Calgary and Edmonton student advocacy groups welcomed the province’s changes to student loan criteria, but said the late announcement reinforced the need for additional consultation.

On the afternoon of Nov. 3, the Government of Alberta announced that it would no longer consider parental income when determining student loan award amounts for the 2026-27 academic year, triggering a reassessment of about 21,000 applications. 

Students who have already submitted a loan request do not need to reapply or provide additional documents. The government added that Alberta Student Aid will notify students directly whether they qualify for more funding. 

The province first stopped taking parental and spousal income into account in 2012, then reintroduced it earlier this year, a move students and their elected representatives quickly condemned in March. 

Now, while spousal income remains a consideration, a government news release issued yesterday explained that the change came directly in response to the backlash, citing affordability and barriers caused by not every parent’s net income matching their contributions. 

“Being accountable means listening to people, looking at how a decision affects them, and being willing to change course,” said Myles McDougall, minister of advanced education. 

“Students and families told us this approach was adding to the cost-of-living pressures they already face. We listened, and we are taking action to ease that pressure and better support students and their families.”

While some student unions welcomed the reversal, they expressed dissatisfaction with the update’s timing and with still-active tuition policies and the government’s consultation efforts. 

Student unions say learners already feel effects of delay in ditching parent income

Noel Ormita, president of the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University (SAMRU), praised the change, saying it will help ensure post-secondary students have one less burden to bear. 

“This would have created more financial barriers for students,” he said. 

“Especially as they plan their academics and also just the financial hurdles that they have to go through in addition to this as well.”

Despite this, Ormita said that because this was introduced nearly three months into the academic year, many students who did not receive enough funding might have already deferred the semester or picked up an extra job before classes started. 

“When students take a pause in their academics, it prolongs their opportunity to graduate and actually join the workforce as contributing members to our economy,” he said. 

“That’s something that the government has said is important to them in terms of leading in different sectors and different industries, and so when we’re not supporting students in this way, then it really hinders them and their success, and that translates to our success as a province.”

In a Sept. 18 statement, the Edmonton-based Students’ Association of MacEwan University decried the loan criteria before parental income was removed.

“While many parents and spouses would love to pay for their loved one’s education, it is often not possible, which is the exact reason we have a student aid program,” the statement read.

LWC contacted the University of Calgary’s Students’ Union, which declined to comment at this time. The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology’s Students’ Association and Ambrose University’s Undergraduate Student Council did not respond by the deadline. This article will be updated should either provide a statement.

‘Meaningful consultation’ an ask of the future, says SAMRU president

The province stated in the same news release that it received 1,000 more student loan applications this year than in the 2025-26 academic year. Moreover, removing parental income is expected to result in approximately $118 million in additional disbursements. 

SAMRU’s Ormita was worried that as demand for student financial assistance grows, so does apprehension among aspiring academics who may question whether today’s support will still be there tomorrow. 

“With the regulation, [the government] can easily implement and then reverse a decision like this, and that’s something that’s really concerning on our end because it creates more uncertainty for students,” he said. 

“It also creates that harm, additional harm, in terms of planning their academic year and also their post-secondary journey.”

Regardless, Ormita said the update isn’t enough to keep students’ heads above water financially. He referred to the province’s spring decision to double the minimum contribution for student loan recipients from $1,500 to $3,000 as an example. 

Ormita said SAMRU consulted with the ministry ahead of both this and the initial reintroduction of family income, but said these advocacy efforts failed. He critiqued the government’s consultation process and hopes for a seat at the table ahead of future changes. 

“Students are always ready to answer, if they’re ready to ask us the questions, and that’s something that we’re really pushing for,” he said. 

“There are a lot of decisions being made without meaningful consultation with student leaders and students in general, and those are the things that we’re really concerned about.”