Purpose
Muskeg Lake Cree Nation believes every band member has the right to post-secondary education. The program provides financial support so eligible members can pursue college, university and trades training.
Stated on the program page
Post-secondary
Funding policy
The rules the program runs on. Members are entitled to read these, so they live on the site rather than in a filing cabinet.
The full policy is not published here yet.
What follows is the structure of the document with the parts already stated elsewhere on this site filled in. Everything else is waiting on the Nation. Nothing on this page has been drafted or guessed on anyone's behalf.
If you need the current policy today, ask and it will be sent to you.
Who is eligible
Registered members of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation accepted into a recognized post-secondary or trades program. Membership is confirmed by the office as part of processing the application.
Full-time enrolment is the default for the living allowance. Part-time support is handled case by case.
Stated on the program page
What is funded
Support is built around what it costs to be a student, not only what the school invoices. Four categories:
- Tuition and fees, paid to the school
- Books and supplies, per semester
- Living allowance, monthly
- Travel, twice a year
Rates and the conditions attached to each are set by the Nation and are not published on this site.
Categories stated on the program page. Rates outstanding
Priority when funds are limited
Outstanding. Most band programs have a written order of priority for years when applications exceed the budget: continuing students before new, first degree before second, and so on. This is the section members ask about most and the one that causes the most trouble when it is unwritten.
How to apply
One application form, submitted with a letter of acceptance from the school. The office confirms membership and enrolment, the counsellor reviews the file, and the applicant is contacted by phone or email.
The full list of supporting documents, the submission deadlines and the turnaround time are set by the office.
Process stated on the program page. Deadlines and document list outstanding
Student obligations
Two, for the length of the program:
- A declaration each month confirming continued enrolment, due by the 20th. A missed declaration holds the next payment until it arrives. The hold lifts when the form comes in.
- Grades submitted at the end of every term.
Students are asked to contact the office before a term ends if it is going badly, rather than after.
Stated on the program page
Payments
Outstanding. How and when money is released, whether tuition goes directly to the school, the payment schedule for the living allowance, and what happens to a payment if a student withdraws part way through a term.
Academic standing
Outstanding. What happens after a failed course or a failed term, whether there is a probation period, and the conditions for having funding reinstated. The program page currently says a bad term is workable if the student calls, which is the right posture but is not a policy.
Appeals
Outstanding. Whether there is a formal appeal, who hears it, whether it goes to a committee or to Council, how a member files one, and how long they have to do it.
The program page currently describes three steps: call, ask for a review, and the file goes to someone who did not make the first decision. That is the right posture and it is what members are being told, but until this section is written it is a description of intent rather than a policy anyone can hold the office to. These two need to be made to agree, in this direction.
Records and privacy
Outstanding for the policy itself. How long student files are kept and who inside the Nation can see them. What this website collects is covered separately.
Need the current policy?
Ask the office and a copy will be sent to you. If something here does not match what you were told, the office is right and this page is out of date.