STUDENT USER GUIDE FOR SERVICES AND EQUIPMENT

GRANT Last revised: September 2019

POST-SECONDARY ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES (PSAS), DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR AND ADVANCED EDUCATION

1256 Barrington Street, Thompson Building – 5th floor, Halifax NS B3J 1Y6 902.424.6737 | psas@novascotia.ca

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Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Steps to Receiving Service and Equipment

1. Speak to Your School’s Accessibility Office ...................................................................................... 3

2. Register through Student Assistance ............................................................................................... 3

Full-time or Intermission (summer) Application .............................................................................. 4

Part-time Application ....................................................................................................................... 4

3. Apply for Permanent Disability Status ............................................................................................. 5

4. Apply for Service and Equipment ..................................................................................................... 7

5. Approval Requests ........................................................................................................................... 9

6. Refusal Requests .............................................................................................................................. 9

7. Receipt Submissions ....................................................................................................................... 10

8. What to do with Unused Funds ..................................................................................................... 11

9. Contact Information ....................................................................................................................... 12

10. Quick Links ..................................................................................................................................... 13

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Introduction Post-Secondary Accessibility Services (PSAS) provides funding for educational supports to remove

barriers for post-secondary students such as assistive technology, tutoring, notetaking, sign language

interpreting, and attendant care. Our funding is available to all Nova Scotia students enrolled in post-

secondary education and who have registered and declared a disability with Student Assistance.

The Student User Guide for Services and Equipment Grant is to assist you in applying for the grant

whether you are in financial need or not.

The sections are to give you a detailed step by step walkthrough, along with screenshots, for how to

apply and use MyPATH.

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Steps to Receiving Funding for Services and Equipment through

Post-Secondary Accessibility Services

1. Speak to Your School’s Accessibility Office

Please always consult with your school’s accessibility office before applying for the grant. For

who to contact and their contact information, please visit our website

(https://novascotia.ca/post-secondary-accessibility-services/supports-and-services.asp).

If you are attending a private career college or out of province school and there is no

accessibility office, contact Post-Secondary Accessibility services at 1-800-565-8420.

Your accessibility office is an excellent resource to:

1. Help identify the specific barriers in your chosen area of study.

2. Obtain information on services and equipment that are available.

3. Provide training on how certain services and equipment work.

4. Provide support to assist in the grant application process.

2. Register through Student Assistance

Create a MyPATH account

Click on this MyPATH, and it will direct you to create an account. MyPATH account allows

you to see how much loan and grants you will be receiving, and any other notifications or

actions you need to do for either Student Assistance or Post-Secondary Accessibility Services.

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Full-time or Intermission (summer) Application

Click on either Full-time Application or Intermission Application to answer a series of questions.

You will then be given a student assistance file#. Keep this for your files.

Part-time Application (less than 40% of a full course load)

If part-time, you will need to fill out a paper application form. You can download the form from

this address - https://novascotia.ca/studentassistance/Apply/New/ApplyNow.asp

You will need to either fax (902) 424-0540 or mail the part-time form to:

Student Assistance Office PO BOX 2290, Halifax Central, Halifax Nova Scotia B3J 3C8

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3. Apply for Permanent Disability Status

Click on Self-Declared as Permanent Disabled and follow the instructions. You will be able to

download the Permanent Disability Verification Form from here.

Once your doctor verifies your permanent disability, you must upload the form through your

MyPATH account. See below for the location for uploading.

See next page for upload screen

Click on your current

Application year

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Upload screen –

Note: Post-Secondary Accessibility Services will not accept the form through email or fax. The

form MUST be uploaded through your MyPATH account.

Any older forms will not be accepted. The current version of the form MUST be filled out and

uploaded.

If your disability has been refused, it will be in this area in your MyPATH account.

Click on the up and down

arrow to give more

information

Click on the up and

down arrow to give

more information

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4. Apply for Service and Equipment

Once your permanent disability has been verified and approved, you need to make an

appointment with your school’s accessibility office to discuss what accommodation options are

available to you. You can do this step with meeting with the school’s accessibility office even

prior to registering with Student Assistance. The school’s accessibility person and you will make

a list of what you need and what you need to submit to Post-Secondary Accessibility Services

for approval.

Note – if requesting services such as tutoring and note-taking, receipts proving that you did

receive services will have to be submitted at the end of each term in order to receive future

funding.

Click the Services and Equipment Grant.

Select the application year you are applying for service and equipment funding for and press

‘Save and Continue’.

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2.

3.

Then go through the series of questions.

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For tutoring requests, have a discussion with your school’s accessibility office first to consider which courses you will have barriers in. It is recommended to request smaller amounts of funding per term. If you require more funding, provided you have submitted receipts, additional funding can be granted through your MyPATH account and direct deposit of funds can happen in a few days.

Rationale as to why you require any service and/or equipment must be stated. Why do you need a tutor for your courses? How will it benefit you? Answer these types of questions under the Reason for Request.

PSAS will send you your money through direct deposit to your bank account. At the end of your application, you will be prompted to enter in your banking information (transit number, bank ID, and account number) and to verify the banking information by providing your email address twice. You will only need to provide the banking information once per student loan year.

Once you have completed all your requests, ensure to read the Declaration and Consent and click the appropriate areas and the submit button.

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5. Approval Requests

If the request has been approved, it will show up on your MyPATH account in this section –

Note: Funding Approved Date means the date the request was approved. The funding will be

directly deposited into your bank account within 5 to 10 business days.

6. Refusal Requests

If the request has been refused, it will show up on your MyPATH account in this section –

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7. Receipt Submissions

When you have been approved, you will be required to submit receipts unless you have already

paid for the equipment and submitted the receipt earlier on in this process.

For tutor service requests over $20 per hour, the tutor resume and/or their credentials must be

uploaded for review.

To upload equipment quote / receipts; service receipts; tutor resume/credentials, you do this

through your MyPATH account. See below.

Any important

messages will be

displayed here

Remember!

Click on the up and

down arrows to give

more information

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8. What to do with Unused Funds

Mail via cheque any unused funds to Post-Secondary Accessibility Services. You are taxed on

any funding you are receiving. If you return any service or equipment funding, your T4A will be

adjusted to the appropriate amount you used. This could be a savings on your income tax.

Make cheque out to Minister of Finance

Send cheque to:

Post-Secondary Accessibility Services Thompson Building 1256 Barrington Street, 5th Floor Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 1Y6

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9. Contact Information

Post-Secondary Accessibility Services (PSAS)

For inquiries relating to the Services and Equipment Grant:

Phone: 902-424-6737

Email: psas@novascotia.ca

Mailing Address:

Thompson Building

1256 Barrington Street, Floor 5

Halifax, Nova Scotia

B3J 1Y6

Student Assistance

Toll-free within Canada: 1-800-565-8420

Phone: 902-424-8420

Mail Address

Student Assistance Office PO BOX 2290, Halifax Central, Halifax Nova Scotia B3J 3C8

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10. Quick Links

MyPATH Link https://lae.novascotia.ca/sans/StudentPortal/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=/sans/studentportal Post-Secondary Accessibility Services (PSAS) Website https://novascotia.ca/post-secondary-accessibility-services/ Student Assistance Website http://novascotia.ca/studentassistance/About/ContactUs.asp