Bridge dollars to support post-secondary students in Whitecourt now open for application

  By Serena Lapointe

A collaboration between the Town of Whitecourt, Town of Drayton Valley and the University of
Alberta, as well as two other municipalities in the region, has resulted in the Regional Tuition
Assistance Bursary Program, where municipalities are provided seed money to offer a municipal
bursary. Whitecourt residents interested in post-secondary education and training opportunities
in high-demand sectors, including healthcare, skilled trades, transportation, technology and
social services, and who intend to return to the municipality once completed, now have an
opportunity to access support dollars towards their goals.
Each participating municipality has slight variations to their program. Whitecourt’s Tuition
Assistance Bursary (TAB) Program was discussed at length during a Policies and Priorities
Committee meeting and later passed and adopted by Town Council at their regular meeting on
November 24. Rhonda Woods, Economic Development Officer for the Town of Whitecourt,
explained that the program was for both youth students and adult learners.
Drayton Valley was one of the inaugural communities to launch the regional program and has
successfully supported students. Hinton is another municipality taking part. Now, the Town of
Whitecourt will have the chance to find its own success in supporting learners thanks to a
$10,000 influx from the University of Alberta to get the program off the ground.
The standout difference between the TAB program and other grants or bursaries from other
funders is that it is meant to supplement funding and not replace other forms of assistance. To
qualify, students must show that they do not qualify for remaining funding sources, be it
provincial, federal, regional or scholarships, as examples. Students who have exhausted
funding sources and who still have tuition costs to pay could receive funding through TAB as a
bridge over the remaining gap they have in paying for their schooling.
With ten thousand dollars, Whitecourt’s TAB program can provide successful candidates with up
to $5,000, which would enable the municipality to help at least two students at full funding
allowance, or more, depending on how much is remaining from the pot. The dollars can also be
carried over if not fully used in 2026. “Say we get two students that apply and we use $5,000,
that other $5,000 is still part of this program for the following year,” explained Woods.
Hinton, as an example, has chosen to craft its policy to provide five bursaries valued at $2,000
each. The Town of Whitecourt has elected to set a maximum amount that they will provide to
one applicant while leaving room to maneuver and vary amounts based on an applicant’s
request and approval within that maximum.
Councillor McAree said the program sounded amazing. He asked what would happen if it were
oversubscribed. “Would it be expanded?” Woods explained that there is an option to apply for
grants to extend it. “Right now, I’m not sure what that will look like, but we will start with the ten
thousand as a pilot project and see where that goes and how many applications we get, and if
there are any changes, it will definitely come back to Council for future years,” she said.

Councillor Baker asked for clarification on whether an applicant can receive dollars from other
sources, too. “We’re not saying they can’t get funding through anywhere else?” Woods said no.
“No, absolutely not. This program is really intended to top up and fill the gap that they are
missing, and bridge the remaining gap. There is an area (on the form) where they can list the
grants that they have applied for, and then the score will reflect based on what they have
already received and what the difference in funding is. If they received funding and it didn’t fully
cover their tuition, this could cover what’s missing,” she clarified.
Four municipalities are taking part in this pilot project, which aims to help students achieve post-
secondary education while encouraging them to bring that achievement back to their
communities, keeping local talent local. The seed funding helps encourage municipalities to give
it a shot.
“The intention is for communities to be able to launch their own bursary programs for their
residents, and then if funding is available then it could continue, and if not, then it would be up to
municipalities to look at how they would fund that for future years,” said Woods, adding that
there are grants available to support programs such as this.
To learn more, residents can search for the Tuition Assistance Bursary Program on the Town of
Whitecourt’s website (www.whitecourt.ca). Applicants will need to show proof of residency in the
community and must be accepted into an accredited post-secondary institution to apply.