Tuition Fee Reimbursement for Designated Evening Adult Education Courses Students

Students of the Financial Assistance Scheme for Designated Evening Adult Education Courses (FAEAEC) (2011/12) are eligible for 30% , 50% or 100% reimbursement of the tuition fees paid in two instalments (after each school term), subject to their meeting the prescribed criteria.

1. Reimbursement of 30% of Tuition Fees Paid

1.1 Students must fulfill the following criteria as confirmed by the Approved Course Providers (ACPs) for reimbursement of 30% of the tuition fees paid -

1.2 Conditions under which students will not be eligible for tuition fee reimbursement

2. Half / Full Fee Reimbursement

2.1 To further assist needy students who meet the criteria described in Section 1 above, 50% or 100% reimbursement of the tuition fees paid will be made, subject to the student's having passed a means test and obtained an Eligibility Certificate (EC) issued by the SFAA indicating that he/she is eligible for “HALF” or “FULL” assistance and his/her submitting the duly completed EC to the ACPs for Fee Reimbursement (FR). The application procedures for FR are described in Section 3 below. The EC will apply to courses taken in the 2011/12 academic year only.

3. Application Forms and Procedures for Half / Full Fee Reimbursement

3.1 The applicant should normally be the parent or the legal guardian of the student. Eligibility for “HALF” / “FULL” level of assistance is based on a means test - see Section 3.5 below. In general, the SFAA will not accept application for assessment of eligibility submitted on or after 1 March 2012. The application forms are “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” Form A(SFAA 7B) or Form B(SFAA 106B).

Applicant who has already submitted Form A (SFAA 7B) or Form B (SFAA 106B) to the SFAA

3.2 If an applicant has already submitted Form A or Form B to the SFAA for assessment of eligibility in 2011/12, he/she does not need to submit another application. The SFAA will assess the applicant's eligibility according to the information already provided in the application and in accordance with the means test described in Section 3.5 below. Successful applicants will be notified by the SFAA of their result in writing. Students provided with an Eligibility Certificate (EC) for “HALF” or “FULL” level of assistance and meeting the criteria mentioned in Section 1 should apply for FR by completing the EC and submitting the EC to the ACPs - see Section 3.7 below.

3.3 If the applicant has already submitted Form A or Form B to SFAA and is eligible for “HALF” or “FULL” level of assistance, he/she should approach the SFAA (Address: Room 803-806, 8/F., One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon) in person to obtain replacement of an EC for the FAEAEC student if (i) he/she has lost the EC; or (ii) he/she omitted to indicate in his/her Application for Assessment of Eligibility the request for an EC for the student-applicants; or (iii) he/she omitted to include the student-applicants who need to apply for 2011/12 student financial assistance in his/her Application for Assessment of Eligibility.

Applicant who has not submitted an application for assessment of eligibility

3.4 The applicant should obtain a set of application Form A (SFAA 7B) from the ACPs, the SFAA or District Offices, complete the form, and then mail it with copies of the required supporting documents to the SFAA for processing of the application. The applicant can use the envelope enclosed with the application form for mailing the documents. He/She may also download the Guidance Notes and the application form from our website http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/public/index.htm#fts.

For details about the application procedures for Half or Full Fee Reimbursement, please visit the application procedures for assessment of eligibility for Primary and Secondary Students, which are applicable to FAEAEC students.

Means Test

3.5 The SFAA will use the “Adjusted Family Income” (AFI) mechanism as the means test to assess the eligibility of a family for student financial assistance and its assistance level. The formula is as follows:

Please note that the AFI is not the average monthly income of a family.

AFI =	Gross annual income of the family#
	Number of family members @ + 1 *

3.6 Applicants with AFI value not exceeding 29,738 are eligible for “FULL” level of assistance^. Applicants with AFI value between 29,739 and 57,502 are eligible for “HALF” level of assistance. The SFAA will conduct authentication, including home visits or other means to verify the truthfulness and completeness of the information reported in the application. The SFAA may adjust the level of assistance granted, if necessary, according to the findings of the authentications.

Notes:

#	Gross annual income of the family includes the annual income of applicant and his/her spouse; 30% of the annual income of unmarried child / children residing with the family if applicable; and the contribution from relatives / friends if applicable.
@	Family members normally refer to the applicant, his/her spouse, the unmarried child/children residing with the family and the dependent parent(s) who are supported by the applicant and/or his/her spouse.
*	For single-parent families of 2 to 3 members, the “plus 1 factor” in the divisor of AFI formula will be increased to “ 2”.
^	AFI thresholds for full level of assistance for 3-member and 4-member families are $36,000 and $33,120 respectively. For 2-member single-parent families and 3-member single-parent families, they are regarded as 3-member families and 4-member families respectively for determining the AFI thresholds for full level of assistance and calculation of AFI.

Eligibility Certificate (EC)

3.7 Applicants will be notified of the result of the means test in writing. Students eligible for “FULL” or “HALF” level of assistance will be issued with ECs. Students with “HALF” or “FULL” level of assistance should complete and return the ECs to the ACPs within one week from the commencement date of school or within two weeks from the date of issue of the EC (whichever is later) in accordance with the Guidance Notes issued with the EC for half or full FR applications.

3.8 At the end of each school term, the ACPs will inform the SFAA of students who have attained the eligibility criteria mentioned in Section 1 above. Students who have submitted their ECs with “HALF” or “FULL” eligibility level to the ACPs within the timeframe mentioned in Section 3.7 above will receive FR through direct credit to their bank accounts.

Other Financial Assistance Scheme applicable to FAEAEC students -

Non-means-tested Loan (NLS) Scheme

FAEAEC students who have the right of abode, or have resided or have had their home in Hong Kong continuously for three complete years immediately prior to the commencement of the course may apply for a loan under NLS to pay their tuition fees. Applicants are required to pay an administrative fee for each application and loan account on an annual basis. Interest is chargeable upon drawdown of the loan and throughout the repayment period until the NLS loan is fully repaid (please visit our website at http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/whats/index.htm for current NLS interest rate). NLS loan is repayable in 40 quarterly instalments within 10 years upon (i) graduation; or (ii) termination of studies; or (iii) lapse of 6 years from the first disbursement of loan, whichever is the earliest. For application details, please refer to the Application Guidance Notes [SFAA 140] and the Application Form which are obtainable from the SFAA (Address: 11/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon) and Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department. You may also download the documents from our website http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/public/index.htm#nls2. For details about NLS scheme, please click here.