Brock University is taking a proactive approach to ensure students are prepared when it comes time to repay their school loans.

A representative from the National Student Loan Service Centre (NSLSC), through which all Canadian student loans are repaid, will be on campus Monday, March 27 to answer questions about the repayment process.

The informal information session will take place at a booth set up in Market Hall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be one-on-one availability to discuss individual situations.

“It’s directed toward graduating students, but the representative can answer questions regarding all student loans,” said Patti Latham-Malton, Brock’s Manager of Student Financial Services and Accounts Receivable.

More than half of Brock’s students use OSAP at some point during their academic career.

“This affects a very large number of students on campus,” Latham-Malton said. “The majority of students are going to have a loan that needs to be repaid when they graduate Brock. I think it’s really important that they understand what the obligation is.”

Latham-Malton plans to invite NSLSC representatives to campus several times each year in order to reach as many students as possible.

“Part of my mandate is to try and make Brock students more financially literate, so things don’t sneak up on them,” she said.

“The information about repayment is there, but students have to look for it. You need to want to know about the process. I would like to make it easier for them to know.”

She encouraged students, regardless of the year they’re in, to become informed about their loan requirements and to become budget conscious.

“If we can get people at the beginning understanding what their financial picture looks like, they won’t find themselves in a situation where they have to potentially leave school because they’ve run out of money in year three,” Latham-Malton said.

“I want them to understand what they have to do by the end of year one in order to make it to year four.”

For many students, education is the first and largest investment they make in themselves, she said.

“I want them to treat it like an investment.”

For anyone unable to attend Monday’s session, online tutorials are available through the NSLSC. More information about loan repayment is available at brocku.ca/safa/osap-repayment.