Student G has been pursuing a teacher education program in the subject combination of Geography and Music Education since the winter semester of 2020. At the end of the fourth semester, he discontinued his degree program in Geography and, starting in the fifth semester (the winter semester of 2022), began studying Music Education and Instrumental Education. The tax office subsequently suspended his family allowance because G had changed his degree program late, specifically after the fourth semester.
G contacts the Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH) and, together with the Office of Social Policy, drafts an appeal. In the appeal, it is argued that the University Act now explicitly stipulates that changing just one teaching subject does not constitute a change in the degree program.
After the case goes all the way to the Federal Finance Court, the court ultimately rules in G’s favor. In teacher training programs, changing only one teaching subject while keeping the second subject the same is not considered a change of degree program; therefore, even if it is done after more than two semesters, it does not constitute a late change of degree program. The same applies to eligibility for the student grant.
Achieved through the ÖH: Changing a teaching subject does not count as a change of major for financial aid purposes.
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