High School Level Upgrading Funding

Full-Time Course Load

• Fall Term: Minimum 9 academic credits (ie: 2 upgrading courses)
• Winter Term: Minimum 9 academic credits (ie: 2 upgrading courses)
• Spring Term: Minimum 6 academic credits (ie: 1-2 upgrading courses)
  • Discuss your Spring course load with a Student Connect Centre advisor

Part-Time Course Load

• You are considered a part-time student if you do not meet the full-time course load listed above

Please note the following questions reflect basic eligibility only. The Foundational Learning Assistance program will perform a more elaborate eligibility assessment upon receipt of your application. 

Basic Eligibility

• You must have an Alberta address 
• You must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or refugee 
• You must be 18+ years old, or be 16-17 and a single parent, legally married, in a cohabitating relationship or pregnant 

Additional Requirements for Full-time Applicants

Full-time students must be unemployed or working less than 20 hours per week to be eligible for Foundational Learning Assistance.

If you are working 20 hours or more per week, you must obtain Counsel to Leave Employment approval. To do so, submit the online application for Full-Time Foundational Learning Assistance indicating you work more than 20 hours per week. If approved, you will receive a Counsel to Leave Employment Approval letter from the Foundational Learning Assistance Program. 

DO NOT leave your job prior to approval as this can jeopardize your funding eligibility. 

Please note students are able to receive a maximum of 50 months of full-time Foundational Learning Assistance funding during their lifetime.

Students must also maintain academic progress to continue receiving Foundational Learning Assistance funding.

Additional Requirements for Part-time Applicants

Your family’s (yourself, your spouse/partner and dependent children) combined income from the previous year must be less than the Net Income Threshold below: 

Family Size - Net Income Threshold (based on line 23600 of most recent tax return)

• 1 person - $35,000
• 2 people - $40,000
• 3 people - $45,000
• 4 people - $50,000
• 5 people - $55,000
• 6 people - $60,000

Note: this threshold increase by $5,000 per additional dependent. 

Before applying for funding, you must register in your intended course load. If you will be applying for part-time funding, you must be enrolled in a part-time course load. If you will be applying for full-time funding, you must be enrolled in a full-time course load. 

To register for courses: Log into your Loop Account and navigate to the Registration page

Students admitted to the Academic Upgrading program: Review the recommended course plan emailed to you by the Student Connect Centre and register in courses accordingly. 

Students admitted to a post-secondary program: Register in the upgrading courses required or recommended for your goal program. 

Completing a Foundational Learning Assistance Request Form is the first step in applying for Foundational Learning Assistance (FLA). The information you provide on this form will be used to create your student file with the FLA program. Once Red Deer Polytechnic enters your personal information with the FLA program and confirms your enrolment, you will receive an email to the address you provided on this form. This email will contain a link to the online FLA application. Please note: this email will NOT be from the Student Connect Centre. It will be sent from Foundational Learning Assistance FLSDCSD@gov.ab.ca. Be sure to monitor your email and to complete the FLA application at your earliest convenience. You will not be assessed for funding until your FLA application has been submitted.

The Foundational Learning Assistance Request Form is not currently available. As of July 22, 2024, government funding is limited for the 2024-2025 academic year. Priority will be given to continuing Academic Upgrading students registered in pre-requisite courses required for post-secondary programs.

You will receive an email from the Foundational Learning Assistance (FLSDCSD@gov.ab.ca) program approximately 3-7 business days after you’ve submitted your Foundational Learning Assistance Request Form. This email will contain a link to the online FLA application. Please note: You will not be assessed for funding until your FLA application has been submitted.

To complete the application, you will require:

• A Verified Alberta.ca account
• Your Social Insurance Number (SIN)
• Your Alberta Student Number (ASN)
  • Not sure what your ASN is? You can look it up here.
• Banking information for direct deposit

Be sure to monitor your email for important follow-up information. 

If you have any questions about the application you submitted or would like an update on the status of your application, please contact the Student Connect Centre.