Student C applies for tuition assistance for her master’s degree. The study grant authority rejects the application on the grounds that she had exceeded the legally stipulated duration of studies for the preceding bachelor’s degree by more than three semesters. As she was prevented from completing her studies in time due to an illness that occurred at the end of her bachelor’s program, she turned to the Department for Social Policy of the Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH).
Student C applies for tuition assistance for her master’s degree. The study grant authority rejects the application on the grounds that she had exceeded the legally stipulated duration of studies for the preceding bachelor’s degree by more than three semesters. As she was prevented from completing her studies in time due to an illness that occurred at the end of her bachelor’s program, she turned to the Department for Social Policy of the Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH).
In principle, the entitlement to study assistance for bachelor studies is for seven semesters. The Study Subsidies Act (StudFG) stipulates that a student is only entitled to a study subsidy for a postgraduate master’s degree program despite having completed a bachelor’s degree program if the student begins the master’s degree program no later than 30 months after completing the bachelor’s degree program and the planned period of study for completing the bachelor’s degree program is not exceeded by more than three semesters. These periods shall not include those periods for which there are important reasons for exceeding the time limit. Important reasons in the sense of the law are, for example, an illness of the student, if it is proven by a specialist medical confirmation, or another unforeseen or unavoidable event, in which the student has no or only a minor degree of fault.
In a counseling session at the ÖH’s Social Policy Department, Student C explains her complex medical history. C fell ill in the 7th and thus last semester of eligibility for the bachelor’s program. Because the illness lasted for several semesters, she was steadily hindered from progressing in her studies and was unable to complete her bachelor’s degree within nine semesters, but only after eleven semesters. The illness was associated with severe pain, nausea, difficulty concentrating, fever, and fatigue. C was able to play in 7, 8. and In the 9th bachelor’s semester, the student attended far fewer courses, failed an above-average number of exams, and achieved only about half the ECTS points per semester – compared to the 6th semester, i.e. the semester before the onset of the illness. C was under the treatment of several physicians during the affected semesters. These confirmed that C was prevented from more rapid progress in his studies and sufficient preparation for examinations due to the ongoing stress caused by the illness.
The ÖH supports student C in formulating two appeals against the negative decisions of the student aid authority. C can provide a number of medical certifications, findings, and sick notes for the affected semesters of illness. However, the challenge in this case is rather to establish conclusively that the proven illness and no other reason was causal for the study time overrun.
After about seven months of proceedings and many substantiating pleadings, the study grant authority finally grants C the study grant for her master’s studies.
Won by the ÖH: With the support of the ÖH, the student also receives study grants for her master’s degree.
Further successes from consulting at www.oeh.ac.at/geschafft
