Formative Evaluation of the Canada Student Loans Program. Final Report
Author: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Date: 2004-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Program Effectiveness,Foreign Countries,Eligibility,Student Loan Programs,Program Evaluation,Program Design,Performance Based Assessment,Accountability,Literature Reviews,Focus Groups,College Students,Grants,High School Students,College Bound Students,Noncollege Bound Students,Barriers,Access to Education,Interviews,Delivery Systems,Financial Support

The &quot;Formative Evaluation of the Canada Student Loans Program&quot; was undertaken to assess issues of program relevance, design and delivery and for the purposes of examining the early impacts of changes made to the program since 1998. The evaluation also reviewed the Performance Measurement Strategy contained in the July 2002 Results-Based Management and Accountability Framework (RMAF). The evaluation was conducted between March 2002 and October 2003. The use of multiple lines of evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, were emphasized to ensure comprehensive and defensible results. Five main research methods were used. These are: (1) A document and literature review that included more than 120 recent (i.e. post-1998) reports, policy documents and other literature; (2) Twenty-one focus groups involving a total of 183 participants, including regular Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) borrowers, Canada Study Grants (CSG) recipients, potential CSLP applicants (i.e. high school students planning to pursue post-secondary education), non-participants (i.e. high school students not planning to attend a post-secondary institution in the next school year), non-qualifiers (i.e. rejected applicants); (3) Semi-structured interviews with three subject area experts who are recognized as having expertise in specific areas related to the CSLP, such as student access and/or barriers to post-secondary education, student financing or other student financial assistance programs; (4) A total of 27 informant interviews involving provincial officials (12), service providers (3),  organizations/associations (3), and CSLP or other government officials (9). In addition, a separate group interview was conducted with 11 members of Saskatchewan's Scholarship, Bursary and Loan Committee consisting of government, institutional and student representatives; and (5) A review and analysis of four of the program's administrative databases including the Provincial Certificates File, the Needs Assessment Reports (NAR), the Interest Relief File and the Borrowers File. Some of the findings include: (1) The percentage of full-time post-secondary students in Canada served by the Canada Student Loan Program has increased from 30% in 1990-91 to 38% in 1999-2000; (2) Evidence from key informants and the Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) Client Satisfaction Survey suggests that the new service delivery model was designed and successfully implemented by the CSLP on schedule; and (3) The program logic model developed in 2002 provides a reasonable basis for assessing program performance. Appendices include: (1) Program Logic Model; (2) Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) Eligibility Criteria; (3) Student Categories for Needs Assessment; (4) Canada Study Grants (CSG) Eligibility and Funding Maximums; (5) Inter-provincial Consistency in the Needs Assessment; and (6) Provincial Designation Policies. (Contains 11 tables, 7 figures and 98 footnotes.)