Records of students’ application for and receipt of scholarships, awards, bursaries, and other forms of financial assistance.
This records class is a Personal Information Bank.
Related Records | Responsible Unit | Information Steward | Information Confidentiality Classification | Retention | Disposition | Authority | Retention Rationale | Personal Information Banks | Version Information
Content & Scope
Scholarships, bursaries and awards include awards established by the University and awards from external agencies where monies are disbursed by the University. Additional financial assistance is available to students through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) – providing federally and provincially funded financial assistance to students in Ontario – emergency financial aid, work-study and work-placement programs, and other loan programs where monies are disbursed by the University.
The records include: lists of applicants; applications and supporting documentation, which may include documentation of immigration and marital status; operational records of nominating/selection committees (where applicable); financial activity reports; and, related correspondence.
Related Records
For information maintained as part of the student record in the enterprise student information system (Quest), see ST20 – Student Records.
Responsible Unit
- Registrar's Office, Student Awards & Financial Aid.
- Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs.
- Units responsible for administering scholarships, bursaries, and awards.
Information Steward
- Registrar, for undergraduate student scholarships, bursaries, and awards.
- Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs, for graduate student scholarships, bursaries, and awards.
Information Confidentiality Classification
Highly Restricted.
Retention
- OSAP applications and supporting documentation: 2 years after the end of the annual loan cycle.
- Unsuccessful applications for scholarships, bursaries, awards, loans, work-study or work-placement jobs, or other financial aid programs: 1 year after last administrative use.
- All other records: 7 years after last administrative use.
Disposition
- OSAP applications and supporting documentation: transfer records to the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities.
- All other records: Secure Destruction.
Note
Responsible Units should document the disposal/destruction of official records using the University records destruction form or equivalent documentation, to verify that we are following our records retention rules.
Authority
- University of Waterloo Act, 1972.
- Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities Act.
- Canada Student Financial Assistance Act.
- Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 460, s. 5 (1).
Retention Rationale
The Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities requires that the University maintain documents in support of OSAP applications for 2 years. Once transferred to the Ministry, they are retained for 20 years and then destroyed. Other retention rules are based on accounting and audit requirements, and regulations to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act requiring that personal information be retained for a minimum of one year after its use, unless the individual to whom the information relates consents to its earlier disposal (RRO 1990 Reg 460, s 5(1)).
Personal Information Banks
Information on recipients includes: name, student number, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail, signature, academic information, supporting documentation depending upon scholarship applied for (e.g., application letter, letter of reference or nomination, transcript, bursary application form, co-op work-term performance evaluation, academic average, extracurricular activities, budget, resume, research proposal, other financial-assistance applied for, third-party opinions about the individual).
Under Review Date
29 January 2020
Previous Version
26 July 2010
(This records retention schedule replaces: ST20 – Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) Case Files, ST28 – Scholarships, Bursaries, and Awards Case Files, ST30 – Student Financial Aid Case Files, and ST35 – Unsuccessful Financial Aid and Award Applications)