

Some institutions have additional financial aid resources such as endowment-funded bursaries that you will be considered for if you fill out an application for institutional aid.

If you are having trouble meeting your basic costs to stay in school, you should contact your financial aid office to learn more about what institutional financial assistance you may qualify for and how to apply.