If you do not meet the completion/grade or attendance requirements, exceed your educational assistance limit in courses at WCS or are no longer eligible for educational assistance, you are required to reimburse Western Continuing Studies for the full cost of the course:

• You will be contacted by email to provide payment information to collect outstanding fees;
• An immediate hold will be placed on your account in our registration system;
• Western Continuing Studies will contact Human Resources about your outstanding fees to prevent further claims under the educational assistance program; and  
• A failing grade will be placed on your student record (i.e. fail, incomplete or numerical grade below 50).

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is eligible to receive Educational Assistance funding?
• What types of courses are covered under the Educational Assistance plan?
• Do I have to pay for my course with my own money?
• Does my supervisor have to approve courses in order for me to receive Educational Assistance?
• What happens if I don’t successfully complete a course or if I no longer work at Western?
• When will my educational assistance be used to pay for course fees, when I register or at start of the course?
• What if I need to transfer to a different course?
• What if I need to withdraw from a course?
• Who should I contact for my EA balance?

1. Who is eligible to receive Educational Assistance funding?

Those who are eligible to receive Educational Assistance funding include:

• Regular full-time staff
• Other employees covered by collective agreements, as specified
• Other employment contracts, as specified
• Staff who are actively employed at the beginning and end of the course, are on an approved leave, or a regular reoccurring absence (e.g. Sessional)

If you are unsure if you are eligible to receive Educational Assistance funding, please contact Ask HR.

2. What types of courses are covered under the Educational Assistance plan?

Through a partnership with Human Resources, Western Continuing Studies offers Advanced Funding (ADV) to eligible Western employees for enrollment in courses pertinent to professional development. Here is a full list of all ADV courses.
 

Eligible Courses and Programs

3. Do I have to pay for my course with my own money?

Western values your employment and pays for your course fee as part of your competitive benefits package. You do not have to pay the course fee upfront. If you do not meet the completion/grade or attendance requirements, you are required to reimburse Western Continuing Studies for the full cost of the course. 

4. Does my supervisor have to approve courses in order for me to receive Educational Assistance?

No. If you are eligible to receive Educational Assistance funding according to your employee agreement, you do not need approval from your supervisor to take a course. If, however, your course takes place during work hours, you must seek approval from your supervisor to see if time away from work is possible. To ensure that operational needs are met, you and your supervisor may establish alternate work arrangements. For Librarian and Archivists, the University Librarian is required to approve the application for educational assistance, in accordance with the Collective Agreement.

5. What happens if I don’t successfully complete a course or if I no longer work at Western?

If you registered for an advance-funded (ADV) course at Western Continuing Studies and you do not successfully complete it, or you leave Western before the course ends, you are required to reimburse Western Continuing Studies the full cost of the course. If you did not receive advance payment, you will not be eligible to receive reimbursement for the course from the University.

6. When will my educational assistance be used to pay for course fees, when I register or at the start of the course?

Neither. It is the course end date that determines what year your Educational Assistance will be allocated from. Educational Assistance runs May 1 to April 30 for UWOFA and UWOFA-LA and June 1 to May 31 for all other employee groups and is based on the course's end date.

For example, if you register for a course in June 2023, regardless of when the course starts, if the end date of the course is after May 31, 2024, the course fees will be deducted from your 2024/2025 Educational Assistance Limit.

7. What if I need to transfer to a different course?

If you need to transfer to a different course, send us an email at cstudies@uwo.ca with your name, current course, course you wish to transfer to, and the reason for transferring. You will be advised within 24 hours by email whether the transfer has been approved or denied.

Please note that you are responsible for paying any transfer fees.

8. What if I need to withdraw from a course?

If you need to withdraw from a course, send us an email at cstudies@uwo.ca with your name, course you wish to withdraw from, and the reason for withdrawing. You will be advised within 24 hours by email whether the withdrawal has been approved or denied.

Please note that you are responsible for paying any withdrawal fees.

9. Who should I contact for my EA balance?

For courses taken at Western Continuing Studies, contact our Learning Experience Team or by call us at 519.661.3658. 

For courses taken outside of Western Continuing Studies, please contact Ask HR.

Please note that if you have used your Educational Assistance with Western Continuing Studies and elsewhere you will need to contact both our office and Human Resources.

To ensure your ongoing eligibility for advanced funding, please take time to review Western Continuing Studies policies on:

1. Drops, Transfers and Refunds
2. Requirements for Attendance
3. Annual Allocation for Educational Assistance

If have questions about your Educational Assistance spent with Western Continuing Studies in the current spending year, please contact us.

If you have questions about your Educational Assistance, and have spent funds at any other institution instead of or as well as Western Continuing Studies, please contact Western Human Resources. 

If you are a Western Employee and are not a part of the Educational Assistance group, please contact Western Human Resources.