Income and Employment Supports Act, Section 21
Income and Employment Supports Act, Section 26
Income Support, Training and Health Benefits Regulation, Part 1
Training Provider Regulation, Section 3(a)(b)

INTENT

The Government of Alberta pays training benefits directly or indirectly on behalf of eligible learners for tuition, student association fees, mandatory fees, books and supplies.

POLICY

Training providers must ensure that learners are  enrolled in the training they were approved to attend.   

If the “Notice of Payment” contains incorrect information (e.g. Learner Name, Reference ID, Start/End dates, Tuition, Mandatory Fees, Student Association Fees, Books, Supplies, Underpayment, etc.), the training provider must advise the Government of Alberta within 5 business days of receiving the “Notice of Payment” to allow for corrections to be made and to minimize over/under payments .

Training benefits are paid according to a set schedule.

Payment of Tuition, Mandatory Fees and Student Association Fees for Non-Employment Insurance (Non-EI) and Part-Time Learners
Tuition, mandatory fees and student association fees (tuition and fees) for full-time, Non-EI learners and all part-time learners are paid to training providers according to a fixed schedule:

Payments - Employment Insurance (EI) Learners
Tuition and fees for full-time EI-funded learners are paid to the training providers on the first day of a training session, unless the training spans the end of a calendar year. In this situation, the following year’s pro-rated balance is paid on January 1.

Payments - Transitional Vocational Programs (TVP)
All training benefits are paid to the training provider for TVP.

The preferred method of payment for tuition and fees is by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).  Tuition and fees will be issued by cheque if banking information is unavailable.

Training Benefits – First Payer Rule
When a learner’s eligibility for training benefits is less than the full tuition and fees for a training session, the approved amount is paid directly to the training provider. If a subsequent financial appeal results in additional funds awarded, all additional funds up to the full amount of tuition and fees are paid directly to the training provider. The learner is responsible to pay any balance owing. Tuition and fees are charged to the fiscal year in which the payment was made. Payments scheduled for April that are paid in March, are charged to the new fiscal year.

Books and Supplies
Books and supplies are paid to the learner for both full-time and part-time learners. Full-time learners are paid according to the same payment schedule as tuition and fees. Part-time learners are paid at the beginning of each session. In exceptional cases involving distance delivery, a-synchronous, synchronous or correspondence courses, funding for books and supplies may be sent directly to the training provider. This may be requested from their designated Government of Alberta contact.