Won by the ÖH: The study grant authority corrects its calculation and reduces the recovery from € 2,000 to about € 800 euros.
Student H receives a notice from the Student Financial Aid Office. She is to repay over €2,000 in student aid received. H has long since completed her studies. The reason given for the reclaim is that she had earned too much during the last seven months of her studies in addition to receiving the student grant. Therefore, all tuition assistance received during this time will be reclaimed.
Surprised by the demand for repayment, H turns to the Austrian Student Union (ÖH) for help. The ÖH provides support in the preparation of the appeal. The so-called “presentation” must be made within two weeks after delivery of the notice.
In principle, the additional earnings limit in addition to the receipt of study grants for a calendar year is € 10,000. This limit is reduced on a pro rata basis if tuition assistance is not received for the entire year. Income in excess of this amount reduces eligibility for tuition assistance. It is important to note, however, that income in months in which no student aid is received is disregarded.
In the calendar year in question, H received seven months of study assistance. After that, the student aid was discontinued because she was able to complete her studies. The additional earnings limit is reduced from € 10,000 to € 5,833 (7 out of 12 months). Only earnings in the relevant seven months that exceed this limit are to be repaid. H earned about € 6,600 during this time.
After only a few days, H receives a new decision from the student aid authority. When calculating the amount to be recovered, months in which no student aid was received are now disregarded.
Won by the ÖH: The study grant authority corrects its calculation and reduces the recovery from € 2,000 to about € 800 euros.
Further successes from consulting at www.oeh.ac.at/geschafft
