4. Calculate need – This is the simplest part of the needs assessment exercise. Assessed need is determined by subtracting the student’s total assessed resources from his or her total assessed costs. If the resulting figure is zero or less, then the student is not considered to have ‘need’ and is ineligible for student assistance. If the figure is positive, the student is eligible for assistance.

Part-Time Student Loans

Most governments do not provide assistance to part-time students. Only the Government of Canada, Ontario, and the Northwest Territories provide this type of support (Junor and Usher, 2004).³⁴ The take-up rate for the Government of Canada’s part-time loan program is extremely low. Fewer than 4,000 students hold these loans (from a pool of over half-a-million part-time students at colleges and universities) (Junor and Usher, 2004). In the much smaller world of parttime student loans, needs testing does not exist and eligibility is determined with a much simpler family-income test. The assessment formula is also more generous than the assessment formula for full-time students (Junor and Usher, 2004). For example, under the full-time student loan program, a student with an income of $14,000 would not qualify for a student loan. By moving to part-time education, this same student would qualify for $4,000 in part-time loans and $1,200 in grants. However, unlike full-time loans, interest payments on part-time loans must be made by the student while in school. (Interest relief is available to students with a gross family income below a certain level.³⁵) Furthermore, eligible part-time students can receive only a cumulative amount of $4,000 in total loan assistance ($5,000 in NWT).

What other assistance do adult learners obtain?

A substantial proportion of students obtain private bank loans and this figure increases significantly with age. The Student Income-Expenditure Survey found that 24 percent of students over 26 had obtained a private bank loan compared to less than 10 percent of 18- to 19-year-olds and 17 percent of 20- to 21-year-olds (see Figure 5.4). Moreover, the survey found that the average amount borrowed also increases with age.

³⁴ Applicants to the part-time Canada Student Loan Program must be enrolled in 20-59 percent of a full course load. Students with disabilities may enrol in 20-39 percent of a full course load. To be eligible, part-time students must be enrolled in a degree, diploma, or certificate program of at least 12 weeks in length within a period of 15 consecutive weeks at a designated educational institution.
³⁵ For example, in Ontario, part-time loan interest relief for a student in a family of two with monthly interest payments below $35 may be eligible for in-school interest relief if their gross family income per month is less than $2,631.