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UNE Undergraduates Scholarships Appeals and Leave of Absence Guidelines

This is not a current document. It has been repealed and is no longer in force.

Section 1 - Overview

Appeals

(1) When students fail to meet the terms and conditions for the continuation of their scholarship, the scholarship will be withdrawn. Most commonly, this is because the student fails to achieve the academic results required for retention of the scholarship, the student changing his/her mode of study or reducing his/her study load, and/or the student seeking enrolment temporarily at another university.

(2) The University recognises that circumstances may arise that are beyond a student's control that should allow the hearing of an appeal against the withdrawal or non-award of a scholarship.

(3) The purpose of these guidelines is to:

  1. provide information on how to appeal; and
  2. summarise circumstances under which an appeal against loss of a scholarship will be considered; and
  3. summarise circumstances under which an appeal against the non-award of a scholarship will be considered.

Leave of Absence (Intermission)

(4) The purpose of these guidelines is to:

  1. summarise circumstances under which an application for leave of absence from a scholarship may be approved without loss of the scholarship; and
  2. summarise circumstances under which study undertaken with another University may be undertaken without loss of the scholarship.
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Section 2 - Guidelines

Appeals

(5) Submission: Appeals must be made using the online form available on the scholarships website.

(6) Case for appeal: The appeal must state clearly the decision against which the appeal is being made and explain the grounds which form the basis for the appeal.

(7) Supporting evidence: Appeals must be supported by relevant documentary evidence which must be submitted at the same time as the appeal. In exceptional circumstances a Statutory Declaration may be accepted instead of other documentary evidence.

(8) Timeline — withdrawal of a scholarship: The appeal must be received within 10 working days of notification of the withdrawal of the scholarship.

(9) Timeline — non-award of a scholarship. The appeal must be received within 20 working days after the first day of the first teaching period for which the scholarship was sought.

(10) Timeline — late appeals. Appeals received after the deadline will not normally be accepted unless there is an explanation for the delay with supporting evidence verifying the explanation.

Appeals against the withdrawal of a scholarship

(11) Where a student fails to meet the terms and conditions of his/her scholarship the scholarship will be withdrawn. The circumstances which typically lead to the withdrawal of a scholarship include:

  1. failure to meet the academic requirements for retention of the scholarship;
  2. failure to meet the scholarship's terms and conditions;
  3. choosing to change study mode from ON to OFF campus status;
  4. relocation from Armidale; and/or
  5. change from full-time to part-time study.

(12) Where unusual and unforeseen circumstances have led to the loss of a scholarship an appeal will be viewed sympathetically. Examples of unusual and unforeseen circumstances during the teaching period include:

  1. medical or compassionate grounds (life threatening illness, death of a close family member or close relationship breakdown, as examples);
  2. emergency requirements (mobilisation or deployment on military or humanitarian service, as examples).

Appeals against the non-award of a scholarship

(13) An unsuccessful scholarship applicant may appeal on procedural grounds only (that is, where there has been an error in the consideration process of the application).

(14) It is the applicant's responsibility to provide all relevant information, including supporting documentation, by the deadline detailed in paragraph 9. Failure to do so will not constitute grounds for an appeal even if the circumstance was beyond the applicant's control.

Appeal outcomes

(15) Following receipt of an appeal by the Undergraduate Scholarships Group, it will be referred to the Chair of the Undergraduate Scholarships Committee.

(16) The outcome of the appeal will be advised to the applicant by the Undergraduate Scholarships Group and decisions on appeals will be made within 20 working days.

(17) If the appeal is unsuccessful a final appeal may be submitted to the Undergraduate Scholarships Group within 10 working days of the date of advice on the outcome of the first appeal.

(18) The final appeal will be heard by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students and Social Inclusion) (or nominee) who shall uphold or dismiss the final appeal within 20 working days of its receipt.

(19) Students have the right to seek a review (but not a further appeal) of any administrative process or decision by the University Ombudsman or the NSW Ombudsman once the appeal process has been completed.

Leave of absence from a scholarship without loss of the scholarship

(20) Students who are advised by their Course Coordinator to undertake cross- institutional study either in Australia or overseas must apply for leave of absence from the scholarship before proceeding with cross-institutional study or study abroad (including overseas exchange programs) so they are aware of any impact of such study on their scholarship. Approval of leave of absence from a scholarship is not automatic and cases will be considered individually under the terms and conditions of the scholarship concerned by the Chair of the Undergraduate Scholarships Committee. The proposed study must be directly relevant and complementary to the student's UNE course for the leave to be granted.

(21) Students who proceed on a trimester/year of full-time study with another university as a compulsory requirement of their UNE course (Bachelor of Languages students, for example) will be exempt from the normal residence provisions for those scholarships that require full-time on campus study with UNE in Armidale.

(22) Students who apply for leave of absence (intermission) from their university studies for reasons of personal preference or need must apply for leave of absence before suspending their studies so they are aware of any impact on their scholarship. Cases will be considered individually by the Chair of the Undergraduate Scholarships Committee.