Emergency Funding
Emergency Funding is available year-round to eligible currently enrolled students experiencing a financial hardship. Specifically, emergency funding is only for students who:
- encounter an unforeseen financial crisis
- resulting in a verifiable need
- that will have a material impact on their ability to successfully complete their semester.
All three conditions must be met to qualify. Students may be studying on any campus or online, and be domestic or international, but most funding sources are only available to full-time students. In addition, students will normally be expected to first access available government financial aid (grants and loans) if they have not already done so. Students enrolled at more than one school should seek assistance only from their primary school (the school where they applied for government student loans & grants). If appropriate in urgent cases, an emergency loan may be advanced until the regular funding is received.
Emergency Funding (bursaries and/or loans) is available for crises related to living costs: food, housing, transportation, or other emergency costs that cannot be otherwise addressed through alternate funding or financial choices. Emergency Funding is normally limited to the immediate month and situation.
Emergency Funding is not available for outstanding or upcoming tuition and fees.
International Students must contact their ISA (International Student Advisor) prior to applying for Emergency Funding.
To start an application, please email [email protected] with a brief description of your situation and needs and we’ll reply promptly.
For general non-emergency financial needs, please see options for in-course bursary applications or contact our office.
All payments are made by cheque and will be mailed to your home address. Ensure the address in myTRU is up to date. It may be different from your permanent residence address.
TRU Emergency Bridging Loan
Emergency Loans are intended to assist students who are experiencing temporary critical financial difficulty due to unforeseen circumstances and have no available options for securing short-term funds. Students must:
- normally be in receipt of government student financial assistance
- have a positive history of tuition payment at TRU
- have an immediate cash flow shortfall, but be able to demonstrate how total educational and living costs for the semester can be met through available financial resources including savings, borrowing, awards, employment, and if needed the restructuring of expenses.
These loans are most often made available to students whose government student aid has been delayed to assist in meeting short-term living costs.
TRUSU Emergency Bursary
The Students’ Union emergency bursary is available to currently enrolled TRUSU members who demonstrate need for assistance due to an unforeseeable and urgent financial crisis and meet the above emergency criteria.
Indigenous Emergency Assistance Fund
Funding has been provided by the Province of British Columbia for emergency relief funds to Indigenous students attending British Columbia public post-secondary institutions in order to have a positive impact on retention and completion.
Bursaries valued up to $900 per qualified individual are intended to assist students at any stage in their TRU program with specific unforeseen costs (e.g. medical, emergency travel, etc).
To apply, contact Indigenous Services.
Other
Addressing funding challenges as early as possible could mitigate the burden and stress of trying to secure financial aid while also trying to cope with academic and other commitments. Emergency bursary approvals are case-specific; upon approval, financial assistance is provided as quickly as possible in response to the situation.
Understanding and managing your finances wisely is an important part of being a university student. A budget is a simple way for you to organize and manage your money to ensure that it lasts for your entire academic year. The Budget Calculator is a free tool to assist students in the budgeting and planning of finances. It is only as accurate as the information you provide.
