2009 Scholarships for low income students
Contents
Eligibility criteria
How to apply
False and misleading information
Selection process
Ongoing eligibility for Commonwealth Scholarships
Privacy
Frequently Asked Questions
USC scholarships and bursaries for low income students
A significant number of Equity Scholarships and Bursaries are available through the University of the Sunshine Coast to provide financial assistance to low-income students or students who identify with other recognised equity groups including:
- students from rural and isolated areas
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- Australian South Sea Islander
- students with a disability
- students from non-English speaking backgrounds who arrived in Australia within the past ten years
The aim of this scheme is to provide financial assistance to ease some of the pressure associated with the costs of living and studying. All eligible commencing and continuing University of the Sunshine Coast students are encouraged to apply. By submitting one online scholarship application, you will be considered for all Equity Scholarships and Bursaries offered between December 2008 and June 2009.
Applicants who were unsuccessful in previous years are welcome to re-apply.
Commonwealth Scholarships
The Commonwealth Scholarships Programme is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). It aims to assist students from low socio-economic backgrounds, particularly those from remote and regional areas. Commonwealth Scholarships (CS) are available through all Australian universities.
There are three different types of Commonwealth Scholarships as follows:
- Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships (CECS) which provide students with A$2,207 * a year for up to four years to assist with general study costs.
- Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarships (CAS) which provide students who have to moved from regional or remote areas to undertake their University studies with A$4,415 * a year for up to four years to assist with accommodation and study costs.
- Indigenous Access Scholarship (IAS) which provides a once only payment of A$4,166 * to assist commencing Indigenous students to undertake either the Tertiary Preparation Program or an undergraduate program. Students who are awarded an Indigenous Access Scholarship will also be awarded a Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship and, if eligible, a Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship.
University of the Sunshine Coast Equity Bursaries
The University of the Sunshine Coast will provide 50 University of the Sunshine Coast Equity Bursaries to Equity Scholarship applicants who are not awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship. These USC Equity Bursaries are a one-off payment of A$2,000. They will be awarded to continuing USC students who have demonstrated good academic performance. Half of the available USC Equity Bursaries will be awarded in each of the Semester 1 and Semester 2 each year.
Co-op Bookshop Textbook Bursaries
Three (3) Co-op Bookshop Textbook Bursaries valued at A$500 are awarded each year to students who are not awarded either a Commonwealth Scholarship or University of the Sunshine Coast Equity Bursary.
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Eligibility criteria
Basic eligibility criteria for all USC Equity Scholarships and Bursaries
You must meet all the following eligibility requirements:
| Conditions |
Requirements |
| Citizenship and residency |
You must be:
- an Australian citizen, or
- the holder of a permanent humanitarian visa.
|
| Enrolment |
You must be
- A Commonwealth supported student enrolled in an Associate Degree, Undergraduate program, or a Graduate Diploma in an area of National Priority (Graduate Diploma in Education and Masters in Mental Health Nursing) at the University of the Sunshine Coast
- Indigenous students enrolled in Tertiary Preparation Pathway are also eligible to apply.
|
| Socio-economic status |
You must demonstrate financial hardship either:
- through receiving a means-tested Commonwealth income support payment through Centrelink (such as Youth Allowance, Austudy, ABSTUDY, Disability Support Pension, Parenting Payment etc), or
- by providing comprehensive information demonstrating exceptional financial hardship and/or disadvantage.
|
| Study load |
You must be enrolled as a full-time student, ie enrolled in three or four USC courses per semester, unless there are exceptional circumstances that prevent you from studying full-time. Circumstances that may be taken into consideration include disability, significant carer responsibilities or medical conditions. |
| Previous qualifications |
You must not hold a bachelor degree or higher-level award unless such award is a prerequisite to the current program and there is no alternate pathway into that program. |
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Additional Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship eligibility requirements
In addition to meeting the basic eligibility criteria listed above, to be considered for the Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship, applicants must also meet all of the following criteria:
| Conditions |
Requirements |
| Regional or remote residence |
Within the four years immediately preceding the commencement of higher education study you must have either:
- have lived in a regional or remote area of Australia for at least three years, or
- completed the final two years of schooling in a high school or college in a regional or remote area, or
- have moved away from a regional or remote area to complete the final two years of schooling at a high school or college in a major city, or
- have lived in a regional or remote area of Australia for a total of at least two years, and have relocated from the regional or remote area of Australia to undertake vocational education and training (eg TAFE) for a maximum of two years duration immediately preceding the commencement of their undergraduate course.
|
| Relocation to undertake university study |
It must have been necessary for you to move from a regional or remote area in order to undertake your program at USC. |
| Incurring additional accommodation costs |
You must be incurring additional accommodation costs as a result of relocating to undertake your program at USC. |
Regional or remote classification
You must have relocated from a regional or remote area of Australia to be eligible for a Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship. To determine whether your permanent address is considered to be regional or remote, the University of the Sunshine Coast will refer to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification Remoteness Areas as described in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare publication, ‘Rural, regional and remote health: A guide to remoteness classifications’, 19 March 2004.
You can use the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Postcode Look-up Tool to check whether your address is considered to be regional or remote. All areas outside the classification of Major Cities of Australia are considered regional or remote.
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How to apply
To apply for all of the above-mentioned Scholarships and Bursaries for low income students (Equity Scholarships), including Commonwealth Scholarships, University of the Sunshine Coast Equity Bursaries and Co-op Bookshop Textbook Bursaries, you must submit an on-line Scholarship Application Form with the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC). Applications for scholarships and bursaries on offer in Semester 1, 2009 will commence in late August and should be lodged by the end of October, 2009. Late applications will be accepted but whilst every attempt will be made, QTAC cannot guarantee that applications received after this date will be processed for the January offer round.
Please note: If you hold a Commonwealth Scholarship (CS) at another university, and then apply for and receive an offer of admission to the University of the Sunshine Coast, your CLS will not be automatically transferred. You must submit a new Scholarship Application with QTAC. If your application is successful, USC may award a CS for the remainder of the duration of your CS.
Supporting documentation required
You must supply supporting documentary evidence where requested throughout the Equity Scholarship Application Form. If you do not supply all required supporting documentation, your application will be significantly disadvantaged. Photocopies of documents are sufficient. It is not necessary to have the copies certified as originals, however, you must be prepared to provide original documents if requested. Please do not send originals.
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False and misleading information
Applicants must declare that all information supplied is complete and accurate. Giving false and misleading information is a serious offence under the Criminal Code (Commonwealth). If the University knows or has reason to believe that a student in receipt of a CS has provided false or misleading information in relation to the CS, the eligible scholarship provider must immediately:
(a) re-assess the student’s entitlement to the CS, and
(b) notify the Department of Science, Education and Training (DEST) of the suspected offence and provide a copy of the student’s application and any other relevant information requested by DEST.
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Selection process
All eligible applicants will be ranked according to their measured economic and personal hardship based on the information supplied and supported by documentary evidence, and their level of academic achievement may be considered.
Commonwealth Scholarship recipients will be selected in accordance with the Guidelines for Commonwealth Scholarships made under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and the USC Policy and Procedures on Selection of Students for Commonwealth Scholarships.
Eligible applicants who are not awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship may be awarded a University of the Sunshine Coast Equity Bursary or Co-op Bookshop Textbook Bursary.
All Equity Scholarship applicants will be advised in writing of the outcome of their application.
Successful applicants will be required to sign an acceptance form acknowledging the conditions of the offer and provide their bank account details.
The deliberations of the selection panel will not be discussed with individual applicants.
An unsuccessful applicant has the right to request a review of a decision not to award them a scholarship or bursary by submitting a request in writing to the Director, Student Services within 14 days of the date of their letter of notification.
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Ongoing eligibility requirements for Commonwealth Scholarships
In accepting a Commonwealth Scholarship, students must agree to provide personal information relevant to assessing on-going eligibility for a Commonwealth Scholarship to the University on request. Ongoing eligibility means confirmation of:
- full-time enrolment as a HECS-HELP eligible student at the University (unless you have been approved to receive the scholarship as a part-time student with exceptional circumstances)
- financial hardship
- satisfactory academic progress
Privacy
The University of the Sunshine Coast is bound by the provisions of relevant State and Federal Privacy Laws in relation to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information about students. All documents created by the University in the process of managing the Scholarships program are subject to Freedom of Information legislation unless exempt in accordance with provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Please refer to the USC Privacy Plan for more information.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
How will I know if I get a Scholarship?
If you are successful you will receive a conditional Scholarship offer from QTAC. It is expected that there will be two major Scholarship offer rounds in January and June 2009. However, smaller offer rounds may be made at other times.
If I am awarded a scholarship, when will I receive payment?
The University will make payments to students after the University receives acceptance of the Conditions of Scholarship offer and confirmation of continuing eligibility as at census date in each semester. All payments are made via electronic funds transfer into student bank accounts approximately two weeks after census date in any given semester.
Payments are made as follows:
- Indigenous Access Scholarship - 50 percent as soon as possible after receipt of the acceptance of the scholarship and the other 50 percent after the first semester census date.
- For the Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships and the Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship, the annual scholarship amount is paid in two instalments - one per semester.
- The University of the Sunshine Coast Equity Bursaries are paid in one lump sum.
- The Co-op Bookshop Textbook Bursary recipients will receive a A$500 voucher for the Co-op Bookshop.
Can an offer of a scholarship or bursary be deferred?
Deferral of an Equity Scholarship or Bursary is not permitted by the University of the Sunshine Coast in the first semester of it being awarded.
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What happens if I take Leave of Absence?
Should you take leave of absence in accordance with the University Academic Rules after you have been in receipt of the Scholarship for at least one semester, your Commonwealth Scholarship will be deferred for the period of leave. You may take up the scholarship on your return to study, subject to demonstration of ongoing eligibility.
When will a Commonwealth Scholarship be terminated?
In accordance with the Commonwealth Guidelines the University will terminate your Commonwealth
Scholarship:
- if you cease to meet the eligibility criteria, other than during a period in which the scholarship has been deferred, or
- once the full value of the scholarship has been paid in respect of the fourth year, or
- if you do not resume study at the conclusion of a period of leave, or
- if the University determines that you are guilty of serious misconduct, or
- if you fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress
The University will monitor academic performance and may terminate a Commonwealth Scholarship if a recipient is identified at risk of exclusion and placed on monitored enrolment under the University’s Unsatisfactory Academic Performance and Exclusion Rules specified in the Academic Rules.
It should be noted that these rules state that:
“a student will be identified at risk of exclusion on the grounds of unsatisfactory academic performance at the end of a semester if:
- the student fails for the second time a course that is required for the program in which that student is enrolled, or
- the student fails more than one half of the courses undertaken during that semester.”
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Will a scholarship or bursary affect my Centrelink benefit?
Commonwealth Scholarships are exempt as income under the Social Securities Act and will not affect your Centrelink payment. Commonwealth Scholarship income will not be taken into account when applying the Personal Income Test for Youth Allowance, Austudy, ABSTUDY or the primary payment of students receiving a Pensioner Education Supplement.
Unfortunately, University of the Sunshine Coast Equity Bursaries, are not exempt as income for Centrelink purposes.
If you are awarded a Scholarship or Bursary, you are strongly advised to contact Centrelink to check whether your benefits will be affected.
Will I have to declare a scholarship or bursary for taxation?
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) states:
If you are a student receiving full-time education at a school, college or university, your scholarship will be exempt subject to certain exceptions. Both private and public scholarships received by full-time school, college or university students in Australia or overseas can be exempt from income tax.
If you are studying part-time your scholarship may be considered as income for taxation. The ATO provides a tool to determine scholarship taxability based on certain criteria. To access this tool go to <http://www.ato.gov.au>, type ‘scholarships’ into the Search option in the top right-hand corner of the page. Alternately contact the ATO enquiry line on 13 28 61.
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Is it possible to be awarded more than one scholarship or bursary?
Generally, students will only be awarded one type of Equity Scholarship or Bursary, that is, either a Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship or Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship or University of the Sunshine Coast Equity Bursary. Students who are awarded an USC Equity Bursary in one year may reapply and be awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship or USC Equity Bursary again in the following academic year.
The only exception to this rule is Indigenous students who are awarded an Indigenous Access Scholarship. The Commonwealth Scholarship Guidelines require that these students will also be awarded a Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship and, if eligible, a Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship.
It is possible, however, to be awarded an Equity Scholarship or Bursary and one of the donor-funded Scholarships for which separate applications are required.
For more information
For further information on eligibility or assistance completing your application, please contact:
Scholarships Officer
Student Administration
Email: scholarships@usc.edu.au;
Tel: +61 7 5430 2890
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