STUDENT FINANCIAL AID
Financial Aid for Foreign Students
Aid Criteria Valid as of 1 August 2004
Foreign students can be granted financial aid for studies undertaken in Finland. The student must be permanently resident in Finland and the reason for staying in Finland must be other than study (such as work, family or remigration). Foreign citizens resident in Finland for the purpose of study are not eligible for financial study aid.
The permanence of residence is assessed according to the Municipality of Residence Act (201/1994). A person must be registered in the Finnish population information system in order to be considered permanently resident in Finland. Criteria for residence in Finland are assessed on the basis of the Aliens Act.
Nordic Citizens
Financial aid can be granted to a person who has a Joint Nordic Document of Migration from their native country and whose residence in Finland is registered as per Article 3 of the Municipality of Residence Decree (351/1994). Persons who have earned the right to study in a Finnish institute of learning prior to residency registration and have no other reason for being resident in Finland, are not eligible to financial study aid.
If admission to the school is granted after registration, the aid can as a rule be granted.
Student financial aid can be granted to persons resident in Finland for family reasons, providing they have registered as resident in Finland.
Information from KELA, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland
Before starting the application process, find out about your eligibility for financial aid by contacting KELA. See also the above passage about eligibility criteria for foreigners. More information about student financial aid is available at the Kela website www.kela.fi. Click on English to change language, then select Financial Aid for Students.
Telephone inquiries from 8.15-16, tel. 020 4346710. The e-mail address is opintotuki@kela.fi.
Customer service for students of the Academy of Fine Arts is from 13 to 16 (Kela, Jyväskylä), tel. 020 43466 30.
Aid Period for Students of the Academy of Fine Arts
The maximum time financial aid can be granted for a Master's degree is 60 months.
Application Processing
Applications for financial aid for students of the Academy are processed by the Finnish Social Insurance Institution KELA. Students submit their applications to the Academy, which forwards them to KELA's Centre for Student Financial Aid. Foreign students please note! If you have not received study aid in Finland before, be sure to attach the appendix form (OT10, available from Kela) to your application.
Academy of Fine Arts' Study Aid Board
One half of the Academy's Study Aid Board is composed of lecturers or other functionaries of the Academy, the other half are Academy students. The Board issues statements to KELA regarding the status (full-time or not) and progress of applicants. Study affairs officer Miia Marttinen serves as both the referendary and secretary of the Student Aid Board.
PROGRESS MONITORING
Full - time studying and progress monitoring at the Academy of Fine Arts
Eligibility Criteria for Financial Aid are
Full-time study
Need for financial aid
Progress in studies
Financial aid is only granted to students who progress in their studies. The Study Aid Board monitors progress through the Academy's credit register system.
PROGRESS REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR'S AND MASTER'S DEGREES
The minimum progress requirement is an average of 2.7 credits / 4,8 ECTS credits per aid month. Months when the student has only received the housing supplement are also counted as aid months.
The same requirement also applies to summer studies. For example, if the student applies for aid for the summer months (the August preceding the autumn term, next June-July), their accumulated credit earning for the entire academic year (1 August to 31 July) must be at least 32,4 credits / 57,7 ECTS study credits.
INSTRUCTIONS
Long-term Progress Monitoring
If a student has earned insufficient credits during the preceding term, the number of credits for the entire duration of studies is taken into account. The credit requirement in this long-term monitoring is also an average of 2.7 credits / 4,8 ECTS credits per aid month.
Progress Report
Students whose accumulated credits fall short of the minimum requirement either during the preceding term or over all studies, are requested to give a progress report.
The report allows the student to fill in any deficiencies in the credit register and to provide an explanation of the reasons for the delay in studies. Acceptable reasons include illness in the family or a difficult situation in the student's own life, or similar reasons. Work, for instance, is not an acceptable reason for delay.
Termination of Aid
Financial aid is terminated if the student does not provide a progress report on time, or if the report does not satisfy the Board that the student has progressed as required, or if the student does not complete the added credits required by the Board within the expected time frame.
The Study Aid Board may set a time limit within which the student must complete additional credits required by the Board on pain of terminating the payment of aid.
The Eleven Credits of the Autumn Term
Students can avoid the termination of aid by earning 11 credits / 19 ECTS credits during the autumn term in which the request for a progress report was issued.
Reclaiming Aid
Apart from terminating financial aid, the aid paid for the preceding term may in exceptional cases be reclaimed, if the student has obviously neglected his or her studies. This can be done if the student has completed no courses and he or she apparently has no real intention to study. For example, such a situation can occur if the student has worked throughout the academic year or has lived somewhere other than the place of study. The Study Aid Board may issue a statement regarding the matter to the KELA Centre for Student Financial Aid. The student has a statutory right to be heard before the statement concerning the recovery of aid is issued.
Re-issuing Terminated Aid
Although the aid has been terminated, it can be granted again after the student has earned the required 11 study credits / 19 ECTS credits. The credits must be earned during the term in question (1 August to 31 December, or 1 February to 31 July) or within a period of 2-4 consecutive months. The aid can be granted from the beginning of the month following the completion of the 11-credit requirement. For example, if the student completes the 11 credits during February-April, financial aid can be granted to start from the beginning of May.