The province is making some changes to its provincial student aid program in hopes of giving more students access to assistance.

The first change is a 20 per cent increase to the provincial student loan and student grant limits, bringing the amount to $120 per week.

There is a corresponding increase for Faculty of Medicine students, and out-of-province students also get a 20 per cent increase to their loans. International students are not eligible.

The per-course value of the tuition relief grant is also going up, from $345 per course to $420.

Government is lowering the threshold for the debt reduction grant program from programs that are 80 weeks or longer to 60 weeks.

It is estimated that some 5,000 students will the impacted by the changes.

Education Minister Bernard Davis says it is important that government make the changes now because this is the time when students have to make preparations for the fall semester.

Now is the time when students will be applying, says Davis, and they will need to figure out how they will be paying for the courses they are going to be doing.