Financial Services FAQs

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities has no plans to penalize a student’s OSAP funding if they are unable to complete a lab or practicum in March/April 2020 due to COVID-19.

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities are aware that many colleges and universities closed for a short period of time to transition programs to online learning and advise that this will not accept OSAP funding. Centennial College students are not required to amend their OSAP applications to reflect the short closure in March to allow for the transition to online learning.

For any full or partial withdrawals related to COVID-19, students will not be penalized through OSAP reassessment or OSAP academic penalties, providing the student provides documentation to the student financial services outlining their withdrawal was due to COVID related issues. Students who withdraw will be eligible for special consideration, authorized through the College’s financial aid office. For additional questions or concerns, we recommend you visit Student Financial Aid on our website or email them at financialaidquestions@centennialcollege.ca.

Your academic progress will be recorded based on the reduction of your course load or withdrawal unless you request special consideration from Student Financial Aid. The Ministry of Colleges and Universities has provided the financial aid office with authority to grant special consideration for lack of academic progress in most cases. Please contact the financial aid office at financialaidqquestions@centennialcollege.ca for more info.

The Ontario Indigenous Travel Grant (OITG) continues to be available to help full-time eligible post-secondary students, and/or their spouse and/or dependent children living with them, to assist with the costs of travelling between their remote First Nations community to the post-secondary school they are attending.

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities will also review and approve the requirement to make additional trips (i.e., return home due to COVID-19 and make additional return trips to school to complete practicum) as a one-time exception to the existing maximum number of allowable trips.

The Ministry recognizes that eligible students may have been impacted by unexpected surges in travel-related costs. If eligible students find themselves in this situation, please contact your Student Financial Services representative at financialaidquestions@centennialcollege.ca for more details or visit Student Financial Aid on our website.

Consistent with 2019-20 OSAP policy, expired cards can be accepted as Indigenous identification for OSAP-purposes. As per Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, “Indian status does not expire (an individual’s card can)”.

All online courses in Part-time Learning will continue as scheduled. While on-campus, face-to-face classes are suspended, all online courses (OntarioLearn) are ongoing and will continue as originally planned. This includes full-time students registered in a part-time online course.

You are paying tuition fees for a quality education and we will continue to deliver that quality during the Teaching at a Distance period from March 23 to the end of the semester, so tuition will not be refunded. During the recent temporary suspension of classes, our faculty used the time to transform their learning materials and create digital content accessible remotely. Student services such as counselling have also migrated to formats that you can access from the comfort of home. We are committed to supporting you in completing your semester with us. You will receive your own Semester Recovery Plan tailored with this goal in mind.

If your full course load is not a minimum of 60% of your model route, or 40% for students with disabilities, you will not be eligible for OSAP funding for the summer semester.

Contact our Student Financial Services team for more information at financialaidquestions@centennialcollege.ca.

Consistent with 2019-20 OSAP policy, expired cards can be accepted as Indigenous identification for OSAP-purposes. As per Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, “Indian status does not expire (an individual’s card can)”.

The Canada Emergency Student Benefit was introduced to help students who are struggling financially because of the pandemic. The benefit recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in fewer summer jobs for students, and fewer hours for students and those who graduated in December 2019. Eligible postsecondary students will receive $1,250 a month from May through August. Eligible students with dependents or who provide care for someone with a disability will receive $1,750 monthly. Working students earning less than $1,000 a month may also apply. Payments will be made through the Canada Revenue Agency. If you are able to work, you must be actively looking for a job to be eligible to receive the CESB. You cannot apply if you have already applied for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or Employment Insurance. Applications for CESB opened on Friday, May 15, 2020; applications must be submitted before September 30, 2020. To learn more about eligibility, and how to apply, visit this webpage.