Caution Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Test Message with Icon

Holiday closure: Offices will be closed Dec 12-Jan 07

Test Message Without Icon

Holiday closure: Offices will be closed Dec 12-Jan 07

U.S. Student Aid

U.S. Student Resources

U.S. Direct Loans University of Toronto Policies and Regulations

Each registered student at the University of Toronto holds a confidential record of information which is regulated by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FIPPA). Access to all student records is by the student only and no other third party.

Disbursement Currency: Disbursements are issued in Canadian dollars and not in U.S. funds.

Disbursement Eligibility: In order to receive loan payments, students must pass the following eligibility checks:

  • A student must be registered at least at a minimum half-time course load as defined by their Faculty/Division,
  • Have paid or deferred their tuition fees (as instructed by the Student Accounts Office), and
  • Be in good academic standing and be on track to complete the U.S. Department of Education’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements by the end of the award year.

Disbursement Schedule: Students in 8-month bachelors or masters programs receive two disbursements:

  • One in the Fall and one at the start of the Winter session.
  • As per U.S. Department of Education regulations, undergraduate students entering Year 1 studies have the earliest disbursement date as 30 days after the first day of classes in the fall.

Students in 12-month master’s or PhD programs receive three disbursements:

  • One after the start of the Fall session, one after the start of the Winter session, and one after the start of the Summer session.
  • Students requesting for one term of funding (one semester), the minimum number of disbursements are two equal disbursements in one term.

Fall Disbursement processing and Winter tuition payments: Should a student who receives a U.S. Direct Loan disbursement in the Fall have loan funds processed on ACORN and Fall tuition is paid using the U.S. Direct Loan funds. If the U.S. Direct Loan received is higher than the Fall tuition amount owing, the student will be eligible for a refund. As per U.S. Department of Education regulations, any eligible refunds for the Fall disbursement must be issued to the student who may use the funds for that semester’s living expenses. As such, a student with such an eligible refund will not have the refund amount generated to the Winter session fees. See Request a Refund for more information how students should set up direct deposit details on ACORN with a Canadian bank account.

All scholarships, grants, assistantships, bursaries and private loans must be reported in the application process so they can be incorporated in the loan assessment. Any changes to the funding reported from these sources during the award year must be reported through the University Registrar’s Office Service Portal to determine if changes impact a loan assessment issued to the student.

Every student must complete Exit Counseling on the Federal Student Aid website and begin repayment of their student loans when they are no longer registered in full-time studies (i.e., graduation, withdrawal, or course load reduction to less than half-time).

Any time taken away from studies at the University of Toronto, whether it is for one semester, part of a semester or a full year, may impact a student’s financial award eligibility or loan repayment. Any leave of absence must be reported to both the student’s Faculty, College, or Campus Registrar’s Office and through the University Registrar’s Office Service Portal.

More information on Leaves of Absence is available on this U.S. Direct Loans page.

U.S. Direct Loan payments will be made in Canadian dollars to the student’s ACORN account, and will first pay any outstanding tuition fees. Any remaining amount after outstanding fees have been paid will be refunded to the student by the Student Accounts Office. Financial planning must be done in order to have sufficient living expenses during the first term prior to the second disbursement in January.

U.S. Federal Regulations 45 CFR 155.260 stipulate that PII must be safeguarded for security. Any records such as date of birth and/or Social Security Number are PII and, if sent via email, must be encrypted with a password and the password sent in a separate email to the University of Toronto.

The following registration requirements must be met for students to be eligible for U.S. Direct Loans or In-school Loan Deferment at the University of Toronto:

  • Student must be registered in a degree program. Students are considered registered if they have either successfully completed a tuition fee deferral for the current academic terms, or they have paid the minimum payment to register as listed in their ACORN fees invoice.
  • Student must be registered for at least a half-time course load.
    • For undergraduate students:
      • Full-time course load = 1.5 credits or more in each term of study.
      • Half-time course load = at least 1.25 credits in each term of study.
      • Less than half-time course load = less than 1.25 credits in each term of study.
    • For students in second-entry programs such as Law, and graduate programs:
      • Full-time course load = Full-time Attendance indicator/registration status, and enrolment in at least one course or research/thesis credit in each term of study.
      • Half-time course load = as defined by student’s Faculty/Division.
  • Students registered in a work term (for programs that have a co-op or internship component as part of their degree program) are considered to have the workload equivalent to the academic workload of a full-time student.
  • Students are advised to review the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy which notes the minimum number of credits that must be successfully completed in each academic year to continue to be eligible for U.S. Direct Loans.

Service charges are levied on unpaid fees as stipulated in the schedule published by the Student Accounts Office.

Service charges cannot be waived on the basis of fluctuations in exchange rates, returned, or on the basis of loans issued in multiple disbursements. You are responsible to fund any shortfall in exchange rate conversion. The exchange rate is the one used by the University of Toronto on the date of each transaction to or from U.S. currency.

Each student must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) based on U.S. federal regulations in order to continue receiving Direct Loans.

Direct Loan Requests – Sufficient funds: As a foreign institution, the University of Toronto does not offer any U.S. Pell Grant funding and only offers U.S. loans. As such, the student is responsible for assessing their own financial resources and for ensuring that they request high enough amount in U.S. Direct Loans to cover their total Cost of Attendance (Tuition + Living Expenses). Direct Loans are subject to federal annual and lifetime loan limits and both Direct and Direct PLUS loans requested must be at or below the minimum Cost of Attendance.

Financial Budgeting: Students are responsible for planning their finances for their studies at the University of Toronto and during the award year where the schedule of disbursements is equally spread across the terms of funding requested by the student.

Use the Financial Planning Calculator to assist you with budgeting your year at the University of Toronto.

Information Changes: Students must maintain and update their file information for their U.S. Direct Loan application package, and reporting any changes to their academic, financial, marital status or personal information changes. Students must be report through the University Registrar’s Office Service Portal.

Payment of Outstanding Fees: All students, including those who receive U.S. Direct Loans, must monitor their financial account on ACORN and are responsible to ensuring that they pay any outstanding balances owing to the University of Toronto by the deadline dates listed by the Student Accounts Office. All fees from the current session must be paid prior to registering for any future sessions.

Personal Information: As the fastest way for a student to receive a refund is by direct deposit refunds, it is imperative that all personal information on ACORN, including a current and accurate mailing address in Toronto and Canadian banking account information, are up to date.

A student’s enrolment in an exchange/study abroad program approved for credit by the University of Toronto may be considered enrolment at University of Toronto for the purpose of applying for U.S. Direct Loans.

For more information, submit a ticket to the University Registrar’s Office Service Portal.

Tuition Fees are reported by the Student Accounts Office. Students who have dual Canadian/U.S. citizenship should work with their Faculty, College, or Campus Registrar’s Office with regards to being assessed domestic fees. U.S. citizens/permanent residents can review International Fee Exemptions to determine if they meet international fee exemption requirements.

Students who apply for a U.S. Direct Loan and returning students who have paid all outstanding balances from previous sessions at the University of Toronto are eligible for a tuition fees deferral (registration without payment pending the results of a U.S. Direct Loan application assessment).

The Direct Loan is awarded on the basis that the student will be a full-time student for the full academic year. Students who withdraw or reduce their course load to less than half-time status may not be eligible for their assessed loans for the academic year.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress to be eligible for further U.S. Direct Loans. SAP is measured annually at the end of each academic year in accordance with the University of Toronto’s published academic standards required for graduation and U.S. regulations.

All periods of enrolment are included when assessing a student’s progress, including periods of study when no U.S. Direct Loan funding was received by the student.

Students will be notified via their utoronto.ca email address of the outcome of their SAP evaluation by mid-June of each year.

To be eligible for further U.S. Direct Loan funding, students must successfully achieve all three SAP components:

Such as:

  • Family difficulties 
  • Medical problems 
  • Illness 
  • Death in the family 
  • Interpersonal relationship problems 
  • Financial difficulties 
  • A letter explaining the reason(s) the SAP requirements were not met. 
  • Documentation supporting reasons for not meeting SAP requirements, as applicable. 
  • Explanation of changes that will enable student to meet the SAP requirements. 
  • An academic plan of recovery developed by the student and an official Faculty/College academic advisor outlining the strategies that will be followed in the upcoming academic year to meet SAP requirements. 
  • Students will be notified of the outcome of their appeal via their utoronto.ca email address in 5-10 business days of submitting their completed appeal package. 
  • If appeal is successful, students will be placed on financial probation status. While on financial probation status, students:
    • May be eligible to receive U.S. Direct Loans for the academic year. 
    • Must maintain satisfactory academic performance. 
  • Students must provide evidence of successfully achieving all the SAP requirements (qualitative and quantitative) after their first term on probation, and before the next disbursement for the current academic year is paid.
    • Qualitative: CGPA must meet academic standing requirements as required by Faculty in order to graduate.
    • Quantitative: Students must complete at least 67% of the courses they are registered in their first term while on financial probation. For example, a student registered in 2.5 FCE during the first term of probation must complete at least 1.67 FCE.
  • Students must provide documentation from an official academic advisor that confirms the strategies submitted in the academic plan of recovery have been followed.
  • Students who do not meet the SAP requirements outlined in the academic plan will be ineligible for U.S. Direct Loans for the next term and the following academic year.

Transfer Credit Information for High School and Post-Secondary Courses

Divisional Academic Standing Policies 

Please visit the University Registrar’s Office Service Portal.

Return of Title IV U.S. Direct Loan Funds Due to Withdrawal

U.S. Direct Loans are awarded on the basis that students will study full-time for their complete period of study. Students “earn” aid through attendance based on the number of calendar days completed while in full-time studies, divided by the total number of calendar days in the period of study. Students who complete 60% or more of their period of study have “earned” 100% of their U.S. Direct Loans. Students who complete less than 60% of their period of study due to withdrawal are required to repay the portion of their loan that they have not “earned”. For full-time, half-time and less than half-time course load definitions, please see Registration Status.

Responsibility for repaying the portion of “unearned” or overpaid loan to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is shared by the student and the University of Toronto.

  • Withdrawal Date: Date when the student notified the Faculty/Division/Registrar’s Office of withdrawal from the University of Toronto.
    • For students who do not notify the University of Toronto of their intent to withdraw, the unofficial withdrawal date (i.e., mid-point date in the student’s period of study or the last day of attendance in an academically-related activity) will be used.
  • Any credit balances that a withdrawn student may have on their ACORN account will be held until after the unearned portion of the loan funds has been calculated.
  • Any credit balances a student may be eligible to receive, after the unearned portion of the loans has been calculated, will be refunded to the student within 15 days.
  • To request a refund of any credit balances, follow the Request a Refund procedure.
  • Calculating “unearned” or overpaid U.S. Direct Loans. This calculation must be completed within 30 days of the date that the University Registrar’s Office determines that the student has officially withdrawn.
    • This date may be different from the withdrawal date if the student did not notify the University Registrar’s Office of the withdrawal.
  • Notifying students of any “unearned” or overpaid U.S. Direct Loans, or eligibility for a post- withdrawal disbursement (if all of “earned” funds have not yet been paid to the student by the time of the withdrawal date; see Post-Withdrawal Disbursement). This notification must be made within 30 days of the date that the University Registrar’s Office determines that the student has officially withdrawn.
  • Repaying the student’s “unearned” or overpaid U.S. Direct Loans to the DOE within 45 days of the official withdrawal date.
  • Notifying the University Registrar’s Office immediately, in writing, of their withdrawal or course load reduction. Notification can be made via the Service Portal.
  • Repaying the full amount of their “unearned” loan(s) to the loan holder. This repayment must be done in accordance with the terms of the loan noted in the signed Master Promissory Note.
  • Repaying to the University of Toronto Student Accounts Office within 45 days from the notification by the University Registrar’s Office.
    • The amount of funds returned to the DOE on behalf of the student if this exceeds the credit on the student’s ACORN account.
  • Number of calendar days in the study period.
  • Number of calendar days completed in the study period.
  • Institutional charges (original tuition and fee charges before withdrawal, reduced course load).
  • Total amount of the U.S. Direct Loans awarded, accepted and/or disbursed.

Example:

  • Student is notified that they are eligible for a net US$6,000 U.S. Direct Loans for full-time study for the 2018-19 academic year from Sept 6 to Apr 30.
  • Net US$3,000 U.S. Direct Loans is disbursed for fall term in September.
  • Student withdraws from the University of Toronto effective Nov 5.
  • The University Registrar’s Office determines on Nov 10 that the student has withdrawn.
    • No later than 30 days from this date, the University Registrar’s Office must:
  • Calculate earned and unearned funds.
  • Notify the student of their earned and unearned loans.
  • Calculations:
    • Number of calendar days in the fall term study period = 106 days (Sept 6 to Dec 21)
    • Number of calendar days completed in the fall term study period = 61 days (Sept 6 to Nov 5)
    • Percentage of study period completed = 57% (61 days/106 days)
    • U.S. Direct Loan funds earned = US$1,710 ($3,000 x 57%)
    • U.S. Direct Loans funds not earned = US$1,290 ($3,000 – $1710)
  • Student is notified on Nov 20 of their earned and unearned U.S. Direct Loan funds.
    • No later than 45 days from this date:
  • The University of Toronto must repay the student’s unearned loan funds to the DOE.
  • The student must repay any portion of their unearned loans to the University of Toronto if the credit on their ACORN account after their withdrawal/course reduction is less than the unearned loans returned by the University of Toronto to DOE on their behalf.

Students may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement if all of the “earned” loan funds have not yet been paid to them by the time of their withdrawal date.

Notification will be sent to the student regarding eligibility for a post-withdrawal disbursement within 30 days of the date that the University Registrar’s Office determines that the student has officially withdrawn. Students will have 14 days from the date of notification to respond in writing that they will accept or decline all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement.

If students accept the post-withdrawal disbursement, the loan funds will be disbursed to students’ ACORN accounts within 180 days of the date when the University Registrar’s Office determined that the student has officially withdrawn.

For post-withdrawal disbursements of Parent PLUS Loans, notification will be made through the student, and the response to accept or decline all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement must be made by the parent in writing. Parents should note that any post-withdrawal disbursements that they accept will still be disbursed to the students’ ACORN accounts.

The University Registrar’s Office will not issue any post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds if students and parents fail to respond within the required 14 days.

The unearned funds that students re-pay will be returned to their U.S. Direct Loans account in the following order:

  1. Unsubsidized U.S. Direct Loan
  2. Subsidized U.S. Direct Loan
  3. Parent PLUS U.S. Direct Loan
  4. Graduate Professional PLUS U.S. Direct Loan

Please visit the University Registrar’s Office Service Portal.  
Select “Get Help”  
Select an area of inquiry: Financial Aid (OSAP, BSWD, UTAPS, etc.)  
Further specify the area of inquiry: U.S.A. Student Aid 

U.S. Direct Loans Consumer Information

As required by U.S. Federal Regulation 34 CFR 668.41, any University of Toronto student receiving U.S. Direct Loans is required to receive the follow information:

University of Toronto’s U.S. Direct Loans Default Prevention and Management Plan

As a Title IV educational institution, the University of Toronto administers the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program for its U.S. students at its three campuses – Mississauga, Scarborough and St. George. 

Activities related to the administration of the Direct Loan Program are centralized at the University Registrar’s Office on the St. George campus, and are carried out by the USA financial aid team. The team focuses on supporting U.S. students in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in the entire process of applying for, and maintaining, their U.S. Direct Loans for each year of their studies at the University of Toronto. 

The following strategies form the University of Toronto’s U.S. Direct Loans Default Prevention and Management Plan. These strategies ensure that students and their parents, and the University of Toronto faculties and departments, are fully informed about and supported through the U.S. Direct Loans process. Supporting students in the U.S. Direct Loans process ensures that they maintain their eligibility for U.S. Direct Loans while they are registered at the University of Toronto. 

A detailed website about U.S. Direct Loans is available. Students who contact the University of Toronto via phone or email are directed to this website so that they can review the application steps as well as the policies and procedures related to U.S. Direct Loans. 

The website also contains information about: 

A senior member of the USA financial aid team is designated to U.S. loans processing (including Alternative/Private Loans). This individual is available to respond to student/parent inquiries via phone, email or in-person at all stages of the U.S. Direct Loans process. 

Note that the Canadian Freedom of Information & Privacy Act regulates the information that can be shared with parents of students, or any other third-party. In cases when a parent makes inquiries on behalf of their dependants, they are provided general information only, with no information specific to their dependants’ application or registration files. 

All U.S. Direct Loan borrowers are required by the U.S. federal government to complete entrance counselling through the Federal Student Aid website. Students are required to complete entrance counselling as part of the very first Direct Loan application they submit at the University of Toronto. 

The entrance counselling process allows students to learn and understand: 

  • How loans work 
  • How to manage their spending while in school 
  • How much they will need to repay, and when 
  • How to avoid loan defaults 

The date when the student completed entrance counselling is noted in the student file. 

On a yearly basis, the University of Toronto confirms that students with current U.S. Direct Loans meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements. The requirements and process are also noted to the students in their notice of disbursement. 

Should students not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements, the appeals process requires students to get in touch with their Faculty, College, or Campus Registrar’s Office for assistance in crafting and implementing a sound academic plan to get back into status. This ensures that other University of Toronto offices are involved in the process of restoring the student to satisfactory academic progress. 

As required by the U.S. federal government, the University of Toronto submits enrolment updates every 60 days to the National Student Loan Data Center (NSLDC) for all students with current and previous U.S. Direct Loans. Based on this reporting, the University of Toronto is able to determine which students are no longer in full-time studies, so that they can be contacted for exit counselling.

Students who are no longer in full-time studies (drop to less than half-time studies, withdraw or graduate from their program) are required to undergo exit counseling. The University of Toronto communicates with students regarding this requirement, including follow-up email messages and letters as necessary. 

Students are asked to complete and submit a verification form to the University of Toronto to confirm that they have undergone the exit counseling process. This submitted form is retained in the student file.