PROFESSIONAL ENHANCEMENT BURSARY: FAQ'S

Starting on November 20, applications for education/training that starts between September 1st, 2024 and August 31st, 2025 will be accepted until the funds are fully exhausted.

The fund is designed for education/training starting between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2024. However, if you are in an ongoing program that includes components starting within this window, you may be eligible for reimbursement for those components.

For example, if you began your Master’s program before September 1, 2024, but have courses starting within the funding window, you can apply for those specific courses. 

Yes, submit your application and explain how your education/training aligns with the criteria.  We will review your application based on the information provided.

Each member can apply for a maximum of $7,500 (of which $1,500 is allowable for accommodations/travel, broken down as a max of $750 for accommodations and $750 for travel). Members can apply for multiple courses, a single course, or conferences, however, they will only receive up to the caps.  If you are applying for multiple courses, please provide the following details for each course in the space provided: course number, name, start date, finish date and amount.

Applications are processed in the order they are received. Ensure your application meets all eligibility criteria and funding guidelines.  Incomplete applications may experience delays.

Processing time vary due to the unique nature of each application.  We will contact you once your application is reviewed or if additional information is needed.  Please avoid contacting HSA for status updates; we will reach out to you directly.

Yes, you can apply for education/training that you plan to take or have already completed, as long as the start date falls within the timeline and meets the eligibility guidelines.

Yes you might. Under Article 17 of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association collective agreement, health authorities and other employers are required to provide employees seeking professional development with as much as $1000 in each year of the collective agreement. But for years, employers have routinely turned down these requests, often citing budget constraints. This practice is not based in fact – employer budgets provide for this money – and it leaves less money overall for professional development.

With employers continuing to hold back millions in professional development funding contractually owed to health science professionals, HSA is introducing news steps to the application process that will help ensure members get more funding to advance their careers and build a stronger health care system as follows:

• Members who need professional development funding will be required to approach the employer first, by following the application process for Education funds under Article 17. Please refer to this Article 17 Process explainer.
• If any employer refuses to provide funding to a member under Article 17, the member will be required to file and the union will support a member-driven grievance.
• While the grievance is proceeding, the union will provide funding so your professional development can proceed. 

• Members seeking professional development funding will be required to approach the employer first, by following the application process for Education funds under Article 17.
  Verification documentation will be required in order to apply.
• If any employer refuses to provide funding to a member under Article 17, the union will support a member-driven grievance.
  Please reach out to your Steward, and they will help you with this process.
• While the grievance is proceeding, the union will provide eligible applicants with the funding you have requested from your employer under the collective agreement. Your professional development can proceed while the union works on your behalf to recover the money from the employer.

Yes, you will need to provide the following:

• Copy of email or other documents providing proof that you have applied to the employer for funding under Article 17.02(h) of the HSPBA collective Agreement (up to the $1,000 entitlement).
  This is required. Without this verification, you will not be able to proceed with the application process.
• Copy of documents showing that funding was received by you from your employer (if applicable)
• Copy of documents showing that funding was denied by your employer (if applicable)
• Copy of grievance filed by you (if applicable)

Yes, provide verification that you applied, and get approval if eligible. 
Once you have received approval, you need to advise, and we will deduct from your approved amount.  If you have not heard back from your employer, or if you only received partial payment or a denial, you will be instructed to file a grievance at that time, then continue with the submission process, which includes submitting your receipts and the signed repayment commitment form.  You will then be "fronted"the money and we will pursue the grievance.  When we win the grievance, those monies will then come back to the fund to be redistributed to other members.

Education and training must be related to professional development within a health science discipline practiced in public health care. This includes workshops, seminars, conferences, courses, and programs, whether conducted in-person, online, or through clinical placements.

Eligible costs include:

• Tuition fees
• Registration fees
• Required books
• Travel and accommodation (within Canda/USA if necessary) up to $1,500 of the $7,500 cap.

Ineligible costs include but are not limited to:

• Criminal records checks
• Professional association fees
• Regulatory college fees
• Membership fees
• Immunizations or immunization reports
• Technology costs (hardware ie: laptops, software, mandatory technology fees)
• Optional student fees (athletic fees, administration fees, insurance)
• Transcript review
• Materials (yoga mats, needles, singing bowls, assessment tools, etc.)
• Any optional school/student fees
• Childcare
• Meals or per diem
• Gas
• Baggage Fees
• Travel and accommodations outside of Canada or USA

No. Meals and per diems are not eligible expenses.

No. Professional Fees and membership dues are not covered by this fund. For details on professional fees, please read this.

No. The fund does not cover wage replacement.

Yes. If a member is required to temporarily relocate during the training period (eg clinical placement, course/training longer duration no offered locally) they may submit accommodation expenses for consideration. However, there must be a minimum distance of 25km between the applicant’s residence and the training location to be eligible and will only receive up to the allowable accommodation cap of $750.

The purpose of the fund is to provide education monies to as many individual members as possible across the province. While more than one member from a site may be approved for a course, “pooling” monies at individual sites in the fashion described above does not meet the funding guidelines established by the union and will not be considered. 

No. Each fund has its own application process.  You must submit a separate application for each fund and adhere to the specific guidelines and timelines.

No. Funding must be used for the course specified in your application. Once approved, changes to the type of course cannot be accommodated. However, if the course date specified on your application is changed by the provider, you must notify the union to discuss.

Costs must be listed on the application in Canadian dollars.  You must do your own currency conversions. 

Applications will be processed with the understanding that as per these instructions, the members have taken this step.

Copy of bank or credit card statement must be submitted along with the receipt.

No. This fund is in addition to any provisions in the collective agreement.

All provisions of the HSPBA/HEABC Provincial Agreement continue to apply, including Education Leave as per Article 17.01 and Unpaid leave as per Article 22. 

The Professional Enhancement Bursary replaces the previous $3m Professional Development programs.

Yes. All dues-paying HSA members covered by the HSPBA collective agreement can apply.